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Oyster Stew At Grandma’s House
On Christmas Day
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
Going to Grandma’s house on
Christmas Day evening was lots
of fun when I was growing up.
Grandma was happy to keep a
tradition of making oyster stew
and inviting aunts, uncles, and
cousins for a meal.
As soon as the relatives came
inside from the cold. Grandma
heaped their coats, scarves, and
mittens on the bed downstairs
where she and Grandpa slept.
For supper Grandma also
fixed lettuce salad with home
made dressing and put out fancy
dishes filled with cookies, potato
candy, hardtack, peanut brittle,
and pumpkin pie.
Potato candy is a really good
treat. To make it, just squash a
medium potato that has been
boiled tender and peeled, or put
a spoonful of leftover mashed po
tatoes in a medium bowl. Add a
little vanilla for flavor. You may
need a whole bag of confection
ers’ sugar. Mix it in by small
amounts. Eventually, it gets
thick enough to flatten with a
rolling pin on a flat surface, like
pie dough. Spread yummy pea
nut butter over it. Roll up like a
jelly roll, slice thin, store in a
candy tin with waxed paper or
refrigerate and eat.
Back to Grandma’s cele
bration. The table was not big
enough for everybody to sit at to
gether, so some relatives sat on
the stairway built on the dining
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room side of the living room
wall.
The steps was a great place,
high enough to watch the grown
ups below. The grownups talked
and told fun stories to each other
while the kids listened.
Grandma served the stew
plain to anybody who didn’t like
the grayish, funny-looking oy
sters floating in the bowl with
round oyster crackers.
The men would laugh and
tease and say: “Oh, just swallow
it whole,” when a big spoonful of
oyster went into their mouth
along with the creamy liquid on
the soup spoon.
There were lots and lots of
dirty dishes to wash at the big
white kitchen sink but kids
didn’t have to help. Grandma’s
daughters cleaned up for Grand
ma.
After supper the cousins went
outside to frolic in the snow.
There were more kids than sleds
to go around. So they doubled up
to slide down the long hill on a
road near the big farmhouse.
First, the biggest and oldest
kid laid down on the sled in
order to steer it. Next, a smaller
person laid on top of him and
held on for dear life. They spread
their legs wide so a third person
could leap on after shoving them
off with all his might. There was
barely room for his knees.
Usually, when the sled picked
up speed it was easy to lose your
balance and topple off while it
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shot on down the road. Everyone
shouted and laughed and got up
with snow packed in their boots
around their socks.
When their parents made
them come in again the children
looked like snowmen. Icy crys
tals stuck fast to their coats,
caps, hair, and eyebrows. Cheeks
were rosy and chapped and noses
were runny.
There was a spiky thorn bush
Grandma stored year after year
and brought out at Christmas for
a colorful gum drop tree decora
tion.
The other thing about Grand
ma, she saved every piece of gift
wrapping paper, string, and
bows. There was a time, earlier,
when people had very little
money to spend. Like many oth
ers, they just used things again
and again.
Today, after the neat presents
are unwrapped, the oyster stew,
candy, and pie are eaten, the best
thing about Christmas is still the
families that get together.
Grandma and Grandpa put a
lot of love into Christmas be
cause they always remembered
that Baby Jesus was born in a
very poor stable in Bethlehem.
Grandma and Grandpa believed
the three rich kings that brought
expensive gifts to the Christ
Child were a good example to do
the same for others.
Wow!
Boy oh boy oh boy!
Merry Christmas!
Korne r
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