The Making of Miss Edith

Holiday Card, late 1940s

2007-12-21T08:29:00.001-08:00

Holiday Card, late 1940s
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

My grandmother's Christmas Card, from 1946?
Lots of love.

Grandmama kindergarten

2007-08-30T11:58:00.001-07:00

Grandmama kindergarten
Originally uploaded by landrumfam

From the early 1920s, Columbus, GA.

Grandmama Poolside

2007-08-25T10:19:00.001-07:00

grandmamaellen
Originally uploaded by landrumfam

With me, 15 years ago at Grandaddy's 75th birthday celebration.

Cake, and Susan

2007-08-24T10:12:00.001-07:00

Cake, and Susan
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

Susan with Grandmama's silver. I remember her letting me play with a tiny silver tea strainer, and it feeling like the most special thing in the world.

I've started uploading scanned family photographs to a new Flickr account. Check them out- and many, many more to come. I wish it was so easy as going to Phar-Mor with Grandmama to buy more photo albums, but this process will ensure that our kid's kids get to see her at her best.

Scrambled Dog Fourth

2007-07-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

We observed the fourth of July one day early with Scrambled Dogs, friends and fireworks. Our guests, both historians, had done some online research before they came over. (I love academics who know how to eat.) What they found at gwinnettforum.com seems accurate, and I was relieved that they had learned not to insult this sublime mess by calling it a “chili dog”. This article doesn’t mention the original Dinglewood Pharmacy location at the crossing point of Wynnton and Buena Vista Roads, across from the statue of “the lady looking for her clothes” (Granny Jones’ story). We could walk there from our house on Jeannette Avenue, and that’s where I had my first taste of Scrambled Dog. Mama always told me about eating them at Firm Roberts’ when she was in high school in the ‘30’s.

She served them on any occasion that called for something delicious, filling, cheap, and requiring no attention from her once her chili was made. They were a Christmas Eve tradition at our house. Caring people in Columbus have even been known to order a pot of Lieutenants’ chili and bring scrambled dogs over to the house when somebody dies; they are said to taste especially good “after all that funeral food”.

I’ve served them to people from California to Paris, and I’ve never known anyone not to love them. (The Parisians were especially fond of them and always ate two.) I don’t know why they aren’t made very far outside of Columbus and have remained a truly local dish. Maybe I can make my fortune by opening a Scrambled Dog stand in Paris and calling it “Edith’s”.

Scrambled Dogs

Hot dogs
Buns, toasted if you like
Chili, your favorite or Edith’s recipe
Oyster crackers
Mustard, ketchup, pickles, tabasco
Cole slaw, chopped onion

Chop up the hot dog and bun and smother them with chili. Don’t hold back on the chili—it should cover everything so that you have to eat it with a fork and maybe even a spoon. Add the crackers, and any condiments. Some people like to put their slaw on top (Mama) and some like onion (me). They should be served in an oval plate, shaped something like a banana split dish, only not pointy at the ends.

Edith

2007-06-24T09:10:00.001-07:00

edithphotobooth
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum

As a teenager. I love these. She reminds me so so much of Annie.

Grandmama

2007-06-24T09:09:00.001-07:00

Grandmama
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum

Christmas Day, 1944.

2007-06-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Parents
by William Meredith

What it must be like to be an angel
or a squirrel, we can imagine sooner.

The last time we go to bed good,
they are there, lying about darkness.

They dandle us once too often,
these friends who become our enemies.

Suddenly one day, their juniors
are as old as we yearn to be.

They get wrinkles where it is better
smooth, odd coughs, and smells.

It is grotesque how they go on
loving us, we go on loving them

The effrontery, barely imaginable,
of having caused us. And of how.

Their lives: surely
we can do better than that.

This goes on for a long time. Everything
they do is wrong, and the worst thing,

they all do it, is to die,
taking with them the last explanation,

how we came out of the wet sea
or wherever they got us from,

taking the last link
of that chain with them.

Father, mother, we cry, wrinkling,
to our uncomprehending children and grandchildren.

