Remembering My Grandmothers In My Kitchen

With Mother’s Day right around the corner I thought I would share two items that I display in my kitchen that belonged to my grandmothers.

The two plates hung above my Grandmommie Landreth’s refrigerator as far back as the 1960's that I can recall. They are fabric cutouts glued onto ceramic plates, with their names painted on. I don’t recall my grandfather, Rolley, ever smoking a pipe. He did smoke cigarettes. When Grandmommie died they were one of two things of her’s that I requested. The other being a couple of her cast iron cornbread pans.

When I posted on facebook that they how had a home in my kitchen, I found out from a cousin of mine that her mother made the plates and gave them to Grandmommie and Rolley. From this I also learned that my aunt Mildred, she was the wife of one of Rolley’s brothers John, was a seamstress and used left over scraps of fabric to create these plates.

Other people responded to the post saying that they had either also made such plates or had seen them in someone’s home in the 1960s. I had never seen such plates before myself, but I always was fascinated by them and am so glad that they now have a home in my kitchen.

The ceramic hen was my Mamaw Henley’s. It’s something I always saw displayed in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. Not really sure if it is a cookie jar, gravy boat, soup tureen, or a host of other possibilities. It never served a purpose other than being decorative at Mamaw’s house. When she died it was one of a couple of things that I asked for.

It was a few years later that I happened to notice the very same ceramic hen sitting on the dinning room sideboard in Andy Taylor’s home on The Andy Griffith Show. Looking though several episodes I see that it is indeed in many episodes. My childhood was very much like growing up in Spring City, TN was very much like growing up in Mayberry. Each time I look at Mamaw’s ceramic hen I am reminded of her and those wonderful years growing up in Spring City.

Do you have any family heirlooms or nostalgic items that you display in your kitchen? I would love to hear your story, just leave it in the comments.