No Place Like (the Hayden) Home

Old Kuttawa Home

Several weeks ago, someone posted a picture of the Hayden family on Facebook (Randy Armstrong).  Our cousin, Clyde Shelley, messaged me about the picture and while I thought I had a better copy of the picture that had been posted, I hadn't found it until today.

Fairytale Friday

I decided to try creating a weekly entry called "Fairytale Friday".  Named this, not because the stories aren't real, but because they come entirely from our memories and therefore, can no longer be independently verified.  That means, there is likely a bit of fantasy mixed in.  Not intentionally, you understand, but just because our memories sometimes either blur or become exaggerated over time.  I'll want to include your stories, too.  So be thinking....until then....

Once upon a time, there were crayons and a table.....

...and as far as I can remember, the table sat in the living room of the old funeral home.  When I was a little girl, Maudie would color with me at this table.  We lived across the street in the little white house and when all the other grown ups were busy, Maudie would watch me.  And color with me.  And demonstrate infinite patience with me.

The little table now lives at my house, the cut glass candy dish one of the last things Mama gave me.  She said the dish needed to live with me because it always sat on the coffee table.  So for today, here's the start of our stories. You'll remember the table.  You may not remember the dish.  But you certainly remember hours spent coloring with Crayola crayons.

Finally, to tie the pieces together, a picture from so long ago of us girls on the couch with the little table just barely visible in the lower left hand corner.

(l. to r.  Beth, Cindy, Mama, Grandmother, Rose Mary, and Maudie)

PS.  Just because there aren't any small children in our house, doesn't mean that bringing out crayons wasn't fun :-)

 

A Splash of Water

How do you make cornbread? Do you add a "splash of water" after mixing in the buttermilk? Mama and I agree that last little splash of water makes the cornbread more fluffy. She said Maudie always added a little water to her cornbread. We wondered if Maudie added the water to make her cornbread more fluffy OR did she add it because she was running short of buttermilk?

Tonight's dinner: Chili and cornbread

Either way, I always add a "splash of water" to my cornbread (and Tim does the same for his pancakes). And every time I add that splash, I think of Maudie.

Hayden Family 1905

One of the things I had hoped to find as I gathered old pictures was to see what Maudie's husband looked like. Here he is, William Edward "Ed" Hayden, Jr. He's standing behind Maudie (Mary Isabelle, "Mayme"). Seated to Maudie's right is her father-in-law, William Edward Hayden, Sr. He is holding someone near and dear to our hearts, Mary Rowena Hayden (Dunn).


She was born in 1903, so I estimated this picture may have been taken in 1905. The pictures Pete Cannon gave us are truly priceless. Check this out:



I added the close up picture inset in the family picture and I added the red arrow above. The way I see it, once I've figured out how Pete's information relates to us, I'm going to create an additional version that makes it easier for us to relate to.

William Trimbletoes

This picture was scanned by Pete Cannon. His notes say, "Mary Isabelle (Cannon) Hayden seated on the lawn with Ruby holding her doll, and Fred, circa 1910."

William Trimbletoes,
He's a good fisherman.
Catches fishes,
Puts em in dishes.
Catches hens,
Puts em in pens.
Some lay eggs,
Some none.
Wire, briar,
limber lock.
Three geese,
In a flock.
One flew east.
One flew west.
One flew over the cuckoo's nest.
My Mama told me to pick this very one.
O....U....T..... you dirty dishrag YOU!

While not all my family members remember Maudie as the kind, nurturing great-grandmother who patiently colored and played games, that is who MY Maudie was. And William Trimbletoes was one of the games she played with me.

It was a finger-counting game. I'd spread my hands out and Maudie (also Mama) would gently touch each of my little fingers as they recited the rhyme. The finger that was "out" was then folded under my hand - missing from the next countdown.

I googled William Trimbletoes, just for kicks, and found lots of references.

And in case you don't recognize the little toes here, they belong to Shelley's babies: Evan, Nate, and Lizzie. Thought the toes of a new generation would be a most appropriate image to use in illustrating their great-great-great-grandmother's finger counting game.

William Trimbletoes - You were fun!