No, most of you haven't met her. She died in June of 1995. This is a picture of my Grandma Betty, when she was just 16 years old.
Jennie Elizabeth Hale was born on April 2, 1917 in New Jersey. Her early years were hard. Her mother died shortly after her birth, so she never knew her birth mother. Her dad died, holding her hand, when she was only 8 years old. She was raised by her step-mother and eventually moved to Arizona. In 1942, she married Joseph James Givens. They moved to Fresno when my Dad was in elementary school.
Gram did NOT EVER go by "Jennie." She hated that name. She was called Betty to those who knew her, and Grandma Betty by many. She was a school teacher for a good portion of her life, and she was a Mom to my Dad.
Grandma Betty was NEVER idle. She was serving my Grandpa Jim or my Dad, cooking, watching a sports game, knitting, crocheting, or reading. She also wrote letters--remember those? Anyone who served a mission got regular letters (and care packages) from my Gram.
Knitting and Crocheting were just what she did ALL the time--waiting at the doctor's office, watching TV, visiting friends, on vacation--it was like the knitting needles were an extension of her hands. She said that she did it to prevent the arthritis from becoming too bad. I have NO idea how many pair of booties she made for the new moms in her ward at Church. She did that for YEARS. And her booties were better than any you could buy--they didn't fall off. She made many outfits and sweaters for me (and my siblings) over the years. As Gram's undisputed favorite, I had to really watch it when she'd ask me what I thought about something, because if I liked it, she'd make it for me--taught me to be honest!
This is Hannah wearing some of the dresses Grandma Betty knit for ME--antiques now!
Gram's cooking was amazing. When I think about my many nights spent at Grandma's house, there were 2 standard things I'd request--fried chicken (from scratch) for dinner--with mashed potatoes and milk gravy and homemade rolls..... YUMMY! And fried eggs, bacon, and homemade bread toast in the morning. She had a special "recipe" of cinnamon/sugar for the toast--it included a bit of powdered sugar. But NOBODY could make bread or rolls like Gram. One of my cousins (maybe it was my Aunt) ate an obscene number of rolls one year at Christmas or Thanksgiving. They were THAT good; you couldn't help yourself. I once realized that she wasn't going to live forever and asked Gram to show me how to make her bread. She didn't use a recipe. It was a few cupfuls of flour and some other stuff--all pretty much eyeballed. I tried, but I could never reproduce a product even remotely like Gram's. Maybe mine didn't have as much LOVE in them.
My grandparents TRAVELED too. The would leave around Mother's Day and be gone until Labor Day. They loved to fish, and many of their vacations revolved around fishing. It's kind of funny to watch some of the old movies, because the locations changed, but not much else did. They went to every state in the U.S. and province in Canada, except Hawaii. My grandparents couldn't agree on how to get there. Gram got seasick, and Grampa swore he'd only fly if it was in a box. He won. Gram took me to Hawaii right after I graduated from High School. She fulfilled her promise to my Grampa by getting there. We were quite a pair! She needed hip replacement surgery and I was recovering from Mono, so we had a rather "quiet" time in Hawaii--but we sure enjoyed the scenery! She was from Arizona, and watching her on the Pearl Harbor Memorial was an especially sober experience--so many names she knew.
Gram instilled a love of the beach in me. My grandparents frequently took me to Morro Bay as a young girl. Sometimes we'd stay in a motel, and other times we'd stay in a rented house. EVERY summer I'd go with Gram to the coast for a few days. I can't tell you how many hours she sat in the car--knitting, of course, while I sat on "my rocks" behind Morro Rock just watching the waves pounding. That is my place of Heaven on Earth, and she very patiently waited for me to enjoy it.
My Gram was one of the kindest, most giving people I have known. She wasn't a saint, but she was very generous. She was faithful in her Church service. She lived to make others happy and took great joy in doing that. Gram liked her comforts--a good book, chocolate candy, a bowl of ice cream, and ANY sports game to watch (especially baseball). She was a busy granny, and was out and about and fiercely independent until she died. I had the pleasure of living with my sister in her home after Gram died, and Aimee and I often commented on how we "felt" Gram close. She would have been 91 today. She is missed. But we know that she is in a MUCH better place, reunited with her loved ones. We know that she's with her parents and my Grampa, and that she's no longer in pain. She's watching out for us too.
Happy Birthday, Grandma Betty!
Jennie Elizabeth Hale was born on April 2, 1917 in New Jersey. Her early years were hard. Her mother died shortly after her birth, so she never knew her birth mother. Her dad died, holding her hand, when she was only 8 years old. She was raised by her step-mother and eventually moved to Arizona. In 1942, she married Joseph James Givens. They moved to Fresno when my Dad was in elementary school.Gram did NOT EVER go by "Jennie." She hated that name. She was called Betty to those who knew her, and Grandma Betty by many. She was a school teacher for a good portion of her life, and she was a Mom to my Dad.
