Sunday, December 5, 2010
Christmas Time
My mom would do old fashion pull candy. She would dedicate one evening to us kids in the Nuckols family to pull our candy and put it in cans to take home. It was fun and usually made blisters on our hands but it was so yummy. Everyone loved her candy. She always made bourbon balls , peanut butter logs and pull candy.
The big spectacular thing she did every year was her OPEN HOUSE. She had the best of everything gotten out for this occasion. Our sweet Agnes, the maid, would polish all the silver, platters, bowls, julep cups. All the good china was brought out and every room was decorated with pine, magnolia, bright red ribbons, holly and candles. Over the middle of every door was a huge ball of mistletoe. Every room in the house was lit with candles. The tree was to the ceiling and the lights were always assorted reds, greens, blues and yellow. Our ornaments were beautiful and most were collected over the years and handed down through the years. Daddy and I would play a game on who could throw the tensil highest on the tree, of course he always won. What made it the coziest was the two fireplaces with bright embers burning.
The house was always full of lots of people. Family, friends, old and young friends of friends etc. The food was delicious, turkey old ham and beatin biscuits, shrimp, stone crab, cranberries--- homemade yeast rolls and a delicious jam cake. Of course someone always sent us a fruit cake(ugh). Never liked fruit cake, oh well.
Mom and dad had one friend that always made me laugh. His name was Doc Bond. He always brought me a paper bag of silly presents. BUT in the bottom of the bag was always a really nice gift. It was always the fun part of my Christmas Eve. He would wrap up half of an onion, a bottle opener, an orange always a bag of peanuts and some bananas silly stuff like that then a nice pair of ear rings or a bracelet or a watch or a ring. Always fun to have around on Christmas.
My Aunt would play Christmas Carols and songs on the piano and we kids would all sing. Usually everyone left around 11 because everyone would go to midnite service at church. Ones with real little ones would go home and wait for Santa. Church was one of my favorites--incense, candles and the choir plus the celebration of the coming or Our Lord. Love Christmas Mom always made it very special and was Our favorite time of the year. Love you MOM and miss you always.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Other Grandparents!!!
My moms parents, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Miles McKinlay, Mina and Paw. They were my very own grandparents and I had them to myself for 10 yrs. It was great. I loved visiting them.
Mina always had spice gumdrops in the sitting room. She always had a delicious dinner served every evening at the big dining room table. Nice china and silver and her crystal was always sparkling.
She was from Paris, Kentucky. Daughter of a well known tobacco farmer by the name of Hume Taylor Ferguson. He owned a large farm on the Paris-Georgetown pike. It was a grand home and I was always at awww of it when we would go there at Christmas. She had 6 brothers and sisters. Pop Paw Ferguson was a dear man and very hard working. He had one nasty habit, chewing tobacco. LOL and a spitune by every chair that was his favorite.
Anyway, my Paw was a gentleman and a very respected Dr. in Lexington, Kentucky. He was the head of Pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital, was the cheif Dr. at the Cardinal Hill Hospital for Children and was Head Pediatrician at the Shriners Hospital in Lexington. So needless to say he was a busy man and had his own practice.
My Paw was a sweet kind man and loved children. He dedicated his life to caring for the health of all children. Took his hypocratic oath very seriously and did serve his patients. He never turned down a child that needed shots or care. He would venture out in the middle of the nite to care for one that needed him. I was very lucky to have him care for me my entire younger life--and also my children when they were little ones. He was a blessing and I loved him dearly.
He was born in New York City and moved at a young age to Tenafly, New Jersey. He went to University of Penn. Cant remember where he went to med. school but it was a brilliant school.
I have the information somewhere but will have to look. He served as a Medic in WWI, did his residency in NYC at Roosevelt hospital. He met my grandmother at a dance for afluent young ladies that were eligible and also was a military dance for the young service men that were officers to meet young ladies. Anyway, they met and married and moved to NYC after the war was over and Paw could continue and finish his residency. That is where my mom was born.
When she was 6 mos. old they moved and Paw opened his practice in Lexington, Kentucky.
