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WordsofGold holiday table FB151204LMB

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Words of Gold, Jeannette Morley Buck
Favorites · December 4, 2015 ·

Oh, how I hated to dust that table! Well, actually it was the legs that held the table up that I hated to dust. It seemed to me, when I was a bratty kid, that there was no good excuse for those fancy, fussy, ridged, bumpy legs to be under there. Plain and simple and smooth would have done just as well and would have been much easier to dust, as far as I was concerned.
At the time, I had no idea of the story of the table, nor was I incline to appreciate its beauty. However, as far back as I can remember, I loved watching our mother set the table for company. I took it all so much for granted. It was what Mom did, after all, with real enjoyment and, it seemed to me, very little effort. It was so pretty when she was done that I couldn’t imagine that anyone would bother to check to see if those fancy legs had been dusted.
First of all, with the ’leaves’ that spent most of their time in the bedroom closet, she stretched it to its maximum length. It took up most of the room at that point, leaving just enough space to place the high-backed chairs. She spread the snowy white table cloth over a soft pad and checked and adjusted the cloth repeatedly until it hung at exactly the same length on all four sides. Once she was satisfied with that, she began to place her good dishes. The plates had to be exactly the right distance from the table’s edge. Then came the silverware; forks on the left on top of a napkin, knife and spoon on the right and a water glass just at the tip of the knife. She rarely bothered with a centerpiece, however, as once she began bringing in the food, there was very little room for anything else. She was as exacting for any occasion, be it for a hearty meal for threshers or corn cutters coming in sweaty and famished from half a day’s hard work, or a holiday dinner for our big family.
Grandpa Young and Mom’s bachelor brother, Reed, who would be all dressed up in a pinstriped suit and tie, always came for Thanksgiving dinner as did Grandpa and Grandma Morley along with a few aunts, uncles and cousins. That pretty table was usually full enough that the kids got to sit in the kitchen. That was fine with us, because it meant we could talk and laugh as much as we wanted to and no one shushed us more than once or twice. Christmas was pretty much a repeat performance; other than the decorations.
Once the meal was over and the dishes were done; the dinnerware, silverware and the tablecloths were carefully put back in storage until the next time. The table shrunk back to its every day size and we piled it high with books and homework every night after school.
I had no idea until many years later just how much work all of that was for Mom; nor how much the table meant to her.
The table, Mom told us, had belonged to her Grandmother Grace Eddy. Mom’s mother, Pearl Eddy Young, bought the table for her parents when she began her first job as a teacher. Pearl Eddy had graduated from Mansfield Normal School and taught in the area for a few years until she married John Young in December of 1903. After Grandma Eddy’s death the table went to her daughter Pearl and then to my mother. A china closet handmade by her Grandfather Eddy and the table were Mom’s pride and joy. We all loved to play around those ornate legs as long as we were small enough. When grandchildren came along, they too quickly learned to find refuge from the adult world under Grandma’s table.
These days, the table is at home with a granddaughter who cherishes it as it should be cherished. Now and then we have a family gathering at her house. We sit around the table and enjoy a hearty meal. I’ve never seen anyone check to see if the legs have been dusted but knowing my niece, I’m sure they have been. I’m very glad I don’t have to do it. If I got down there at this age it would take three men and a boy to get me out and upright.
Mom’s precious table is right where it belongs and Mom would be very proud. See Less
Comments
Sandy Worthington
What a beautiful table !!
Loved the story too ..
· Reply · 4y
Karen Hunt Keenan
Jeannette: I am so glad that you now have this FB page. I have enjoyed so much reading your book that I bought a few years ago and now I read your "Words of Gold" on line.
· Reply · 4y
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