From The Cheer, published by Alfred A. Knopf. Copyright © 1980 by William Meredith. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Pimiento Cheese

2007-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Pimiento Cheese

The bread turned out well although not as light in texture as Mama’s, or quite as “yeasty” as I remember. Did we rush the rising? Should I have used regular yeast and not rapid rise? This is going to take some practice.
This dense bread will be perfect for pimiento cheese sandwiches. I have this recipe on an old index card and it’s in Pitt’s hand.
That first summer we were courting, Pitt not only consumed many pounds of Mama’s pimiento cheese, but asked her for her recipe. Being a smart man, he knew that the way into her heart, and mine, was through food.
I never knew this was a “southern” food until we lived in New England. No one up there had ever heard of it. (Or if they had at all, they avoided it because they might have tasted that awful orange glue-glop from the store.)
Real summer temperatures have come to Alabama, and we’re eating many meals that involve little or no cooking. It’s time to conjure up one of Edith’s summer suppers of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers with Vidalia onions, deviled eggs, maybe a little chicken salad, and pimiento cheese sandwiches.

Edith’s Pimiento Cheese

Blend: sharp cheddar*
Mild cheddar

Add dash of: garlic powder
Paprika
Sugar
Worchestershire sauce
Lemon juice, mustard

Blend with mayonnaise. Add pimientoes.

*I love it that she gave no amounts or measurements. Pitt usually starts with a block of each cheese, and it should have enough mayonnaise to hold together, but not be dry. Sometimes Mama would add some cream cheese. We like ours with a bit more bite than Mama’s, adding some Tabasco or cayenne, especially if we’re serving it on crackers with cocktails.

Her House

2007-06-07T19:30:00.001-07:00

HerHouse
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum

I scanned this from my journal- one from the early 1930s, one from last summer. It looks very well loved, and full of kids. Ironically enough, Sally's post below mentions one of her neighbors, Mary Alice Arnold, who lived across the street.

Bread

2007-06-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

This was one of our first long, nothing-to-do summer days. Annie and I decided to celebrate by trying to bake bread. I’m not much of a baker— preferring the “throw everything together and keep tasting” style of cooking—but I do so want to be able to make Mama’s bread. It’s baking now, and our house is full of bread incense.
She dictated this recipe to me from memory. That means that, as with so many of her recipes, I can hear her voice while I’m cooking.
This came originally from Miss Mary Alice Arnold who lived across 10th Avenue from The Jones. She tried to teach Mama algebra, and later became principal of Columbus High School. She was famous all over town for her bread.

Mary Alice’s Bread

2 packages yeast
1 pint lukewarm water
2 eggs beaten
*8 cups plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
1T salt
1/3 cup shortening

Dissolve yeast in the water. Add eggs. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and shortening. Add to the yeast mixture and mix to a good dough. You may need to add a little more water. Make into a ball.
Put dough into a large greased bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let rise until double in size. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead about 10 minutes. You may need to add some flour—no more than needed and just a little at a time—so the dough isn’t sticky.
Grease 3 loaf pans, about 4 by 8 inches in size. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and put it in the pans. (Shape the loaves by rolling each one lightly and pulling from the sides to underneath so it will be nice and smooth on top.) Cover the pans and let rise again until dough becomes double.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until light golden brown on top. Do not preheat oven. Remove from oven and cool on racks. *For wheat bread, use 5 cups whole wheat flour and 3 cups white.

Lake Edith, Jasper National Park

2007-06-06T10:51:00.001-07:00

Lake Edith, Jasper National Park
Originally uploaded by daddy_oh

There is a Lake Edith in the Canadian Rockies. Who knew? Clearly, it's gorgeous.

I was reading through some old journals yesterday and this quote, from The Red Tent, made me think of Grandmama. Enjoy-

There is no magic in immortality.
In Egypt, I loved the perfume of the lotus. A flower would bloom in the pool at dawn, filling the entire garden with a blue musk so powerful it seemed that even the fish and ducks would swoon. By night, the flower might wither but the perfume lasted. Fainter and fainter, but never quite gone. Even many days later, the lotus remained in the garden. Months would pass and a bee would alight near the spot where the lotus had blossomed, and its essence was released again, momentary but undeniable.

Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved. Thus can something as insignificant as a name- two syllables, one high, one sweet -summon up the innumerable smiles and tears, signs and dreams of a human life.

Death is no enemy, but the foundation of gratitude, sympathy and art. Of all life's pleasures, only love owes no debt to death.

Mother's Day

2007-05-14T09:50:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

A belated post for Miss Edith on Mother's Day. I miss her so much when we celebrate events, with food and family, as she loved to do. Last night Hugh cooked for the mothers, and the son-in-law, and the granddaughter. There was also delicious wine and a chocolate cake that I am devouring today. We seriously ate all weekend- if it wasn't breakfast, it was leftovers for lunch, or hummus and chips, wine and drinks and dinner, and then a plethora of chocolate and icecream. Edith would have been proud.

Susan

2007-05-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Aunt Susu
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

It is Susan's 25th Birthday tomorrow. Susan has a good dose of Edith in her, in the best possible way. She values her family, above all else- I think that's why living so far away has been so hard at times. She loves food- loves cooking it and eating it and making it for other people. She loves clothes, and while she doesn't love all the same things my grandmother loved, she got that bug from Edith. And while Susan inists she is in fact a homebody, she can make other people feel at ease in her conversations. She is more of a dinner partier than an Edith partier, but the openness and warmth are very much Grandmama traits.

My favorite Susan and Grandmama story happened when Su must have been 5 or 6 years old. We were visiting them, sans parents, for a week one summer and the Alabama Tourism Board was running a new ad campaign, championing "Beautiful Alabama." My grandparents live in Columbus, Georgia, right on the Georgia/Alabama border. In fact, you can practically see Beautiful Alabama across the lake behind their house. Susan asked Edith how far this beautiful place was from Columbus." Just a few miles, honey!" So they planned a trip. They went over the river to beautiful Phenix City, Alabama. Phenix City is little more than a four-lane road with a few barbeque restaurants and a Piggly Wiggly at one end. Only Susan would remember all they did there, but they came home with a frozen pizza as a souvenir.

Happy Birthday, Susan. If Grandmama were here she'd get you a crown or something special, and make you some boiled custard.

Rice Casserole

2007-04-16T10:58:00.001-07:00

RiceCasserole
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum.

Click image to read, then click "all sizes" to see it larger. Thank you to my dad for copying the recipe cards!

Asparagus Salad Mold

2007-04-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

Asparagus Salad Mold
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum.

I don't know why anyone would want to eat this, really. But the recipe is fascinating, and in Edith's handwriting. Click on the photo to see it larger. To read it, click on "all sizes" and it will show the original size.

Grands

2007-04-15T11:57:00.001-07:00

Grandsgarden
Originally uploaded by sophialandrum.

I have always loved this picture. I don't know where on earth this garden is, but I will always love the way my grandfather was looking at his Edith. I've started posting scanned family photos and such on a new Flickr page. If you click on this pic, it will take you there.

Columbus

2007-04-10T05:59:00.001-07:00

Columbus
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

Scanned!! I don't have many pictures with me here in Florida, but here's one of my favorites- something about the way Grandmama's looking at Susan is just wonderful. My guess is this is the winter of 1985, maybe just after Christmas. Grandmama and Grandad were adding onto their house- and Sally was home (her head in the foreground). We had just spent a very cold Christmas in our new house in Atlanta, without much furniture.

Happy Easter, Grandmama.

2007-04-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today I am in Ellensburg, Washington with Corey and his family. I could not be further from Columbus. But I am with a family who has never had two very important dishes - baked grits and cornbread dressing. Last night, I prepped the cornbread dressing and fretted like Grandmama would about consistency and seasoning. This morning, I woke up and made a batch of baked grits which we just finished eating with fresh fruit and coffee. Grandmama and her food travel wherever her daughters and granddaughters go. These recipes have seen tables in Providence, RI, New York, NY, Poughkeepsie, NY, Jacksonville, AL, Atlanta, GA, Seattle, WA, Boston, MA, Key West, FL and now Ellensburg, WA. I can't wait to see where they will end up next!

Grits v.2

2007-04-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

A second recipe for Grits Casserole. Likely there will be many more.