Anyway, visiting them was always nice. Usually after supper Paw and I would take a walk and go to the old Ball Ice Cream Co. on North Broadway in Lexington. He would always buy me a double decker Ice Cream Cone. It was the best Ice Cream in the world. I wasnt suppose to have but one dip but he always got me two and made me eat one before we got back to the house.
They lived in the cul de sac of Fayette Park off of North Broadway. It was a grand old home.
And had plenty of room for me to ride my tricycle and later a bike. There were lots of evenings that Paw would let me play his eukalale. It was fun and loved to hear him strum it and sing little old songs he knew.
My sweet Mina was the one that taught me to say the Lords Prayer. She and I would kneel beside her bed and say it together. Then I would ask her to rock me in the huge old rocking chair she had in her room and sing to me. Then I would go to bed. I got to sleep in the other twin bed in her room. I loved it the sounds of the city. Put me to sleep immediately.
Well enough for tonite getting sleepy and need to get some rest. Miss you Mina and Paw.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Dress Up Days
My mom and Aunts used to go to lunch at Nana's quite often. We 3 girls would go upstairs and be nosey. We always were leary of the attic. Making up stories of the boogy man and ghosts in the attic we always shy ed away from going up there.
One day we decided that we would be adventurous and be brave and scout out the attic.
It was amazing in what we found. A little girls dream for dressing up. It was unbelieveable!!
We found beautiful old fashion dresses, shoes, huge wide brimmed hats, gloves and a box of old dolls. We all 3 thought we had hit the mother load.
The dresses were of tafita and lace. One was a lavender dress with a gorgeous shash and covered in lace. It had matching gloves and shoes and a huge wide brimmed hat with flowers and grogain ribbons flowing off of it. The other was a pale pink and had beads and lace covering the bodice and lace covering the tafita. Long sleeves of lace with little beads for buttons.
Huge full crinalines and two gorgeous ball gowns that went with them.
There were some pantaloons and one gown with a hoop skirt.
The box of dolls were different. They were all very old and had handpainted faces. They were very different. The clothes were all handmade. We found out that Nana's aunt and grandma loved making doll clothes. They made all of Nana's doll clothes. The were very unique.
Well after finding all these new things to play with we would put on style shoes for the ladies.
Nana would find some music on the radio and we would strut our stuff and twirl around.
They would snicker at us and clap and we would all giggle.
With putting on heels that were too big we would topple over every once in a while. We would all laugh and keep on styling.
Nana was very giving and would let us play with the dresses and other things as long as we put them back in the trunk the way we found them. What fond memories those are. We had found new treasures at Nana's and had a blast.
What a great lady she was!!! God Bless Nana!!!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Mom and Dad used to go to lots of football, basketball, cocktail parties, sales, races and out to dinner with horse clients all the time. Many times we would stay with Nana Nuckols. She would usually take us when our nanny's were busy or couldn't come to stay with us.
Judy, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Louise's oldest daughter, and I would stay at Nana's sometimes Hetty also one of Charlie and Louise's. We used to have fun.
Nana always cooked with us in the kitchen. Dad had an asparagus patch in the back of the house. It was about an acre of asparagus. UMMMM Good I say today, but hated them when I was younger. Nana and Dad would steam them and we each had 6 beautiful asparagus. They were funny cause they would put drawn butter in a tall skinny glass and let us dip the asparagus in the glass and chew from the floral end till the stalk got tough. They were bound and determined that we were going to love asparagus and today it along with artichokes are my favorite vegetable.
Nana would also get us all to make her great oatmeal, pecan and raisin cookies. MMMM they were great. She had a recipe that made 72 of them. We had a blast. She used bacon drippings instead of lard or butter. They were the best cookies I have ever tasted don't like other oatmeal cookies. Still can taste the flavor of her cookies. None can compare. Of course we look like we had a flour fight after the making of the cookies. We had to clean the dishes too and kitchen afterwards. The cookies were the reward for cleaning up our mess. She also gave us a glass of milk--ice cold--. It was good and we all had a blast.
We would play games Simon Says, Rock School and hop scotch weather permitting. We would play Simon Says and Rock School on Nanas steps going upstairs. It was fun. The winners always got a piece of butterscotch candy.
