Introducing Grandma Daisy
for the
California Writers Club Book Signing
October 19, 2023, at The Avid Reader Bookstore
My Grandma Daisy Dooley Marshall wanted to make an appearance at the Avid Reader Bookstore in Sacramento. She was so proud of me, Kathy Lynne Marshall, who helped her spirit write her life story.
Part 1 of the fabulous Finding Daisy: From the Deep South to the Promised Land talks about Daisy’s younger years and examines why she lied about her birthplace.
The truth of her lineage starts in the Deep South, as revealed in Part 2, by her Grandmother, GramFannie—the best storyteller ever.
Part 3 tells all about my husband, Austin Marshall and me, when we migrated up to the Promised Land of opportunity in the 1920s.
And with my spirited help, Kathy sensitively wrote about my emotional later years in Part 4.
I’d like to read you a snippet from 1957, when my pregnant-with-Kathy daughter-in-law, Mary, lived with me at our first house on East 81st street in Cleveland, Ohio.
Part 1-Chapter 3-Teaching the Young Old Tricks
“Ok now, Mary, while you are living with me, I shall teach you everything about cooking, cleaning, organizing a household, and taking care of a husband and baby. You will get the benefit of my many years of experience, just like you were my natural-born child.”
“I certainly appreciate your guidance and anything you wish to teach me,” responded twenty-three-year-old Mary.
“Well, Mary, what is your favorite dish to cook?” I expected her to say something like roast beef with scalloped potatoes, or pork chops simmered in gravy, or Sunday baked chicken with salad greens. After an unexpected silence, she hung her head and mumbled something. “What did you say? Mary, speak up! I can’t hear you.”
She raised her head a bit defiantly, fire in her eyes. “I hate to say it, Daisy, but I can’t do much in the kitchen. My oldest sister, Norma, sometimes cut up vegetables, but Mom preferred to do all the cooking herself. Truthfully, I can only make a jello mold.”
My eyebrows arched in surprise, but I took charge and said, “Now, Mary, after I come home from my nursing duties at the hospital, I am going to teach you how to cook. My son is going to be a doctor and his nutritional needs must be met every day to keep his brain and body functioning at top speed. And your baby is going to need you to take care of its needs too. I shall teach you how to cook, manage a household, and take care of a baby and a husband. You are in good hands, my dear.”
As long as she has a teachable spirit, we will get along just fine.
The First Cooking Lesson
I escorted my big-bellied daughter-in-law into our bright yellow kitchen and showed her around. “Today, we are going to cook roast beef with mixed vegetables for tonight’s dinner. Another day I’ll teach you how to make the fluffiest chicken and dumplings and my famous potato salad. And I’m sure Austin will share his secret Down Home Georgia family recipes for rum cake and bread pudding.”
“Let’s start by learning the basics, how to cut vegetables. Pointing to the lower cabinet door next to the sink I said, “Bring the cutting board.” Mary squatted, her full belly supported by her bent knees. I grabbed a large yellow onion from the pantry, set it on the board, then got a sharp chef’s knife from the drawer.
After washing our hands, I said, “First, remove the outer layer of skin, like this,” demonstrating by cutting the root end of the onion and pulling off the outer layer of brittle skin. “Now cut the onion in half lengthwise, top to bottom, vertically cut every quarter-inch, then crosswise, making even little bits, like this.”
I sliced and diced one-half of the bulb, then scooped the pieces into a bowl. Passing the knife to Mary, handle first, I encouraged her to give it a try. She fumbled the knife with her outstretched dominant left hand and I thought she was going to cut off a finger. “Child! You don’t even know how to hold a knife properly, let alone cut with it? Here, let me show you again.”
Mary began to sniffle, either at her helplessness or the onion fumes, but she tried her best to accomplish this new task, creating a pile of diced onions, russet potatoes and carrots.
I opened a drawer under the oven and pulled out my trusty dark blue enameled roasting pan freckled with white spots. I placed a cylindrical slab of marbled beef into the pan. “Watch me tie this roast with white cotton twine every inch or so.”
“What does the twine do?” she asked.
“It keeps the roast’s shape as it cooks. OK, now it’s your turn to tie the last two segments.” Mary wrestled with the knots, but she finished the task satisfactorily.
“Now pour the cut vegetables into the pan.” There was a colorful mound of yellow, carrots, and white vegetables surrounding the trussed red meat. “One can of beef consommé will help steam the vegetables and keep the roast moist while cooking. Now we need to season everything with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.” I pointed to the spice rack on the pantry door. “
“How do you know how much seasoning to shake on?”
“You’ll learn with practice. Now place the pan on the middle shelf and be careful not to drop it.”
As Mary struggled to distribute her unaccustomed girth in order to set the heavy container onto the oven shelf, I could see it starting to tilt. The roast was sliding forward as her grip seemed to falter. The scene rushing before my eyes was the roast and all our hard work splashing onto the bottom of the oven in a messy heap. I rushed over, grabbed a pot holder next to the stove, and supported the bottom of the hefty dish with my right hand, guiding it onto the oven shelf just in the nick of time. Whew! Disaster avoided.
“I’m so sorry, Daisy. My grip is the weakest part of me, well…and my love of everything chocolate!” We both had a good laugh as I closed the oven door and stood up, rubbing my back after my heroic effort to save our dinner. Mary would have to learn how to do these things herself, with or without a child in her belly.
Kathy has several YouTube videos which show and tell important periods in her grandmother’s life: Video Playlist
Finding Daisy is available from Amazon or, for an autographed copy, contact author Kathy Lynne Marshall.
Want to know about Kathy’s Books? https://kathylynnemarshall.com/books/