PARLANCE PUBLISHING

           MAMA'S WISDOM

           Mama‘s Wisdom is a recollection of memories primarily from rural Mississippi, though it could be based anywhere in the Deep South. It’s a look at the way things were – from syrup-making to bread baking — and it’s sharing a collection of the best of old Southern food, remedies, wisdom and memories. In my family, we were readers, storytellers and memory keepers. Mama said to save your memories by writing, or recording, or they will be laid to rest with the dearly departed.

           Many of the memories came from the quilting ladies at our church, my mother, and my paternal grandmother, who showed by example that women could overcome obstacles and make the best of most situations, if they set their minds to it. They were remarkable women whose coping skills amazed all who knew them. My mother learned to drive at age sixty-five and completed a 400 mile trip two months later. These strong women left a legacy that becomes more significant every day.

           When my grandmother was a young woman back in the early 1900s, she could not have imagined the everyday luxuries we take for granted here in the early 2000s. Punching a button to wash clothes rather than scrubbing them on a scrub-board until knuckles were irritated would have been a dream come true. Buying fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market or green grocer would have been a God-send. Back then, the lady of the house hoped that the garden would yield enough vegetables to preserve and use all year, since she couldn’t run to the supermarket to stock up.

           Though my grandmother was not the right age to be a Flapper, as my mother was, she saw women during that era experiencing a little freedom from convention. They wore their hair in bobs and danced the Charleston. Some were even brazen enough to smoke in public. This freedom was short-lived, for times were forever changing. The only constant is change.

            One traumatic change was the Great Depression when even the necessities were scarce. That’s when most everyone learned to “make do” as a matter of survival. Some were more adapt at making-do, and they learned valuable lessons in the process.

Return to Mama Said        Return to Catalog

This page was updated: 01/31/2008    E-mail the Webmaster with questions or comments about this Web site. 

This site has been visited times