*July 4, 1894...My grandmother's birthday*

[CaliforniaPeggy]

Today I honor her memory...

Her parents saw, and lived, the American Dream...

They came from Sweden, met and married here...

She was their oldest child...

She was a bright, hard-working, motivated lady...

She and her husband raised their six children on a farm outside Chicago...

They had a pump in the kitchen...

She would kill and clean chickens for their meals...

She baked bread every week...

And still had time to go into Chicago for concerts...

She lived through the World Wars, and the Depression...

She did not let adversity shrink her soul...

My Grandmother! How much I still miss her, and her example!

I wonder what she would say if she could see what's happened to her beloved country...

Her birthday, today...

I salute her!

[femmocrat]

1. She sounds a lot like both of my grandmothers. Amazing women.

Women worked themselves to death in those days, in addition to annual pregnancies. God bless their strength and perseverance or we wouldn't be here!

Thanks for remembering our fore-mothers today, Peggy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. They sure were amazing, my dear femmocrat!

I think my grandmother must have known about some sort of birth control since her 6 children were spaced out every couple of years or so. That by itself almost certainly extended her life.

Thank goodness for those strong, smart women!

I am glad to remember your grandmothers too...

[monmouth4]

2. I will salute your grandmother also. She persisted..n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thank you so much, my dear monmouth4. She did indeed persist! n/t

[frazzled]

5. My grandfather's birthday was July 4th too!

He came from Hungary, and started out as a tailor here. Then he and my grandmother (also Hungarian) opened a little corner grocery. My grandma killed and dressed chickens, too, and butchered the meat, and rolled out strudel on the kitchen table till it was paper thin.

They were proud to be Americans, even if their English was pretty broken.

So we're linked, in more ways than sharing grandparents' July 4 birthdays: yesterday I made my grandmother's Hungarian cabbage noodles, because I had a big head of cabbage from a **CSA farm that is outside of Chicago!** Maybe it was on land your grandmother used to farm!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Wouldn't that be cool, if it was the same farmland? Wow.

Their farm was on Golf Road, near Palatine Ill.

I actually returned there as an adult. It was the day before the house was due to be torn down.

The land had been sold to a developer and big fancy houses were going to be built there. The wreckers pried open the door for me and my daughter and we had a look inside. It was amazing and I remembered the house from many years before.

Good for your grandparents and Happy Birthday to your grandfather!

[irisblue]

7. .

🇺🇸

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Thank you, my dear irisblue...

[mvd]

9. Hi Peggy!

A beautiful tribute! I think the same thing about my relatives - they would be appalled at what has happened. And a happy 4th to you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. My dear mvd!

Thanks for your kind words today!

Yes, they would all be appalled.

Happy Fourth to you and yours!

[DiverDave]

11. my granny's

Birthday is today too.
Lost her in '83
Every 4th of July I wake up and wish her
happy birthday.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My dear DiverDave...

I'm sad you lost her so long ago...

But how lovely you wish her a happy birthday every year.....

[panader0]

13. Beautiful--I love these stories.

Happy Birthday, somewhere in the sky, to Peggy's Grandmother!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. I love them too, my dear panader0!

Thanks for your good wishes.

[Coventina]

15. My Dear CaliforniaPeggy....

What a beautiful post!!!

It is important to keep these stories alive.

Thank you for sharing your history with us.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. And thank you for reading it, my dear Coventina!

And thank you also for your thoughtful and beautiful remarks...

She, along with so many others, tells the story of America...

We must remember them.

[malaise]

16. Nice

Rec

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. Thank you, my dear malaise...........n/t

[tavernier]

17. As an immigrant first generation

I lift a glass to her memory!

(My grandmother would put pies on the window sill in case any hungry ppl came by)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Thank you so much, my dear tavernier!

And how good of your grandmother to help feed the hungry folk going by!

[tavernier]

23. They always left something

A note or a coin. Wish I'd been older than 4 to document.

[lpbk2713]

18. I have no doubt she would be extremely proud of her granddaughter.

Happy Birthday Gran.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. My dear lpbk2713!

I like to think she would be too...

Thank you for your good thoughts!

[NYResister]

24. Happy Birthday, to you Grandmother.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Thank you so much, NYResister! n/t

[eleny]

25. Thanks for this lovely posting, Peggy

Today I'm thinking about my four Lithuanian immigrant grandparents and my dad who came over on the boat at 16 years old with grandma. It's bittersweet missing them but cherishing their memory.

Hugs o' plenty {{{Peggy}}}! Those are some rich memories. I hope sharing them today makes them all the sweeter.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. You're welcome, my dear eleny...

Sharing does make them sweeter.

It also reminds me of the great numbers of decent people who came here long ago, looking for a better life.

They made America great.

[3catwoman3]

28. My maternal grandmother was also born on July 4th. 1899.

She was an independent type, from fittingly enough. She ran away from her alcoholic mother when she was about 11, and lived with a paternal aunt for some time. She left that home at 16 to go to nursing school. My grandfather, who was a dentist, was a patient of hers during a hospitalization for burns on his face from an explosion in his dental lab. They got engaged on New Year's Eve of 1919, and were married in June of 1920. I wear her engagement and wedding rings on my right hand, and I treasure them. Both of their initials and the dates my grandfather gave them to my grandmother are engraved inside of each ring.

My mom, the oldest of their 4 children (and still here at 95), was also a nurse, now retired. I am the 3rd generation of nurses, and am a pediatric nurse practitioner.

While visiting my mom this past April, I came across my grandmother's nursing school diploma in a basement closet. It is dated June 22, 1918. Just rolled up and sitting on a shelf, no protective wrapping at all, and in almost perfect condition. I will now treasure it, too.

Thanks for your post, CP, both for the chance to learn about your grandmother, and to share the story of mine.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

30. Thank you for your inspiring story, my dear 3catwoman3!

Wow, what a life she had. And how lucky for you to have her wedding and engagement rings, plus her nursing school diploma! They are priceless treasures.

Your family is made of sturdy stuff! And for you to be a pediatric nurse practitioner is the icing on the cake! Congratulations on your achievement!

I'm so glad you chose to share your story. These sturdy folk are what make America great.

[3catwoman3]

32. I've been a nurse practitioner since 1976.

I am trying to decide how much longer I want to work. The advent of EMR - electronic medical records- has taken much of the fin out of things as it now takes longer to take care of the computer than it does to take care of the patients.

I guess the upside of that is that I will not miss it the way I feared I would.

[FakeNoose]

29. This is an awesome story - thanks for sharing

My grandparents were also the children of immigrants. But in our case the immigration was from Germany and Ireland. It didn't matter because in those days America was a melting pot and they all celebrated each other's differences. They each contributed to the community however they could.

I'll bet your grandmother's bread was the most delicious you ever tasted.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

31. Thanks for reading my post, my dear FakeNoose...

I also have ancestors from Germany and Ireland...I always like to say that I'm a member of Heinz 57 club! A melting pot if there ever was one.

I wish I remembered eating my Grandmother's bread...I lived with them the first 2 years of my life when my dad got drafted and mom and I went home to them and the farm. Alas, I have no memory of eating it...