On March 5th, my grandma, Gladys Rutledge would have been 105 years old. She passed away at the age of 100 on April 18th, 2004.
It is because of her and my grandpa, Elmer Rutledge, that Camp Chicken even exists. It belonged to them and when Gram passed, it was passed on to my mother, Gloria Smith.
Gram lived through many trials and changes. She saw America change in so many ways. The things we take for granted today; cars, telephones, indoor plumbing, electricity, radio, and television were all "new" things in her lifetime.
Gram loved Camp Chicken, only she called it the "Forty". She liked to sit in a chair outside at camp and listen to the birds and the wind in the trees. She loved the sound of the wind in the trees and would always remark that "the trees are really talking today".
Camp brought her peace, I think, and good memories of the times she spent there with Gramp. They had huge gardens at camp and helped Mom and Dad cut wood to heat our house.
I think of her often when I'm at Camp and sometimes, I feel her presence there. Arlene, who has what I call "Native ESP", sometimes actually sees her spirit there. I think she comes to see what we are up to and to just make sure that we are all right. It is a comforting feeling, really.
I miss her and even now, I'll pick up the phone to call her if there is something on TV that I know she would like to see.
Happy Birthday, Gram!
5 comments:
I always liked that photo of your Gram. Hard to believe she's already been gone 5 years. When I teach art quilting, I like to show my students some unfinished quilt blocks of hers, just so that they can see her beautiful handwork. I'm actually planning to make a bed quilt for Chris and me -- I think she'd be pleased.
Hey Sis,
I know that she would be pleased that you are using some of her blocks to make a quilt. I was always in awe of her quilting. The stitches were so small and so uniform that they looked like they had been made by a machine.
I lost my Grandmother back in November at the age of 98. She loved the outdoors too and would have loved a place like Camp Chicken. I think it's wonderful that we both had grandmothers who met so much to our lives.
Kristine,
I am so sorry to hear about your grandmother but you are right, we are both so lucky to have had our grandmothers for such a long time and that they both loved the outdoors. I'm sure she would have loved Camp Chicken too.
Take Care,
Cathy
You were fortunate to have known you grandmother real well. My Dad's mother passed away before I was born and my Mom's mother lived in New York. I may have seen her about 4 times in my lifetime. I know you have a lot of fond memories and it's nice to remember her when you go to Camp Chicken. I'm sure she's there with you.
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