Some called her Kate. She hated it. "Kate's a dog's name, and a mule's name, and I don't like it!" This, she'd always exclaim when I asked why she had such a hate for Kate. And, I must admit; I asked her repeatedly because I so enjoyed the emphatic way she declared "Kate's a dog's name...., " brow furrowed, teeth gritted, and voice full of disdain at the thought of being compared to a mule.
While this blog won't always have stories of my great-grandmother (Kathern Elizabeth Thompson (then Snowden, and finally, Noel), it will be full of vintage decorating tips, a fondness for all things elderly, a few photos, all of course inspired by her. And since she is the inspiration, its only right if you know a bit about her.
We called her Neno. She desperately wanted to be called Nanaw, or Mamaw for some reason only known to her sentimental longings at the time. Her many attempts at getting me to repeat the word Mamaw came out Neno, and so from the time I learned to talk that was forever her title.
But her given name was Kathern. No, not Katherine. Kathern. At the turn of the century in the southern Missouri Ozarks, you spelled it like you said it, and they said it Ka-thern. She had a sister named Delia, however, it was pronounced Deal-ie. As in, "What's that dealy you are lookin' at?" Still don't have a clue why they didn't spell that like they said it.
She was born on April the 4th, nineteen-and-two. (Not April 4, 1902). Spoken out distinctly as nineteen-and-two. Just like she always said Mac-Dondald's (emphasis on the Mac), not McDonalds. :) At the ripe old age of 14 she married my great grandfather Frank Snowden, one of a long line of Snowdens who settled in the Oasis/Cedar Valley/Long Creek area of extreme southern Taney County in Missouri. To this union was born my grandmother Chloey, and her siblings Eula, Clinton, and Carl.
The marriage between my great-grandparents wasn't the best; she never shared many details, because quite frankly, it wasn't proper to divulge such information back in the day when divorce was not the unfortunate standard operating procedure it is today. At some point after this marriage ended, Neno married Perry Noel, and I, before I was even born, acquired another great-grandfather to love, and be loved by.
Neno and Perry cared for me like I was their own. They bought my piano when I was eight years old. She helped me start my hope chest with a set of Pink Recollection dishes (a remake of pink depression glass). I remember when I was little, she and Perry would say, "When you're sixteen, I'ma gonna have me a driver."
The things they said when I was small helped shape the personality I have today. Perry would often quote, after I'd done something goofy, "Sich a young'n, sich a young'n, sich a young'n." And of course I'd repeat that to the tune of "Such an onion, such an onion, such an onion."
Neno would declare, when she was much older and the urgency to go to the bathroom was really urgent....."I'va got to go to the toilet and I'va a got to go rat now!" (Rat, so you can fully understand how the word "right" sounds in grandma-hillbilly-speak).
She grew up, rather survived, the great-depression, hence her insistence at saving EVERYTHING which has passed right on down to the fourth generation. And yes, I'm talking about some of the stuff she saved (like Mrs. Butterworth bottles, egg cartons, and orange Foremost cottage cheese containers), and also this need to NOT part with anything.
From Neno I learned to appreciate the simple things in life like a clump of blooming irises, a primitive rock flower bed around a giant oak tree, and a wildly blooming forsythia bush in the spring. Because of Neno, I crave the sounds of tree frogs and crickets at dusk, the call of the whiporwill, and the lonesome cry of a hoot-owl (yes, hoot-owl, not just owl).
Because of her, I have created this blog, Kathern's Kabinet. When I was in college, I'd go to her house many mornings where she'd serve me up two fried eggs, over-easy, bacon, and buttered toast. We'd sit in that kitchen for hours while she told me the history of the pretties in her china cabinet, and whatever else she had on her mind.
Some of these discussions I've chronicled in poetry, some in pictures, and some I still chroncle in the way I decorate my home.
Many of these things, and much more, I hope to bring to life for you in this blog. She was funny, she was practical, and I loved her dearly.
So, stay tuned, and open the doors to Kathern's Kabinet with me! I hope you enjoy and are inspired!
Love,
Marci
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