1 cup Grits, cook slowly in 4 cups water with 1 tsp. salt for about 1 1/2 hours.
(Not Quick Grits, I take it!)
While grits are hot, add 1 stick Real Butter and 1 roll Garlic Cheese (do they make this anymore?).

Cool well.

Beat 3 eggs with 1/4 cup milk and add to Grits mixture.

Place in a buttered Pyrex baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. With about 20 mins. remaining, sprinkle top with crushed corn flakes.

(I must make this, soon.)

Two big Thank-yous are in order. One to Hugh, aka "Poppop," who sent me the following Edith recipes. The other for John, who bought me a killer scanner for my birthday. Soon there will be photos and scanned recipe cards, thanks to both of them (Hugh- do you mind bringing the orginals down next week?). Love to you both.

Edith grub, to be scanned in soon:
Peach Pie Supreme (the motherload)
Chili
White Icing
Puddin' Pie
Squash Casserole (a classic)
Asparagus Salad Mold (what?)
Sea Gull Asparagus (from her favorite restaurant at the beach)
Duggin's Bean Soup (duggin?)
Chocolate Sauce (oh my)
Baked 5-Bean Casserole
Shrimp Creole
Pickles!
Rice Casserole
Grits Casserole
fully typed instructions for preparing a Thanksgiving turkey

Meatloaf

2007-04-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

One of Edith’s recipes I’d love to find is her meatloaf. I remember eating it once. For some reason, meatloaf went out of style for a decade or so. We never ate it as kids, though my parents, and my sister eat it all the time now. I made it last night for my wee family. We use ground turkey, in a modified recipe from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I remember Grandmama making a heart-shaped meatloaf for my grandfather one recent Valentine’s Day. When we eat it, I often think of her. Here’s our recipe:

Turkey Meatloaf

1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsps kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
¼ tsp fresh thyme
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
½ cup chicken stock
1 tsp tomato paste

2.5-3 pounds ground turkey (We use the cheaper “full fat” turkey but I know my dad uses half ground turkey breast. He’s healthy.)
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (or more)
2 eggs
½ cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 325. Saute onions in olive oil till translucent, about 15 mins. Add salt, pepper, thyme, Worc. Sauce, chicken stock, tomato paste, and mix well. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine ground turkey, eggs, and onion mixture in large bowl. Add breadcrumbs until you can easily shape. Mix well and shape into large rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 ½ hours until internal temperature is 160 degrees and meatloaf is cooked through.

We always always eat ours with mashed potatoes and cabbage. Almost Irish.

Ruby Landrum's Macaroni and Cheese

2007-03-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

This dish came to us on the day of Edith's memorial. It was such a favorite that it became the star attraction of our Christmas "potluck" this year. It should be noted that this was the first Christmas we celebrated without Grandmama. I seriously doubt that she would have ever allowed Mac & Cheese on her Christmas buffet. But we got to remember a special, if not bittersweet day with another taste of this incredible, and thoroughly Southern concoction.

1 Box elbow macaroni, (16 oz.)
1 Can mushrooms, chopped
1 Can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 Cup mayo
¼ Cup chopped bell pepper
¼ Cup chopped pimento
¼ Cup chopped onion
1 Pound cheddar cheese, sharp, mild or combo
1 Box of Sociables or blue cheese crackers, crushed
2 Tablespoons or a whole stick of butter.

Cook macaroni until barely tender.
Mix soup, mayo, bell pepper, onion and mushrooms thoroughly.
Drain macaroni and stir in grated cheese.
Pour soup mixture over macaroni and cheese and mix thoroughly. Place in baking dish.
Melt butter in small pan and add crushed crackers.
Sprinkle crackers over top of casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cooking

2007-03-30T18:15:00.001-07:00

Cooking
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

I'm not sure if I've properly articulated Susan's idea for the Edith book- as a book not only filled with memories and recipes, but also a book about her family connecting with her through food. How food becomes the vehicle for the handing down of family traditions. I love that idea. I often think of it when I'm cooking in the evening.

