Just another remembrance of my grandmother's house. She always, and I mean always, had a pot of coffee on. That's how she said that, the coffee is on. She had an electric percolator, a concession to the modern world I suppose, although she had a coal/woodburning kitchen stove that was never cold. I never asked but I can see her having a big old kettle on that stove, like the Waltons did. Whatever the case was, she always had the coffee on even though she drank tea. The coffee was for her "guests" You never went to her house without being offered a cup.
I have written in the past about Grandmother Bennett, quite a few times in fact, but she is worth writing about. She is the grandmother you see in every stereotypical depiction of a grandma. Hair in a bun, check, large apron with pockets on the front, check, slippers on her feet, check. Short in stature, bent over just a bit, wrinkled skin and a bright smile. She didn't drive a car, she didn't go to the store, she seldom left home at all. What she did was wash and iron clothes to earn a living. She was doing that well into her 70's. The source of her "company" was her patrons, delivery men and family members. If she had any other friends or acquaintances, I didn't know about them. Her home was her world.
I realize that wasn't always so, as she did work for a wealthy family that lived in East Hampton. She was a pastry chef among other things. Domestic help is what they called that back in her day. How long she remained employed by that family I can't say. My mother was born in 1929, the last of grandma's ten children. She wasn't working for that family by then. She was forty-five years old then. In fact, her eldest daughter Edith had her first child the same day my mother was born. Grandmother Bennett became a mother and a grandmother on the same day!
Grandmother Bennett would be one hundred and forty today. That's amazing to me. I mean I realize she passed away fifty-one years ago, but it doesn't seem that long ago to me. She is still fresh in my mind, and I think of her often. I use an electric percolator and so am reminded every day. I always have a pot on in the morning, even taking it with me when I travel, but I don't keep a fresh pot all day. If I thought I would have company, I would. But people aren't the coffee drinkers that they used to be either. Coffee is a morning drink these days and maybe after dinner if you are out. People expect a greater variety, I think. But that offer of a cup of coffee was simply a courtesy extended. Not many took her up on the offer as they went about their business. I suspect in the cold winter months that may have been different, those delivery guys welcoming a hot cup.
Even though I wasn't old enough to enjoy a cup of coffee with grandma it remains a fond memory. When I was very small grandma would put a splash of coffee in a cup, fill the rest with milk and sugar and we would have a cup. She made herself a cup of tea. She always kept a pot of water on the stove, added moisture to the air, and was useful for washing dishes or making a cup of tea. She would add water as necessary. Whenever anyone came a cup was offered. If it was accepted everything stopped, Grandma would get the coffee, sit down and chat a bit. It was the only polite thing to do. You were the center of attention, if only briefly. Yes, grandmothers do those things, they understand. Norman Rockwell moments, that's how I would describe that.
A Norman Rockwell image.
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