Thursday, February 19, 2004
AUNT SALLY
Coral Jean Stricklett was the fifth child of grandma and grandpa. She was born on January 1st 1922. Her nick-name was Sally and she was only ten years older than me. When I stayed at grandma’s it was fun to tag along after her to see what was going on. The year I went to school in Blair we walked back and forth together. I was five and she was 15. I remember she was in the pep club and wore a white sweater with a purple pepper on it. Of course they were called the Purple Peppers. To this day I don’t know why, I never thought to ask.
She was the first one of the six children to be born in the home at Blair. She was only three years old when my mother married and it was hard for her to understand why mom would not be coming back home. Aunt Mary and aunt Inabelle became the ones to fill that place for her.
She was outgoing and pretty. She had light blue eyes and blonde hair; taller than her sisters and slender. She was always fun because she was closer to my age than the other aunts. I liked to sit on the bed and watch her put on her make-up when she was getting ready for a date. I day-dreamed about growing up and dating like aunt Sally.
When she graduated high school grandma had saved enough money to send her to Midland College. She met a man at church that captured her heart and after her graduation from college, they were married. My mother was an excellent baker and Sally wanted her to make her wedding cake. I shall never forget the pressure my mom was under. I have written of her generic kitchen and the old gas stove. Mom rolled her sleeves up and went to work the day before. She baked all of the cakes that she would put together the next day with icing.
In those days boiled icing was all the rage and that’s what mom wanted to make. I can see her yet standing over the pan of icing with a rotary egg beater trying to get it to the right spreading consistency. The cake was large with several layers and after one batch of icing was put on she would return to the stove, stirring and cooking, then beating for the next application. I don’t remember how many batches of icing she made but it was a sticky day and mom was worried the whole time that the icing would slide off the cake.
Once she labored through the cake and icing she began to decorate. With her small decorator tube she put flowers and leaves in a beautiful pattern all over the cake. It was white on white….the icing and decorations were all white. When mom finished she was worn out. The cake was a work of art. That left the job of transporting it to Blair where the wedding was to take place. Blair was twenty-five miles north of Omaha so the cake would have to endure the trip to arrive safely.
That was where dad came in. He was always the “go to” guy when there was a problem. He rigged up a box container in the trunk of the car that would hold the cake in place, then carried the cake to the box. He carried the delicate treasure to the car and got it safely in. Mom suffered through every bump in the road expecting the worst when we arrived at the church that afternoon. When they opened the trunk, everything was in place and I noticed dad breathed a little easy as well. He carried it into the church basement and placed it on the table. That being done they both began to relax. Mom said she would never make another wedding cake but years later she was to make one for her granddaughter, Becky.
Uncle Rod had polio in his young life and he wore heavy metal braces on his legs and used crutches to walk. We always admired him because he made it such a non-event. He didn’t ask for favors and was very independent in his handicap. Over the years they had six children. Coral Jean, Janet, Bruce, Joyce, Marsha and Mark. They had the same sex and numbers in order that grandma and grandpa had. Two girls and a boy, two girls and a boy. Their home was always lively and yes………cluttered.
Uncle Rod died February 11, 1980. Aunt Sally remained alone and in their large home at Hastings, Nebraska until September last year. She had suffered some health problems and moved to Omaha to live in an extended care apartment. Her daughter, Joyce, lives nearby and sees that her needs are taken care of. Aunt Sally is eighty-two now and enjoys the social atmosphere of her surroundings along with her stamp collection she continues to work on. She is the last surviving sibling of my mother’s…………………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
She was the first one of the six children to be born in the home at Blair. She was only three years old when my mother married and it was hard for her to understand why mom would not be coming back home. Aunt Mary and aunt Inabelle became the ones to fill that place for her.
She was outgoing and pretty. She had light blue eyes and blonde hair; taller than her sisters and slender. She was always fun because she was closer to my age than the other aunts. I liked to sit on the bed and watch her put on her make-up when she was getting ready for a date. I day-dreamed about growing up and dating like aunt Sally.
When she graduated high school grandma had saved enough money to send her to Midland College. She met a man at church that captured her heart and after her graduation from college, they were married. My mother was an excellent baker and Sally wanted her to make her wedding cake. I shall never forget the pressure my mom was under. I have written of her generic kitchen and the old gas stove. Mom rolled her sleeves up and went to work the day before. She baked all of the cakes that she would put together the next day with icing.
In those days boiled icing was all the rage and that’s what mom wanted to make. I can see her yet standing over the pan of icing with a rotary egg beater trying to get it to the right spreading consistency. The cake was large with several layers and after one batch of icing was put on she would return to the stove, stirring and cooking, then beating for the next application. I don’t remember how many batches of icing she made but it was a sticky day and mom was worried the whole time that the icing would slide off the cake.
Once she labored through the cake and icing she began to decorate. With her small decorator tube she put flowers and leaves in a beautiful pattern all over the cake. It was white on white….the icing and decorations were all white. When mom finished she was worn out. The cake was a work of art. That left the job of transporting it to Blair where the wedding was to take place. Blair was twenty-five miles north of Omaha so the cake would have to endure the trip to arrive safely.
That was where dad came in. He was always the “go to” guy when there was a problem. He rigged up a box container in the trunk of the car that would hold the cake in place, then carried the cake to the box. He carried the delicate treasure to the car and got it safely in. Mom suffered through every bump in the road expecting the worst when we arrived at the church that afternoon. When they opened the trunk, everything was in place and I noticed dad breathed a little easy as well. He carried it into the church basement and placed it on the table. That being done they both began to relax. Mom said she would never make another wedding cake but years later she was to make one for her granddaughter, Becky.
Uncle Rod had polio in his young life and he wore heavy metal braces on his legs and used crutches to walk. We always admired him because he made it such a non-event. He didn’t ask for favors and was very independent in his handicap. Over the years they had six children. Coral Jean, Janet, Bruce, Joyce, Marsha and Mark. They had the same sex and numbers in order that grandma and grandpa had. Two girls and a boy, two girls and a boy. Their home was always lively and yes………cluttered.
Uncle Rod died February 11, 1980. Aunt Sally remained alone and in their large home at Hastings, Nebraska until September last year. She had suffered some health problems and moved to Omaha to live in an extended care apartment. Her daughter, Joyce, lives nearby and sees that her needs are taken care of. Aunt Sally is eighty-two now and enjoys the social atmosphere of her surroundings along with her stamp collection she continues to work on. She is the last surviving sibling of my mother’s…………………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
