Today, my mind was wandering as I looked outside to see a beautiful warm fall day. I was also thinking about Amelia, which made me think of my own childhood on a day like today and the tradition I started thinking about was, Popcorn Parties. Every year for I don't even know how long, we would go down to Braddyville, IA and pick popcorn. The tradition started because my great grandma wanted to see the family and wanted a way to pull us all down there. So my great aunt and her husband owned land that he would farm. So they took part of the land and would plant some rows of popcorn. Then everyone would come down in the fall and help pick it. My family isn't the biggest, but it was like a huge family get together every year. Even after my great grandma passed away we kept the tradition up for a few years afterwards.
No Braddyville is a very small town on the boarder of Missouri and Iowa. I was amazed at how small it was (especially since I came from the metropolis of Orange City - 5000 people on a good day), the biggest commercial 'store' in Braddyville was the post office. The roads weren't even really roads per say, because they didn't have curbs and evidently in my mind you have to have curbs in order for it to be a real road. The town was quaint and we could go between Great Grandma's and Deloris' house without supervision - which was amazing! I have soo soo many great memories of this place. If I wrote down all the details, it would take forever! So I'm going to do a bullet list of sorts.
- Pick the popcorn (Honestly - I was not the best picker)
- Shucked the corn and divided into 5 gallon buckets (once again, not helpful here)
- Have a bonfire that night - we would throw popcorn the fire and watch it pop
- I had my first raw turnip from a field
- Play hide and go seek around the property (either great-grandma's or Deloris' - they had lots of little buildings, which made it great fun!)
- Play down by the river....saw the biggest snake I have EVER seen...it was black and went across a double wide dirt road
- Played on tractor tires
- Played with Deloris' cats and kittens
- Crafts that Deloris made...in particular rugs from scrap pieces
- Going to church on Sundays
Popcorn Parties are one of those memories I wish I could pass onto Amelia. I know we will have our own memories that will be created for Amelia in which she will cherish one day, but still - I would love for her to experience what it was like in the good ole days. I'm sure her daddy also has some memories and traditions like mine. I think memories and traditions are a gift that parents and grandparents can give to their children and grandchildren. I'm excited to build those with Amelia.
So enjoy your fall day! And if you are from the Didier side - you can also reminisce about all those Popcorn Parties!
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