Union County Oral History: Walter Smutz

 

Union County, Oreogn History Project

An affiliate of the Oregon Historical Society

for full transcript see: https://library.eou.edu/ohgr/edited%20smutz%20transcript.pdf

Remembering Grandma Smutz

I:  What do you remember about your grandmother on your father's side? 

WS: My earliest recollection of my Grandmother Smutz is when I was probably about two years old.  I remember my folks stopping in front of her house, which was alwasy referred to as the home place ( On Sand Ridge, between Island City and Cove).  When we got out of the car--a Model T Ford coupe-- Grandma was standing about half way between the house and the steps.  My mother took me up from the road to the steps, and I ran up the walk to grandma.  I thought she was  a rather tall, thin lady.  She always wore an apron, usually blue.  Then Grandma and I went in the house while my folks went someplace.  I remember staying lots of times at Grandma's.  

What I remember most about Grandma is her apron.  We would go to the hen house to gather eggs, and Grandma would carry two dozen eggs in her apron.  She would take hold of the bottom, fold it and mike it like a big bucket.  she used it the same way when we went into the garden to get beans, corn and other vegetables.  

It semmed that she was alsyays cooking over a roaring fire or washing.  Washing was always very inportant to Grandma.  She had four sons living there at the time, and one or two hired men lived there year round.  One was Lou Rodgers, who herded sheep and considered Grandma Smutz's place his seconf hoome; he stayed there in the winter and helped the the chores.  When Grandma cooked breakfast, it always consisted of friend potatoes, eggs, meat, buscutis and gravy.  the big meal was dinner at noon and super in the eveing. It semmed to me that all Grandma ever didi was cook, wash dishes and get ready to cook again.

First thien Monday monring she did the washing in a square-tub