Happy Mothers Day (May 2009)
While thinking about Mothers Day, I ran across this piece of history written by my mother. It actually encompasses three mothers, my mom, Darlene, her mother Alma Holtgrewe and her grandmother Anna Olzon. It is about the old rocking chair. This same rocking chair is now in my possession and a prized possession it is.
My Mother Told Me
As I was making a new seat cover, I looked at that old rocking chair. They say it's one hundred years old. Imagine the tales it could tell.
When new, the seat was hand woven cane. How many different kinds have replaced it down through the years?
When my mother was a little girl, it was her "horsy". Reins were the sash from her dress, or some twine or old leather straps found in the barn. When she jumped on that rocker and took hold of the reins, I bet that old rocker ran like the wind!
One New Years Eve my mother's cousin and her wanted to greet the New Year. They huddled together on the couch covering themselves with a wool comforter. The rocking chair rested in the corner. Each time the clock chimed they counted. Eyelids began to droop. Maybe if they sang some hymns it would keep them awake. Served more like lullabies. They didn't hear the clock chime twelve. Just imagine how many times that old rocker heard the chimes of a new year!
Mother's parents were aging. They sold the farm and moved to the village. They loaded the household goods on the wagon and hitched up the team. My grandma, holding a grandchild on her hip, cautioned the men to draw that rope tighter so that the rocking chair wouldn't fall off.
There, all settled in the house on the hill, my grandma sat in that rocker rocking grandbabies to sleep. Maybe me, her granddaughter, Darlene.
History Notes
The phrase "Mother's parents" would have referred to my great-grandparents Alfred and Anna Olzon. The Village they moved to would have been Helvey, Nebraska.