Nana was also an avid Canasta player. She taught all of us how to play Canasta. She also played a mean rubber of Bridge too. She always told us it was to complicated for her to teach us that, so we always played Canasta. She would set up the card table and cards and make us lemonade and pop us some corn. We would play on her side screened in porch. It was fun and we liked it.
Sometimes she would read her magazine at nite. Judy, Hetty and I would make up a play or a dance and perform it for her. She always got a big kick out of that. Nana knew how to entertain us and keep us busy. She was a dear sweet woman and we loved her.
I had 7 cousins and at the age of 10 had a baby brother. That was a big adjustment. All my 10 yrs of life I was daddys little girl but yet his buddy. Then all of a sudden we had Hi. I wouldnt say I was totally put on the back burner, but I was not the shining star of my mom and dad anymore which really made me very envious of Hi. I know those feelings shouldnt be there and that I had their adorn attention for 10 years uninterrupted. But when it comes to a hault all of a sudden at that age you are totally confused.
Also the confusion was also brought about by mom getting very sick. It was a time then that I didnt understand. Was just told it was incurable and that she would get weaker as time went on and not to upset her. Well at age 10 lots of things and questions are in a little girl and young ladies mind. All little lady questions about body changing and boys and just girl questions that come between moms and little girls. This was hard and my dad was not the kind of man that answered little girl questions very well. I finally got told my mom had Multiple Sclerosis which they still havent found a cure for yet. It was the deteriation of the nervous system which you lose control of muscle all muscle eventually. There were not any medications back then at all.
No known causes as of today. Speculations on what caused it. It isnt hereditary and is thought to be a virus. I was kinda lost my mom and I grew very close and she was such an active person during my first decade of life. She kept up for as long as she could. Little Hi became more of my son when I grew older and I felt very tied down. Having to take him to school, birthday parties, to the club for golf lessons, etc. I thought the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I was not a real happy person for a few years after that. I rebelled and the Lord knows was a selfish person to do that to both my parents and my extended family and most of all Hi, BUT I did.
My parents went through lots of turmoil and struggles with the disease. I guess it ruined their marriage. They both were unable to heal it. My dad drank and ran around and my mom just got sicker. It ended after 27 yrs of marriage in divorce. He sold his share of the farm and remarried and moved to Florida. Dad did take care of mom, as I did and grandpa did too. We finally were transfered to Texas then NC and at the age of 57 in 1980 my sweet mom passed away. I felt so quilty about moving away and not being closer during the last couple years of her life. I dont think my dad ever forgave himself for being so selfish and being a coward not to face the music with mom. He always still deep in his heart at his death, bed confessed that he always loved mom and never stopped he just couldnt find a cure for her. He also said he was so stupid to leave the farm and to persue a life other then the farm. He missed his brothers and the closeness and stability they gave one another. Also selling out our inheritance he was so sorry. I could have cared less. And forgave him. If he could only do things over. It was so sad. He passed of cancer in 1990 almost 10 yrs to the day of moms passing.
Mom is buried in THE LEXINGTON CEMETARY in the Nuckols plot in Lexington, Kentucky and Dad is buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens beside his wife Patty just outside Melbourne, Florida.
I miss them everyday. Both in different ways but both lovingly. They tried to make the best out of a horrible situation. The memories I have of both are cute and fun and some sad but most of all my childhood was fairly happy. Its amazing how tragedies can change and sometime destroy a family. It takes lots of courage, love and patience to make families work and lots of forgiveness. I tell you this from experience because I have lived it. But we live through it and smile at the great moments and learn from the bad ones. OK enough of the morbid stuff tomorrow more fun stuff. Love my family--- they all mean the world to me. My brother Hi will never know I guess how proud and how much I love him. Its a shame we dont communicate anymore then we do but we dont. He is my only beginning family that I have left.
My sweet family give me the reason to keep on going. I love them all. I have a special moments in my heart for each of them. Its my love for them that makes me happy!!!
See you tomorrow with more!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A, B, and C A grade was for cigar, B was for chew and C was ground and processed for pipe. It was a great part of the season for us cause we mostly had grade A and got usually top dollar for our crop. We were allotted a large acreage from the government to raise.