The dinner hour is the end of Sophie's very long day. She is often in a dour mood, ready to melt down. Since she was teeny-tiny I've found myself cooking with her in a sling, always her favorite spot, attached to me. These days I put her in her "Bahpak" (her word), where she is happy to watch and sing and play with my hair (she inherited the habit from me). Sometimes I wonder if she's paying attention-if this closeness in our kitchen is rubbing off. When she tells us she wants to be a pastry chef in 20 years, should I not be surprised?

But above all, I think she enjoys being close to me and being a part of a comforting ritual of our life. It is simply what we do. Just like Edith did. Susan often asked her to "make a feast," knowing Grandmama would put on her best show. There would be meat and veggies, a starch (or a casserole) and perhaps a pie. Susan now loves nothing more than to prepare her own feasts. Our family would not think of celebrating a holiday, a birthday, or a simple Sunday afternoon without a meal as the centerpiece. It brings us great comfort. It is simply what we do.

Last Year

2007-03-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

4 for the Blog
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

Four things I remember about the week we lost Grandmama.

Clockwise from upper right- her side of the bed. That screen used to be between the living and dining rooms of their home on Cross Country Hill. They painted it white to use as the headboard of the bed. Beds at their house always felt huge, because I was always so small.

Sophie, then 6 weeks old, meeting a much-overwhelmed great-grandfather. This was the highlight of the week for me. I nursed her, sitting in Grandmama's rocker. I won't soon forget that.

Grandmama's dresser, with her glasses. The picture in the frame was a mother's day gift from Sally. It reads, "To a mom, who is a mama!" I have always loved what she meant by that.

The dining room, with the special fancy teaset and tea table, with chairs that are covered in needlepoint. Playing with that teaset was always a highlight of time at their house. It's funny how the table appears in various forms- my aunt's birthdays, my cousin Isabel's first birthday. Now Sophie loves to pour tea. She will love to sit at that table too.

The flowers at the church were really wonderful- all different kinds of plants, none matching. Just the way Edith would have wanted it. Many challenges to attend to. She loved any kind of hanging basket, and was a master at tending to houseplants, both real and artificial.

I'd Love it

2007-03-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Susan and I invite any and all Landrums/Hardings/Paffords/friends who stumble here to contribute. If we haven't emailed you an invitation to be a blog contributor, please email one of us and we'll "hook it up."

On our wishlist: (besides a good used scanner) are any menus that might linger from family events, specifically the menu from Hugh & Edith's 50th Anniversary Party. I know I've seen that floating around the family archives. Photos of family meals- we have some wonderful ones. Recipe cards, handwritten by Edith, or given to her. And like we said, stories stories stories. This is to be the clearinghouse of family tales, for better or for worse!!

Quick Fruit Pie

2007-03-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

A real Southern delight in the tradition of the double-wide trailer. I don't know much about this recipe except that she once made one for her and my grandfather and told us that she took it out of the oven, put it on the kitchen table, got out two forks, and the two of them consumed the entire pie in one sitting. No plates necessary.

There is high cooking and low cooking. This is decidedly the latter. So good.

Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Put ½ stick butter in a big Pyrex dish and place in oven to melt.

Meanwhile, mix together:

1 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 tsp. baking powder

¾ cup milk

and add melted butter from Pyrex.

Mix and pour everything back into the Pyrex.

Pour over this 1 can of peaches/blueberries/other canned fruit, with juices.

Bake at 350 for about 45 mins and serve warm a la mode.

hands.

2007-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Grandmama did just about everything with her hands. She painted, cooked, embroidered, knit, crocheted - you name the craft, she knew what she was doing. We had fishermen sweaters knit by her from infancy. Grandmama's needle-point pillows fill our living room sofa and top the piano bench. Her watercolors hang in our dining room, her recipes fill our ovens.

At an earlier age than most, Grandmama suffered from arthritis in her hands. She didn't let it slow her down; Edith was as prolific as ever. I remember when I was small looking down at her hands, with their swollen joints and glamorous rings and saying, "Grandmama, you have the most beautiful hands." She laughed and responded, "I don't know what you're talking about - these are ugly old things." Grandmama had no idea how wrong she was. Those hands produced beauty, comfort and love and I have always thought they were beautiful.

