Tablecloths, Quilts, and Cast Iron Skillets (Jennie Part III)

This post is a continuation of remembrances about Jennie Rachel Gay Robinson (see Part I and Part II).

Jennie’s grandchildren remember her quilts, tablecloths, and affinity for cast iron skillets. She left both completed quilts and quilt tops, each pieced together and hand-sewn. Some still remain unfinished, others have been transformed into their final form by more modern-day quilting methods.

My mother's well-used Jennie quilt, often found at picnics.

This tulip quilt by Jennie now lives in a trunk in my bedroom. It's one she completed herself, so is too delicate for use.

Jennie quilted this top and my mom had it finished for me for high school graduation. I stopped using it regularly some years ago because it can no longer be safely laundered due to the delicate condition of some of the fabric pieces. Other sections are standing up quite nicely!

“Grandmother made [a tablecloth] for each of her children when they were married,” Aunt Sharon explains. Often, those tablecloths adorned beds as well, as you can see from my mother's photo of her mother's tablecloth, draped across the bed in their guest bedroom.

 

Jennie's rocking chair, now in the home of mother's cousin Yvonne, draped in her mother Wilma's tablecloth, along with a photo of Jennie and Minnie as teenagers

Jennie's rocking chair

Jennie and FE spent their older years in Wichita Falls, Texas, after retiring from ranch work. My mother recalls, "When we visited her in Wichita Falls, I never saw the inside of her bedroom. She spent most of her time in her rocking chair in the living room or in the kitchen. When in her rocking chair, she was humming or softly singing a hymn and crocheting up a storm. I do have one of her crochet needles." Cousin Willis also has one of her crochet needles, kept as a memento of their grandmother.

"When we visited, Uncle Roy did most of the cooking," mother recalls. "We often had fish that Grandad had caught or meatloaf or chicken. We always had fresh vegetables out of the garden and cornbread or biscuits. I don’t remember ever having cake or pie or cookies. (I wonder if that was because Grandad was insulin-dependent diabetic.) Washing dishes there was where I learned NEVER to put soap and water in a cast iron skillet!" Aunt Sharon remembers learning that lesson as well: "I was going to wash the skillet and was stopped by her or Roy. They told me not to wash it or it would rust. They showed me how to wipe it out!"

“Grandmother was very soft-spoken. I never heard her raise her voice at any time,” mother says. 

Cousin Willis agrees. “I was always quite puzzled that such a gentle and thoughtful spirit as Grandma would have hooked up with such a rough, arrogant, bull-in-a-china-shop person as Grandpa. I was also always grateful that my mother [Beulah] had many of her gentle qualities…without Garrett’s,” he says, referring to her snuff habit.

Front Row L-R: Jennie Rachel Gay Robinson, Gloria LaZine Robinson Mason, Sharon Lea Robinson Reid

Back Row L-R: Franklin Earl (FE) Robinson, Robert George Robinson

This post is part of a series of work to learn about the oldest generation’s oldest generation memories… As my parents age, I’ve long thought I needed to start recording their recollections of the oldest generation of family that they remember. These writings include both information from my research, as well as first-person recollections.