I hardly have any memories of Grandma Jessie. She passed on when I was just 5 so we didn’t have a great deal of time together so that I could have a lot of memories. This is an old picture of Grandpa and Grandma Peterman
I do remember staying with her and Grandpa a few times when my parents were off “square-dancing”. Mom and Dad used to do that every Saturday Night during the 50’s. I would have to assume I stayed there a lot more than a few times because there place was only a mile away our farm. I remember Mom and Dad would drop us off at Grandma’s and we would get to do things there, until Grandma decided that it was bed time and I would get a bed made on the couch and my little brother had a crib. Usually when that happened Grandma was going to bed but Grandpa was still watching TV. The couch was a fine place because I could watch Grandpa. I couldn’t hardly see the TV as he was between me and the TV but I could she him getting involved with the action. I remember Grandma would tell him to turn it down so we could sleep and he would and then scoot a bit closer so he could still hear it. After Grandma would go off to bed I could sneak out and go set with Grandpa but he would say I had to be quiet so “we” didn’t get in trouble with Grandma.
Grandma Jessie had a big tall curio or “knickknack” cabinet in the corner of the “front room”. In that, I remember there were a lot of really neat looking things I wanted to play with but she had it locked up so I couldn’t get to them and break them. I don’t remember what all was in there but just remember they really were fine things and I really wanted to get them out but that was not any part of our deal. I remember that when we stayed there on a Saturday night, Grandpa would be in the “front–front” room watching TV. He would always have on things like Lawrence Welk, Milton Berle, or some of the westerns of the time. His most favorite show had to be the Saturday night fights. I don’t remember much about them but suspect that they were all Phony put on stuff. No matter he got real interested in them and would talk to the TV and tell them what he thought. Grandma would sometimes watch a little but she mostly would be in the “Front-room” sewing on needle point stuff or back in the bedroom working on her sewing machine. She had one of those Singer Treadle machines. That was the most interesting to me. She would even let me pump the peddle some times. She would explain that I need to be “smooth” so she didn’t mess up the sewing. Not too fast and not too slow, and I had to stop when she said. That would be fun for a little while then when she wasn’t in there I would try to treadle that thing as fast as I could. If she caught me, she would get on to me good and that would be the end of my sewing for the night and I would have to go set with Grandpa.
I remember they had two old clocks in that “front–front room” one was a mantle clock that was electric but had chimes. I have that clock now but the motor has quit and they are real hard to find parts for. I hope to get it fixed some day as I grew up with that clock. Mom got it when Grandpa was gone and we had it at our house the whole time I grew up and that thing chimed every 15 minutes and then on the hour it counted out the hours so you could tell what time it was if you woke up… mostly we got so used to it that we ignored it and never knew it wasn’t chiming. The other clock was a glass covered one that had some little gold balls that twisted back and forth. Grandpa had to wind that clock every night (I think). It too was one of those things we were not supposed to touch.
Once, when were there, it must have been fall as Grandma had fresh oranges and they sure were good. She had this neat little tool that she could stick into them and you could suck the juice out, kind of like a straw. I remember her fixing that for me as a treat and it sure was good.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember a lot more about her, although I can see her in my mind but I think some of that may be refreshed by old pictures I have seen of her.