-susan

Another Letter

2007-03-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have been going through my files, looking for little bits of Grandmama, and found this four-page handwritten letter (something to scan, when we start that process). It is remarkable for the way in which it reads like a telephone conversation, just like her voice (tho' perhaps a bit less salty) with little bits about her life, little updates about the family. The parentheses are my comments. The rest is all Edith.

Wednesday- just three months until Christmas Eve (no year)

Dearest Ellen-

We loved your last letter, and of course, Grandad already has it filed away. He has every letter that your Dad ever wrote to him (including the Citadel era) in his files—plus copies of the fun things you and Susan have sent to us.

It is still summer in Columbus, but we have high hopes of cooler days over the weekend. It has been so dry that even the peanut crops are a total loss around Dothan, which is the peanut “capitol.”

We have to go to 505 the first week of October to our annual owners meeting. We have not been since early May. It seems we go less and less each year.

Annie is seven years old today (so it’s September 24, 1997). She had Sally to bake a birthday cake in the shape of a big 7 for her school party, and Saturday she is having a movie party. She said she was inviting only girls, because there would be too many if she invited her boyfriends. She loves first grade, and is reading to one of the kindergarten classes every day. What a character! Isabel has sold a few copies of her book. It is very good and we think it would be something if she should be published before her Dad.

We still enjoy talking about our Alaska trip. It all seems like a dream now. We have some beautiful panoramic wide-lens photo-spectaculars (?!!) that Bettie made. I think all our snaps turned out well. There is one of you and Grandad that I love. I am getting it enlarged and the man who is standing in the background “deleted.” (she liked this concept of photo-deletion)

I think the Thanksgiving trip there would be better for us if we postpone it till’ Spring. You know that we really would love to see you in your new surroundings (I was a freshman in college), but after talking it over we feel it is best if we wait. I doubt we can wait long tho’. You have been so dear to let us hear from you, and you know that we are interested in everything you are doing. It sounds as if you are pleased with your classes.

Sally had a meeting at her studio last Sat. of the Atlanta RISD alumni and she was pleased that 25 people came. They have great plans for a show, and hopefully a RISD gallery some day in the future. She has really worked on this. She has sold some of her work that she had at the Lansdale Gallery, and she has finished two oils –big ones- that they asked her to do. I think she has at last realized the small painting are in demand.

Grandad is very busy trying to raise money to build a hospice here (he succeeded, and the hospice is where she passed away last year). He has been active for the last two years on this board. Last week he went to Detroit to approach the Kresge foundation. He got a million dollars from a Columbus foundation a few weeks ago, so it is “coming.” He has really given so much of himself to this town, and I am proud of him (me too).

The sewing club is doing well, but we are fewer in number. We have only seven of us left, but we still have a great time. It’s getting harder to remember the jokes we hear, tho’.

I guess you are thinking you never read such a “disconnected” letter in your life. But isn’t the stationary pretty? You will have to take my Auntee’s advice when she wrote a lengthy letter. “Go take two aspirin and lie down awhile.”

I am going to look at clothes. I need a few things for Fall. Also I have to take my tape (audio) of Eudora Welty’s “Somebody Has to Live in the Post Office” by the Museum. They needed to borrow it for some kind of program.

You know how much your Grandmama loves you, but don’t you ever forget it. We’ll be hearing from you soon, be it directly or indirectly. Take care of yourself, and we will see you before long.

Forever love,

Grandmama

Grandaddy

2007-03-24T11:27:00.001-07:00

Grands
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

I was just going through some old letters written by Edith's husband, Hugh, our grandfather. He was/is an exceptional correspondent, and the very best penpal I've ever managed to have. His writing reminds me of the essence of their life together. When I read his letters I can imagine them, going about their socializing, performing the rituals of a marriage that surpassed 60 years. This is one of my favorite letters, for that reason.

July 5, 1998, Sunday

Dearest Ellen-

We are having the lazy, hazy days of summer—and truly so tis year. Almost every day of June was over 90º, with a lot of 100s. Most of us are deeply distressed over the fires in Florida. Yesterday they evacuated an entire county of 30,000 people! What on earth do you do with that many people? I read too of 100º-plus in Italy this year and , of course, we’ve wondered how far north it goes. From what we have heard, your accomodations do not provide air conditioning!

