Great-Granny Fixes Lunch

Great-grandmother, Mary Jane, lived with her children after great-grandfather, John, died. Often she was dissatisfied because she had nothing to do. She wanted to keep house again. She longed to cook a meal.

In 1941, Mary Jane was about 85 when she came to stay with her daughter, Bessie, for a few months. Bessie had a new Frigidaire refrigerator instead of an ice box and a coal oil cook-stove instead of a wood cook-stove.

Mary Jane was restless after a few days. One morning about 10 o’clock, she complained, “I don’t know why I have to eat what you fix. I can still cook.”

Bessie said, “Mother, would you like to cook lunch today? You can use my kitchen any time.”

 “YES, I will cook,” Mary Jane replied. She rushed into the kitchen and put an apron on over her ankle-length dress. Mary Jane looked around the kitchen and opened first one cabinet and then another. She got out a pan or two and turned around several times without doing anything. She stared at the stove and refrigerator.

Suddenly Mary Jane yanked off the apron and swished back to her rocker. She said, “Fix your own dinner. I’M NOT YOUR SERVANT!”

Mary Jane didn't want to use the coal oil stove or open the refrigerator. She never did trust those “new fangled” gadgets and was always saying the day would come when we'd be happy to go back to cooking on a wood stove, cooling things in a window cooler or the well house, and washing clothes in a wash pot with a rub board!

Mary Jane never again asked to cook!