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Were They Symbols? Or Superstitions?
Most families have some symbols that they live by. Some even call them
"superstitions." Our family was no exception. In looking back, I'm
pretty sure that some of these came from my Granny Coney, even though
she never talked of such things. She was of English-Scotch-Irish
descent, and always kept their house--and yard--neat and tidy. I hadn't
realized just how much of this was attached to superstition until late
one Sunday afternoon at her house near Ladonia, Texas. In helping "tidy
up" after the all-day domino game, I took the broom outside to sweep the
porch. The families had usually gone home before this time of day to
tend to their stock, but since we lived so close to them, I had decided
to stay and help get things cleaned up.
When Granny saw me, she came hurrying out saying, "No, honey, don't
sweep the porch!" I couldn't understand her obvious discomfort over my
wanting to help. So I said, "Well, Granny, I was just going to sweep off
the dirt that we had all tracked in today." She replied, "That would be
nice, but the sun has just gone down, and it is twilight."
"So?" I asked. "What's that got to do with it?"
Granny explained, "Twilight is when the good spirits come and sit on the
porch to rest. If you sweep dust in their little eyes, they will leave
and never come back. Now, we don't want that to happen, do we?" I agreed
that we certainly did not want that, so I took the broom back into the
house. That is the only time I ever remember her mentioning "spirits."
Granny was a very private person, so since she never brought up the
subject again, neither did I.
I have already mentioned that she kept her yard neat and clean. Not one
blade of grass was allowed to grow there. If she saw one, she grabbed
her hoe and eradicated it at once. Their house was surrounded by fields
of cotton that were full of weeds and grass, so keeping the yard clean
required a lot of effort. But, on the other hand, she kept her yard
filled with a variety of flowers from early spring to late autumn. This
would indicate that she obviously liked to have growing plants around.
The yard was large, but there was never a sprig of grass to be found.
I didn't think much about this until a few years ago when I was enrolled
in a course entitled "Cooke County History" at North Central Texas
College (formerly Cooke County College) in Gainesville, Texas. Part of
the curriculum was a tour of local cemeteries with studies about their
decorations, tombstones, and upkeep. The course instructor, Ron
Mellugin, told us that in some of the English-Scotch-Irish countries,
people kept their relatives' graves free from grass. Why? Because grass
growing on a grave indicated that the deceased was not cared for by his
relatives. Suddenly Granny's "no-grass" yard had a reason.
Granny's first child, a boy named Samuel, died from pneumonia his first
winter and was buried in Arkansas where they lived. Granny and Grandpa
moved to Texas the next spring. During the following years their family
grew, and Granny was kept busy with the necessary chores of daily
living. Too, transportation was not readily available to make long trips
then, so Granny never got to go back to tend to the baby's grave.
Although she didn't mention it, she grieved over that the rest of her
life. When she knew she was dying, she asked her youngest daughter, Mary
Lou, to go back to Arkansas to try to find that baby's grave and place
some flowers on it for her.
Mary Lou and her husband, Turner Love, did make a trip back to Arkansas,
and even found an old man in the country grocery store there who
remembered Granny, Grandad, and little Samuel. He had attended the
baby's funeral. He told them that he knew exactly where the baby was
buried, then went with them to the place, but they never did find the
exact location of the grave. At least they tried to fulfill Granny's
request.
It makes me wonder, why did Granny keep her yard bare of grass? Was it a
symbol of keeping his little grave clean, and by doing that, proving
that he was not forgotten, but was cared for and loved by her? I'll
never know for sure, but somehow I feel that is the answer.
Lowell McCormack
Gainesville, Texas
Published:
November 14,
2005
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