I did appreciate my dad’s day call from the pay station. It truly made my day. Most of the profit-oriented “days” are depressing to me, but your call changed all of that. Rome—so now I await a definitive evaluation of Florence and you-know-who.

Last night we drove up to Waverly Hall (about 25 mins.) for dinner with our friends Jim and Lillian Stretch. She is a wonderful and loving cook and has a custom kitchen she designed. It is about the size of our kitchen and dining room. She is the daughter of Italian immigrants and grew up in the Napa Valley in California. You’ve not seen the Napa area, but it is a flat-out gorgeous vineyard area that God did on a good day. Her father had several grape varieties she says—but no winery and it was sold 3-4 years ago on her mother’s death. Her maiden name is BOMMARITO and she gave us a bottle of wine and the label credits the origin as the Bommarito Vineyard. It is sauvignon blanc. I once asked Lil, years ago how a gal from the Napa Valley could find happiness in Waverly Hall, Georgia? She popped right back, “It is not where you are, but who you are with that counts.”

As you may have heard, your Dad and Sally came down for dinner with Grandmama for dinner on her 79th. It was the weekend your mother and sister went to NYC. We had a wonderful evening at Big Eddy’s Place. Mom and I would have liked to have eavesdropped on their conversation on the late evening drive back to Atlanta. We have a reciprocal agreement with the Speeds on birthdays, so the six of us did it right . . . and it was fun. Your Dad and Sally never looked better. Andy asked Joe what he did for a hobby and he replied that most of his spare time was spent going to the bank for Ellen and Susan! That cracked us up. You shake that boy out on a party and he becomes a card!

Uncle Ward’s old school in Carrollton –now West Georgia State University, is naming a new building for him on the 25th, so I’m sure we will go up for the occasion. We hope your will meet us there for the day.

He (Joe) just called, as is usual on Sunday. We appreciate him checking us weekly more than he will ever know. As his mother says, “He’s a good boy!” (Mothers say that about sons who are serial killers).

Of all the things you can imagine me getting into, a Jail Committee is probably the last. It is for the Mayor and Council and our meeting two weeks ago was most depressing. Nearly a thousand people in space designed for six hundred! Next meeting is tomorrow, ugh!

We hope your Italian experience has been good—in total anyway! You just don’t seem too good at living arrangements! Better next year. Call us if you can, before leaving Scandiano. We love you dearly,

Grandad

Granddaughters

2007-03-22T17:12:00.001-07:00

The Cool Table
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

I am the only one missing. From left, Annie Pitt Harding, Isabel Landrum Harding, and Susan Bedford Landrum (and Su's beau, Corey). This was this past Christmas Day in Atlanta, our first Christmas sans Edith.

A Letter

2007-03-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Written by Edith, to me (ellen). fyi, the Hardings are my aunt Sally's family (Sally is Edith's daughter, Isabel & Annie are Sally's daughters). the Speeds were my grandparents neighbors until very recently.

Saturday August 17, 1991

My dear Ellen-

Your letter telling us about your trip to South Carolina was great. We have read it more than once. It made us feel that we were there with you. You have a real “gift” for letter writing, and we thank you for sharing it with us.

The Hardings now say they are planning to move August 30th or 31st. I won’t really believe it until they call and say that the final closing on the house (supposed to be Friday) has been finished. Isabel told me on the phone that she wanted to have at her wedding party: rice, broccoli, chicken, and a big cake. I don’t know what brought that on. She is so excited over moving to Atlanta. Annie is not quite ready to walk yet. She will be a whole year old next month.

The Speeds went to Atlanta to see Andrea this weekend. They want to keep her tonight and send Andy and Rita out to eat.

We had a good weekend at Fort Walton Beach, and the water was crystal clear. I guess the seaweed has gone for another year. Surf Dweller was all full, and crowded. After Labor Day things will be too quiet.

I am sure you will have a good seventh grade year and I wish you the best.

We will be in touch soon. Thanks again for the letter.