My granddad had a contract with the government to raise hemp during the war. We raised lots of it from what I was told. It was raised and harvested to make rope for the warships and other things they needed. Until I left the farm we still had government inspectors come and check to make sure the hemp crops had been destroyed and none had been growing wild. Hemp seeds blow and start growing anywhere they land. So we burned lots of small little patches that would pop up here and there. Thats one of the downfalls of doing a contract with the government. LOL They always pop up unannounced.
Granddad was a stern old guy. You could never put anything over on him. We had L&N railroad that ran through our farm. In some ways it was good in some it was bad. We could buy cattle and have them delivered right to the farm. We had a cattle shute where we could recieve cattle right off the train. That was fun too, watching them flow off the cattle car right into the field.
But the railroad workers tend to make my granddad a little angry. We had huge stone walls that ran along the railroad at crossings on the farm. The workers (which were predominantly black at that time) would sit and eat their lunches or take their breaks on the stone fences. This angered my granddad being of that generation he said they looked like big black crows sitting on his walls. So he asked the railroad to advise the workers not to sit on the walls. They continued, so as soon as they were finished he had the work hands on our farm cement pointed stones on top of the walls. They never sat on them again.
I to this day can remember those guys swinging hemp hooks and maintaining the railroads.
During the times in late summer or fall the sparks of the trains would set the weeds along the railroad on fire. That was scarey. The horses would run and the fires would spread. Of course we didnt have hydrants that far out from town so thank goodness for the spring below the house. It saved many an acre during my childhood. Of course this was another way that my grandfather would get even. He would bill the railroad for the man power used and the damage and the fresh spring water he used from the spring. LOL He was a bugger!! And believe it or not the railroad always paid him.
Mom and dad, when they first moved into our little house didnt have indoor plumbing. Guess how they got it??? Yepper the railroad made it possible with the charges granddad got from the billing of damage. LOL Mom got indoor plumbing and she was elated back then. LOL I was 2 yrs old when this happened. Thanks granddad for giving me a real potty to potty train in. LOL
OK thats all for today. Hopefully I can get in another tonite or tomorrow.
Let it be known that my granddad always took a negative and turned it into a positive for the family.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Reaping what ya sow was a fun time but lots of work. We would spend hours snapping beans, popping peas and butter beans, shucking corn (leaving some on the cob and cutting lots off) washing leaf lettuce, cutting beets, canning tomatoes and peppers. So we stayed busy all summer. Dad and his brothers would take a two beefs to market and we would split them among the families.
We kids played together and always had something going on. It was a great time to be a child--we would make clover chains, fly junebugs on the end of a piece of thread, jump in the leaves make forts and ride the horses that were bought for us to ride. On Sundays we all gathered at Nana and Dads for Sunday dinner. We were introduced to many delicious recipes that came from Nanas kitchen. First time I had Vicychoise and Oyster stew was at my Nana's. I learned that there were manners and what utensils to use. That a napkin always was the first thing you touched when you sat down and you didnt sit down till the head of the table sat first. Blessings were always said and DAD always was the one to say them. As we grew a little older DAD would let us take a turn and it was a priviledge when he chose you to say blessing. As the family grew so did the tables at Nana's. She had two 10 seat tables. The main dining and then the children were set up right beside the main dining table. We were never to far away. Yep manners and etiquette and trying new dishes that we might be exposed to at other homes that we might visit were always put in front of us and taught. Nana was the best teacher with all her southern charm and ways of entertaining. She was a wonderful woman. Dont ever under estimate the knowledge of a grandmother. She was a wonderful teacher and example to learn from as a young person.
One time she had all of us spend the nite. We were to learn how to eat spaghetti if visiting or at an event. It was hilarious. She showed us what happened when you took a strand of spaget and sucked it the sauce flying everywhere on us on her glasses and was a mess. Then she taught us to cut the spaget and to take our fork and slide it under the strands sideways. It worked!!! Of course we still loved to get her with the sucking and she took it all in stride. She laughed then got down to business.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mom and dad brought me home to the farm in Midway, Kentucky about a week later. It was a modest house and sat on a hill with a spring house at the bottom of the hill with an underground spring. We had an old dog by the name of Brandy. He was so spoiled and owned the old wicker chair in the front foyer. I was named after my great Aunt Helen McKinlay. She was my grandfathers spinster sister. So my Christian given name is Helen McKinlay Nuckols.
