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Monday, January 11, 2010

Go Granny!!

Today my little grandma turns 95.

Yep, Crazy Bama as we lovingly call her. She's a little forgetful, but thankfully hasn't lost her personality. Only her ability to whisper which can be embarrassing on occasion. Like when she is talking about the other residents at her assisted living home.

She spent almost her entire life in Mooresville, N.C. right outside of Charlotte. This is downtown main street in Mooresville the year she was born. Although for some reason, everybody called it "Uptown" not "Downtown." Y'all wanna go uptown and get a CoCola? My sisters and I were like "what the heck is uptown?" After all, we were from the big city of Wilmington.

This is Mooresville today. All bright and shiny.
Bama would be so proud. She hasn't been back since she broke her hip and moved to Wilmington. Most days she thinks she is still in Mooresville, so she is happy. Although she does wonder why her friends don't come to visit more often.

We loved to visit when we were kids. It was like going back in time to Mayberry. All our great aunts and uncles would come by the house to see us and Bama always wanted my sister and me to sing Edelweiss. Have you heard me sing? It is not pretty, but all the old folks loved it. They would howl (I mean hum) along with us.

I thought it would be fun to look back at pictures from the year she was born, 1915. I was so excited to find this picture because Bama loved basketball and even used to play with me and my friends when she came to visit. She wasn't really the pearls and pumps kind of grandmother. More sporty and fun. She taught us how to skip. An important life skill you know.

I love looking at the interior pictures. (Do you think that is a chamber pot under the bed?) The room I stayed in at Bama's had one of those old fabulous chenille spreads. Why, oh why, didn't I keep it when we moved her out? I would love to have it now!! And that Fiesta Ware I let go.


This was labeled as the modern kitchen for 1915. Charming.
My grandmother and great aunt Mammie could whip up the best Sunday dinners ever. Roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, angle biscuits. And for some reason, even though they had biscuits they always passed a plate with a stack of white bread. I never understood that. Is it a Mooresville thing? Did anyone else's grandmother do that?


Kid's room. Some things never change. Like boys and their stuff...


Thankfully some things do change. Like bathing suits.



Living room. Not bad, a little depressing...and stiff.


I like this picture much better. More homey looking. I can remember Bama and Mammie ironing in the kitchen on Sundays before church.


I love this picture because Bama used to always tell us the best stories about Christmas when she was a little girl. This is exactly how I pictured her Christmas morning looking.


OK not the best picture, but we took this over Christmas when Cricket and I and two of the cousins went to visit Bama. (My sister Susan was there too, but she took the photo). Bama would be so mad that I posted her picture and that I told everyone her age. Thankfully she won't remember to be mad.

Happy Birthday Bama!!
We love you!!


pictures from Shorpy

23 comments :

  1. Happy Birthday Bama!! Glad she's doing well! Used to LOVE your Bama stories-always make me laugh. (are those Susan's twins- when did they grow up??)

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  2. Oh, Happy Birthday Bama!! She's a hoot. Love those old pics...

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  3. Bama sounds like a neat lady...you are so lucky to still have her in your life...HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAMA!!! Hope you have a FUN and WARM week!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  4. Happy Birthday Bama! I love the vintage photos in your post. (And I agree with you- thank goodness that bathing suit styles have come a long way since then!)

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  5. Happy Birthday to your grandma...I have a fun giveaway on my blog! xx

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  6. what interesting pictures...they remind me of Pollyanna. happy b-day to your bama!

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  7. since I live in 'bama and am surrounded by a bunch of crazed 'Bama fans (even more, now!) I have to know where that name comes from!

    Also, my family hails from the Wilmington area (I think) ... wonder if we're related :)

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  8. Happy Birthday to your Bama! My husband shares her birthday too. I love all the pics. Wouldn't it be great to hop into a time machine?
    Have a great day.

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  9. how sweet. happy birthday to her! the kitchen was definitely made just for cooking.

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  10. So sweet! Your Bama sounds a lot like my Grandma--she'll be 92 this year! Still going strong, but you never know quite what she'll say. :)

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  11. I was 41, yesterday. Hope to make it to 95! "Uptown" means you are going from the country to town. "Downtown" means you are already in town and going to the central district. Or do I have that backwards?
    -Trish

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  12. What a sweet post! Happy Birthday, Bama!

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  13. How touching! Happy Birthday to Bama!!

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  14. I'm so glad you shared this and I hope she has the happiest of birthdays! Quite a lady ~ :-) The pictures are wonderful. My mother was born in 1914 and passed away in '03...quite an interesting era that they lived in.

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  15. A very happy birthday wish for your spirited grandmother! It is clear that she is quite a lady :).

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  16. Happy birthday Bama!! It's my Grandma's(thema)birthday too! I can't believe they have the same birthday and we never put that together. She is 81...but I have a feeling she's still going to be kickin it at 95. Hope y'all are doing well. PLEASE come visit us soon. You have got to meet Annie!!!

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  17. Ahhh Happy Birthday Bama! I couldn't stop laughing when you said, "Only her ability to whisper which can be embarrassing on occasion." That is so my grandma too {97 years old} Gotta LOVE grandmas! Hope she had a very special Birthday...
    xoxo,
    Alexandra

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  18. I bet our grandmothers knew each other. My grandma (Nana) grew up in Mooresville etc and she is 91. She lives in an assisted living center in Mooresville now.

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  19. So fun to see Mooresville hightlighted on here. I grew up in Mooresville, and I always thought it was a town that not a lot of people knew. What a small world! My parents still live there, and we just celebrated Christmas there.

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  20. So sweet! Have you been to Mooresville lately? NASCAR has REALLY changed that town!

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  21. What a sweet post!! My husband's grandmother turned 87 not too long ago! How the world has changed since then!

    Great post - *LOVE* the bathing suit pics. Makes me feel a little better about myself.

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