I love you dearly, Grandmama

Edith

2007-03-21T10:50:00.001-07:00

Edith
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

I took this in 2004, on John and my's trip across the country and back. Grandmama passed away almost exactly 2 years later, on 2/21/2006.

I started this Family Tree site for Sophie. It's still a work in progress, but has some interesting photos and info, much related to Edith.

G.R.I.T.S.

2007-03-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

My sister and I both went to college in NY (Columbia and Vassar, respectively). I think this resulted in some serious mixed feelings on the part of my grandparents. While they could not have been more proud or more supportive, both Grandmama and Grandad took every opportunity to remind us of what we were leaving behind by leaving the South. I remember countless trips around downtown Columbus, GA to show us the latest developments on the new Arts Center or addition to Columbus State University. There were ample comments about returning to Georgia when we finished school or invites to just come live with them. One of the most unabashed gestures to remind us of our Southern roots was on my Edith's behalf. My sister was a freshman at Columbia, loving the change of scenery and getting to know New York City. When our family made our first trip to see her that fall, Ellen showed us a gift from Grandmama: an over-sized, bright purple t-shirt, embroidered with the phrase, G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South). There was little to do but laugh - not only at the absurdity of the article of clothing but the thought behind it. I don't remember Grandmama ever wearing a t-shirt or really appreciating our own over-sized T's. But when it came to trumpeting our Southern roots, embroidered t-shirts were welcome. Only Ellen knows what happened to the shirt but I remember my family getting a big kick out of her first care package to her oldest grandaugther that day in a small dorm room in New York.

-susan

Grits Casserole

2007-03-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Grits Casserole
The original recipe.

Cook 1 cup grits in 4 cups water until done, according to directions on the package. Remove from heat and while hot add:

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp garlic salt (or garlic powder + regular salt)

1 stick butter

Mix well, cool, and then beat in:

3 eggs

¼ cup milk

Place in a deep buttered casserole. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes add crushed corn flakes (or breadcrumbs) to top.

Susan's (great) idea was to scan in all of my grandmother's hand-written recipe cards. But I post this to compare to her version of Edith's infamous grits casserole. Feel free to edit it, Su, or post your version. This is truly the bedrock, the heart and soul, of the family recipe history. As Sophie would say, "Yum."

Edith in the Pool

2007-03-20T17:58:00.001-07:00

Edith in the Pool
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

An auspicious beginning, eh? Miss Edith had a lovely pool at her home in Columbus, Georgia. This house was on Cross Country Hill, behind the K-Mart. I will always remember her talking about being so close to the BBQ restaurants she could smell it when they turned the smokers on. I was convinced that this was why they eventually sold the house and moved. I think, in hindsight, it had more to do with the upkeep.

The family's favorite story of the pool involved my Aunt Sally's best friend's boyfriend, Brian. Apparently Brian had some lavish locks in the 70s. Edith looked out the window one afternoon and exclaimed, "Jesus is swimming in my pool!"

-ellen

Open for Business

2007-03-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, my sister, Susan, and I started discussing writing a book about our grandmother, Edith. The primary vehicle for the narrative will be food. Party chicken. Cornbread dressing. Grits casserole. Congealed salad (she loved a good congealed salad). The rest is up in the air. Who knows where this will take us, if anywhere, but the blog is meant to be a collaboration of efforts and a gathering place for ideas, and recipes.

-ellen

The Making of Miss Edith

Holiday Card, late 1940s

Grandmama kindergarten

Grandmama Poolside

Cake, and Susan

Scrambled Dog Fourth

Edith

Grandmama

Pimiento Cheese

Her House

Bread

Lake Edith, Jasper National Park

Mother's Day

Susan

Rice Casserole

Asparagus Salad Mold

Grands

Columbus

Happy Easter, Grandmama.

Grits v.2

Menu

Meatloaf

Ruby Landrum's Macaroni and Cheese

Cooking

Last Year

I'd Love it

Quick Fruit Pie

hands.

Another Letter

Grandaddy

Granddaughters

A Letter

Edith

G.R.I.T.S.

Grits Casserole

Edith in the Pool

Open for Business