Grandma Betty was NEVER idle. She was serving my Grandpa Jim or my Dad, cooking, watching a sports game, knitting, crocheting, or reading. She also wrote letters--remember those? Anyone who served a mission got regular letters (and care packages) from my Gram.
Knitting and Crocheting were just what she did ALL the time--waiting at the doctor's office, watching TV, visiting friends, on vacation--it was like the knitting needles were an extension of her hands. She said that she did it to prevent the arthritis from becoming too bad. I have NO idea how many pair of booties she made for the new moms in her ward at Church. She did that for YEARS. And her booties were better than any you could buy--they didn't fall off. She made many outfits and sweaters for me (and my siblings) over the years. As Gram's undisputed favorite, I had to really watch it when she'd ask me what I thought about something, because if I liked it, she'd make it for me--taught me to be honest!
This is Hannah wearing some of the dresses Grandma Betty knit for ME--antiques now!
Gram's cooking was amazing. When I think about my many nights spent at Grandma's house, there were 2 standard things I'd request--fried chicken (from scratch) for dinner--with mashed potatoes and milk gravy and homemade rolls..... YUMMY! And fried eggs, bacon, and homemade bread toast in the morning. She had a special "recipe" of cinnamon/sugar for the toast--it included a bit of powdered sugar. But NOBODY could make bread or rolls like Gram. One of my cousins (maybe it was my Aunt) ate an obscene number of rolls one year at Christmas or Thanksgiving. They were THAT good; you couldn't help yourself. I once realized that she wasn't going to live forever and asked Gram to show me how to make her bread. She didn't use a recipe. It was a few cupfuls of flour and some other stuff--all pretty much eyeballed. I tried, but I could never reproduce a product even remotely like Gram's. Maybe mine didn't have as much LOVE in them.
My grandparents TRAVELED too. The would leave around Mother's Day and be gone until Labor Day. They loved to fish, and many of their vacations revolved around fishing. It's kind of funny to watch some of the old movies, because the locations changed, but not much else did. They went to every state in the U.S. and province in Canada, except Hawaii. My grandparents couldn't agree on how to get there. Gram got seasick, and Grampa swore he'd only fly if it was in a box. He won. Gram took me to Hawaii right after I graduated from High School. She fulfilled her promise to my Grampa by getting there. We were quite a pair! She needed hip replacement surgery and I was recovering from Mono, so we had a rather "quiet" time in Hawaii--but we sure enjoyed the scenery! She was from Arizona, and watching her on the Pearl Harbor Memorial was an especially sober experience--so many names she knew.
Gram instilled a love of the beach in me. My grandparents frequently took me to Morro Bay as a young girl. Sometimes we'd stay in a motel, and other times we'd stay in a rented house. EVERY summer I'd go with Gram to the coast for a few days. I can't tell you how many hours she sat in the car--knitting, of course, while I sat on "my rocks" behind Morro Rock just watching the waves pounding. That is my place of Heaven on Earth, and she very patiently waited for me to enjoy it.
My Gram was one of the kindest, most giving people I have known. She wasn't a saint, but she was very generous. She was faithful in her Church service. She lived to make others happy and took great joy in doing that. Gram liked her comforts--a good book, chocolate candy, a bowl of ice cream, and ANY sports game to watch (especially baseball). She was a busy granny, and was out and about and fiercely independent until she died. I had the pleasure of living with my sister in her home after Gram died, and Aimee and I often commented on how we "felt" Gram close. She would have been 91 today. She is missed. But we know that she is in a MUCH better place, reunited with her loved ones. We know that she's with her parents and my Grampa, and that she's no longer in pain. She's watching out for us too.Happy Birthday, Grandma Betty!
6 comments:
What a sweet tribute! Your gram sounds like my kind of lady.
Maree, that was a FABULOUS tribute to Grama Betty. It reminded me of how generous she was to others, and I realllllly do miss her rolls, her tamale pie, and her booties!!! This blog really made me cry!!
Mama Babs
I can't agree with you on the tamale pie part...not all that great, but the rolls were great. I am working on the recipe too. Maree.....you get the blue ribbon. What a nice thing to do to remember Grama Betty. I remember the time she tried to blow her head off by sticking it in a gas oven and then lighting a match.
That was such a nice way to tribute grandma. I know I think about her a lot. I hope to go fishing everywhere with my hubby too. I remember candy hidden everywhere at grams house, never a shortage of chocolate.
I love that you remember all these things and have so many memories with her. What a nice post!
This was AWESOME! Can't wait to show my kids in the am. Thanks for reminding me of some of those fun things...the tamale pie WAS good! I was never a fan of the fried chicken (I don't like much of anything fried!)...BUT THE ROLLS! Oh, those little bites of carb bliss! I do miss the rolls! Thanks again. Will there be another one May 21st? :-)
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