Our house was a darling house and had been added onto. It used to be a log house and was updated in the late 30's. I had a cozy little bedroom down the hall from my parents. The bath and a closet separated the bedrooms. So I figured out if I yelled loud and long enough Mom would hear me and I would get to snuggle with both of them early in the mornings.
The first funny thing that mom bought me was a two faced doll. One side cried and one side smiled. I got to where I would mimick the faces when mom would turn them. If it was on the crying face I would bawl, if it was on the smiling face I would giggle out loud. I was the talk of moms luncheons and cocktail parties. Built in entertainment. LOL
Now how special was that!!!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
In the Beginning...
Spring House at Home
How it all began I really dont know. My mom and dad were of different walks of life. My mom was of the big city of Lexington and daughter of a fairly well known Pediatrician. My dad was of a well known horse breeder in Woodford County Kentucky. I guess what would we do without friends.
What I know of my grandparents are really disappointing seeing how now that Im getting older I really feel I didnt know them all that well. Its amazing that when we are young and thinking of other things that we dont take that much of an interest of where we came from and what our Great and grand parents did with their lives.
I know that my Mothers father was born in New York City, Charles Miles McKinlay and was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was a great swimmer and went to University of Penn. He won a collegiant swimming medal in 1909. He went to Columbia University and became a doctor and specialized in Pediatrics. He served in WW I as a Medic and met my grandmother. My grandmother was born to Gay and Volney Ferguson, they named her Martha Ferguson. Great Pop was a well known tobacco farmer from Paris, Kentucky, Bourbon Co. He loved the land. She was one of seven children. All the boys helped on the farm and grandmother was primed for suitable suitors. I guess that was my grandfather cause they were married and moved to New York City so he could finish his residency. He did his residency at what was known then as Roosevelt Hospital.
On May 28, 1923 my mom was born they named her Martha Ferguson McKinlay. I know that my grandmother(we called her Mina) had a very difficult time concieving and had to spend most of her pregnancy in bed. It was so difficult for her being away from home and family. She missed the closeness of her family and the wide open spaces of Kentucky.
When mom was 6 months old she got to leave the Big Apple (lol) and go spend her life in Lexington, Kentucky as the daughter of a Doctors.
I do know that the my father was the son of Charles Nuckols, Sr. He was a stern man, very old fashioned in his thinking in todays times and was a well known horse breeder and tobacco farmer in the small town of Midway, Kentucky, Woodford County. As in the Thoroughbred circle he was very well known and admired. He was a man not to cross and always had an angle to turn things to his benefit. More about him later. We called him DAD and he under all that stiff stuff a sweet, lovable man. He was so admired by me.
My sweet Nana, Hetty Rogers, was from Shreveport, La. I dont know how my grandparents met. I never asked, those are things that you wish you had asked when you were younger and had the chance. I am going to do some snooping and find out though. LOL She was of a very good family and loved her church and also loved family. She was a strong woman and expected nothing but respect from her children. A kiss and big hug and an ILOVE YOU NANA melted her like butter when it came to her grandkids.
My father was born on June 20, 1924. He was named Hiram Rogers Nuckols. He was the 3rd child born out of 5 children. There was a daughter that was stillborn or passed away as a very young infant. He and his brothers were brought up to carry on the Nuckols traditions of horsemanship and tobacco raising. Of which they did after my grandfathers death.
Mom and Dad were married in November of 1944. They were married during WWII and so tokens were given out for gas. Their honeymoon consisted of a swift drive to Cinncinnatti, Ohio. They spent a long week- end and then mom and dad came back to settle on the farm in Midway.
Well this is the start of the beginning of my oh so full life.
The picture is of the springhouse below our house on the farm. We had many a funtime there. It has changed so. But is still beautiful to me.