Memory Monday: Memories of My Father-in-Law

My father-in-law and his mother Vera

MEMORIES OF MY FATHER-IN-LAW

Because so much of family history is lost when just one person dies, I wanted to try and save as much as possible of ours. About a year after our son was born in the mid-80s, we bought a camcorder, and I started interviewing family members. (Unfortunately my father and my mother-in-law had passed away by then, so I will never be able to record their personal histories and stories). The first person I interviewed was my father-in-law. In recalling stories, he repeated how his mother one day was out in the field hoeing cotton, when her young beau came by. It was very uncomely for a young lady of that day to be see bare-footed (which she was at the time), so she quickly dug two holes in the ground, stepped into them and covered her feet with dirt. She could then properly greet her young man.

My father-in-law, also, told a story about his father. “One day, Dad and I were sitting at the table while Mom was fixing supper. Dad noticed that the punched-out S and P lids on the salt and pepper shakers had been switched when they had been refilled. So, Dad carefully poured out the salt into one pile on the table and the poured out the pepper into another pile. He then scraped the salt into the container that had held the pepper and then he put the pepper into the other shaker. After replacing the caps on both shakers, he sat back in his chair with a smile of satisfaction on his face for a job well done. I was just a little kid, but as I looked at the salt and pepper shakers and then at my dad, I asked him, “Why didn’t you just change the tops?” Laughing now, my father-in-law said that his dad just sat there looking stunned.

If possible, try and record or write down your memories and stories that you were told growing up. They will make a great bridge from the past generations to the future.