My grandmother, Lucille Edna Mulder (Zuidweg), was born April 17, 1912. If she hadn’t passed away in 2000, she would be 102 today. I miss her every day.
Grandma holding me 1955
Last year I posted about Grandma’s high school graduation scrapbook. Here is the link. There are a lot of photos in that book; in most of them Grandma is hanging out with her friends and classmates.
Below, Grandma is in all but the lower right photo. One of the girls is her best friend, Blanche Stauffer. Grandma and Blanche are in the upper right photo together–that’s Grandma in front. Blanche has the straight dark bangs. In the lower left Grandma is with another friend.
The scrapbook has an autograph page, and the words from Blanche are front and center:
Grandma and I have a lot in common. One thing is that a best friend was very important to us growing up. I looked up Blanche on Ancestry, and I was amazed to learn that she, like my grandmother, was the second child in the family. Blanche’s older sister was one year older. That was the same with Grandma: her older sister Dorothy was one year older.
Blanche was class valedictorian, Dorothy was salutatorian, and Grandma–with the 3rd highest GPA–was class historian. I read a list of Grandma’s classmates, and Blanche’s older sister was not in their class. At least Blanche didn’t have the sisterly competition that Grandma had to put up with ;).
Writing is another commonality between Grandma and me. When she was elderly and had just gotten sprung from a very negative experience with a rehabilitation nursing center, she made me promise I would never give up writing. I promised her, and I have kept my word. I remember Grandma submitting funny stories and occasionally getting them published when I was very young.
Recently, my mother told me an anecdote that made me realize that Grandma and I share another interest. When I was little and my mother worked full-time, Grandma babysat me. We sang Ethel Merman songs like “Anything You Can Do.” I could always manage to sing louder and higher than Grandma.
Any note you can reach
I can go higher.
I can sing anything
Higher than you.
No, you can’t. (High)
Yes, I can. (Higher) No, you can’t. (Higher)
Yes, I CAN! (Highest)
What I didn’t realize is that when my mother and her siblings were little, my grandmother (who was always with my grandfather, to my memory) went to New York City with her sister Dorothy. They saw Ethel Merman in Annie Get Your Gun. She actually saw this song performed live by Merman. My mother says it was one of the highlights of her life, and I believe it because I remember this music around Grandma often when it was “just us.” I still love musicals and so does my daughter, who performs in professional productions.
Grandma and I shared other songs, too. She used to hold me on her lap while we sang “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain” and “This Old Man (Knick Knack Paddy Whack).” My memories of my grandmother are treasured heirlooms.
Happy birthday, Grandma.
The Family Kalamazoo 
As a grandfather of two wonderful grandchildren, I know how important we are to them. Two new ones on their way… June and September.
Congratulations, Pierre! How exciting to have two blessings ahead! Best wishes for the babies and their mamas.
What a sweet way to remember your grandmother!
Thanks, WJ! Yeah, I miss her every day.
A lovely tribute!
Thanks, Leslie, for your nice comment and for stopping by!
I love the name Lucille. Did she every use the nickname Lucy? It sounds like you had a wonderful relationship with her!
Amberly, I like it, too. Everybody called her Edna, her middle name, except for her close school friends like Blanche who called her Lou. My name comes from the name Lucille (Luanne), and sometimes I use Lucy as a nickname.
Oh I am so glad to hear that you are named for her. Lucy is such a darling name.
This is so sweet, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by and letting me know! I’m glad people can read about my grandmother!
Wishing you the sweetest of memories on this special day. In a way, you are reliving all those beautiful times in the past. It comes across in this entry. Very well written, Luanne.
Thanks so much, EmilyAnn. Yes, I have the most wonderful memories of my grandmother. She used to cook and iron in the kitchen and talk to me and sing with me while I played with all the toys left over from my mother and her siblings and things Grandma bought me–such as, a huge printing press set, a potholder loom, and a penny collection.
This is such a touching tribute. Coincidentally, I also wrote about a family member whose birthday is today—my cousin Jeff who died ten years ago at age 58. It’s nice to have a place to express our feelings and relive our memories, isn’t it?
Great post about Jeff, Amy! The photos are fabulous. He was a good looking young man. You must miss him so much.
Thanks, and yes, my whole family misses him.
What special memories! I remember a little about one of my grandmothers but my other grandparents were long gone before me. This is such a sweet tribute! 🙂
Aw, Linda, I’m sorry you didn’t know your other grandparents or have a lot of memories of the one you do remember. But that is a good reason for researching them and learning more about them!!
[…] Treasures from My Grandmother […]
I Told you that the hair came late so that the inner (brains) would have time to grow!!!?!😊 💝 🎊😊
Sent from my iPad
>
Dad, funny how you post under Mom’s name, but I still know it’s you! hahaha Stop making fun of that poor bald baby ;).
With such wonderfun and vivid memories, you’re ensuring that the life of your wonderful Grandmother lives on for your family, friends and even blog followers. This is really from the heart Luanne and I enjoyed this post very much.
[…] because the girls graduated high school together. You can read about their graduation here and here and here. In this post, Grandma, Dorothy, and Vena are shown as children with their parents and […]