A series of essays….
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TA DA…. MY AUNT JUNE! HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY, SWEET LADY! |
Photo courtesy Linda McWilliams
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
She’s a legend. She’s an icon. She is the Queen of the Purple Salad! She has helped to keep me sane for these past fifteen years by listening to me vent within my particular world of insanity. She is my aunt; my Dad’s only sister. Her name is June. And, this ‘special lady’ turns the venerable and brilliant age of 100 years on the twenty-third of this month!
My Mother’s birthday is October 15th, and would be turning 100 years old, as well. Aunt June has told me that she used to play the game of Ha, ha. You are older than me, with Olga (my Mom) when October rolled around and, I will assume it was always in playful sister-in-law gest and good hearted ribbing. My Mom and Aunt deeply cared about one another and June once told me that she felt lost after my Mother passed away at the early age of sixty-two back in the mid 1980’s. She said, I had lost a good friend who’d been a great part of my life since marrying my brother, Jack, in 1945.
Uniquely, my three brothers and I mirror Aunt June’s position with her own siblings and I am her counterpart in the established rank and order. Jack, June Gerry, and Leonard formed her pack while Ronnie, Jackie, Larry, and Denny form mine, a generation later.
My cousin, Linda, is Aunt June and Uncle Louis’ only child. Growing up with Linda while attending family functions, watching her walk by our house coming home from school with her friends, always gave me a genuine thrill because I wanted to be just like her. Being a few years older than myself and seemingly very exotic, independent, and glamorous (Linda was wearing makeup and very stylish clothes), I wanted to be a part of her inner circle in every way.
Celebrating Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa’s house was the icing on the cake (the whipped cream and cherry atop a chocolate sundae). Not only did we get to feast on Grandma’s wonderful cooking, but everyone I loved was sequestered in my grandparent’s big, white house and we mingled together on the three-season porch where the giant Christmas tree lived. The brightly wrapped presents spilled out from under its low hanging branches like a colorful lava flow into the sea of grey painted wood flooring.
Pretty Aunt June was there with Uncle Louis, Mom and Dad had smiles on their faces, Uncle Gerry and Aunt Joyce held hands, and Uncle Leonard and Aunt Phyl leaned into one another as Grandpa Marion said grace before our meal. Did I say meal? I meant to say…feast! Grandma could have fed an army with the steaming bowls and platters of goodies on display down the center of the long, wooden table. For one day, differences set aside, everyone rejoiced in joy and goodwill.
(So much capitalization. So many loved individuals.)
My parents moved often due to my Father’s job with Sinclair Oil Corporation and subsequently with Quaker State Motor Oil and for several years of our nomadic lifestyle, we lived in South Bend and about a mile from my Aunt June’s house. I shared a very widespread paper route with my older brother, Ronnie, that happened to include my Aunt’s house. June would invite me in for a little snack, small talk, collect her newspaper and then see me off on my bike laden with rolled South Bend Tribunes waiting to be read by my customers that evening.
I would never have allowed my daughters to take on a paper route at age eleven. Stop it. What were my parents thinking? We can say that times were different then. Perhaps our way of thinking was, as well. But nobody thought twice about a little gal slinging the daily paper up onto their porch before dinner time rolled around.
Aunt June never learned to drive a car. My Mother tried to back in the late ‘60’s, did receive her license, but never pursued full-time driving after that. I believe my two favorite ladies were part of the ‘rule’ and not the ‘exception’ back then. If the man was there to drive you around, what good reason would you have to get your own driver’s license? Certainly there was fear of the road and lots of anxiety swirling in the mix, too. I can’t even imagine not allowing this huge slice of independence to become a part of my life. Again, this was the sign of the times; a grand flaw in our society and the history of the world.
Another yearly fête I looked forward to, annually, was my Dad’s family reunion! Oh, the genuine anticipation of food, cans of pop bobbing up and down in large ice-filled coolers and galvanized tubs, playing softball with cousins, watching the men sling horseshoes and hearing them ping against sunken metal rods in the dirt pits. The younger kids would anticipate the penny pirate treasure game and egg relay that often proved to be messy but lots of fun.
Sitting with my own family at picnic tables placed end-to-end to eat after standing in line to fill plates with heaps of potato salad, my Mother’s coleslaw (never creamy but with oil, vinegar, and spices folded neatly into the shredded cabbage the night before), Grandma’s thick baked beans laced with pork belly bacon, crispy fried chicken, and, of course, the infamous Purple Salad made each year by Aunt June. The food table would never be the same without it.
The color purple can dominate most things: clothing, bedding, a mountain sunset, and….food! After Aunt June and I reconnected down in Florida over fourteen years ago with Dan and I living and working in Orlando and she and Uncle Louis vacationing in Winter Haven, she offered me her priceless Purple Salad recipe after all of these years. You bet I felt honored. I believe it was her way of sanctioning our reconnection with love, trust, and many wonderful memories.
This heavenly bowl of fluff, tinted with the juices of sweet, dark cherries and blended with cool whip, cream cheese, pineapple tidbits, nuts, and copious amounts of miniature marshmallows, represented my youth; lulled me back into a world of feeling safe and protected while sharing good times.
The color purple is often used to symbolize femininity, spirituality, royalty, and creativity. Aunt June epitomizes the feminine touch with her softness of speech and genuine kindness. Her spirit and mindfulness reaches out to everyone who knows her. Soon to become a member of the ‘100 Year Old Club’, she has surly earned royal status within her lifetime! After all…she is the Queen of the Purple Salad! Having created her famous Purple Salad for those she loves throughout the years symbolizes the great joy and passion she finds from life. Happy Birthday, Aunt June, with all of my Love!!
Author’s Note: Warm 100th Birthday Greetings being sent ‘upstairs’ to my Beautiful Mother. I miss you so much and think of you, often.
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OLGA MOSHAK GRUBBS— HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY! |
Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes
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