Wednesday Treasures - Memories of my Grandma Tedlie

I didn't have a new "Wednesday Treasures" post ready for today, and so went back in time to this one, which was originally posted on 9/19/2018.  I see where many of my blogging friends have already seen it and commented, but I've made a few new friends since then, and most of us forget what we've seen in the past anyway, so I thought it would be okay to share it again.  I will make a couple of updates here and there as needed.  This one focuses on my Grandma Tedlie, and I know I have shared some of these pictures here recently, but bear with me as there are also some that many of you haven't seen.

Original Post 9/19/2018:

Okay, so some of my blogging friends started doing a black and white Wednesday theme, and I was late to get to the party. Now that I've decided to do this, I noticed that all my blogging friends have moved on to other ideas for Wednesday. So, even though I may be a day late and a dollar short, there is still something wonderful about old family black and white photos.

Today I wanted to share my memories of my Grandma Tedlie with you. She was my mother's mother, Flora Sheets Tedlie.  Grandma died when I was a teenager, but because we had moved from Pennsylvania to Florida when I was only five, (and she and my grandfather lived in Ohio), our times together were few and far between. Also, my grandmother was rather sick in her later years, and when we did go visit during our summer vacations, she was often either in the hospital or in bed at home.

Even though this is not a very clear picture, I have always cherished it because it showed me with my Grandma, taking a walk in the woods, probably on a fall day. I would have been about two years old.

And here I am with Grandma and my cousin Cheryl (on the right).  Cheryl was about two months younger than I.  

I'm the one with the mouth hanging open and the big eyes looking in wonder at something or someone! I haven't changed much.

Current Note: (I know you've seen the doll a lot lately. Just bear with me. This story is about the Grandma who made her.)  This is my dolly "Sandra", who was lovingly created especially for me by my Grandma when I was a very little girl. Yes, I still have her. Isn't she sweet? I am not certain why I named her Sandra...can't recall that I ever knew anyone by that name when I was a child, but now I have a niece "Sandra" (Sandy), who looks a lot like this doll...dark brown hair and big blue eyes!  (My brother Cliff's oldest daughter!)

This is a Halloween postcard that was sent to me when I was seven from my Grandma and Grandpa. If you read it, she tells me that she wants me to "keep this card...it is about 46 years old. Your Great-Grandma bought it."  Well, that was in 1957, so it would be 107  (109) years old now!!! Wow! I guess this IS a keepsake!  Note the 2 cent stamp too!

Front of card: (as seen above in the beginning)

This is a picture of my Grandma when she was probably about five or six years old...

And here she is at age nineteen or twenty I believe...Isn't she lovely?

And this was my Grandpa Tedlie... Benton F. Tedlie. Isn't he handsome?  My oldest son is named after him. Almost every one of my grandparents' five children has carried on his name in one form or another in their children or grandchildren... (sorry for the reflection of my hand taking the picture...I was too lazy to take the picture out of the frame, and so everything reflected on the glass!)

Below is a picture of my Grandmother with her parents and her Aunt "Dode" (Dora)  , but I'm not sure which one is which... (Aunt Dode is the one standing on the right back. My Great Grandma Sheets is seated on the front next to Great Grandpa Sheets)

Here is my Grandma many years later, at her garden gate...isn't she lovely...and also the garden gate?  I love this picture.

And I LOVE this little picture...it is my Aunt Margie, Aunt Belle, and my mother Dorothea, sitting at their little table and it looks like they are playing with blocks.  Probably my mother was the one playing with the blocks, as she was much younger than her sisters. They were most likely entertaining her and keeping her out of mischief.

I guess this is enough for today...I will save some more for another time and another place...

Edit:  Let me add these next two pictures of my grandmother and grandpa.  I love these portraits of them. My mother had these hanging on the wall in our home where I grew up. I believe my sister has them now. You can see that my grandma was a beautiful woman in her "prime", and of course my grandpa was pretty good looking too!

My memories of my Grandmother are so few, and that makes me rather sad. I would have loved to have known her better and have spent more time with her. One special memory I have was when I was very young we visited at my grandparents' farm in  Frazeysburg, Ohio. They had a big old two story house, and I remember that my sister Doris and I would play upstairs in one of the bedrooms, and it seems like we had a little tea set and sat beside what was a door, which opened up to a tiny little balcony over the front porch, on the second floor. The door was not open, however...but I remember it. I know there is a picture of that house somewhere, but not in my collection...just in my memory.  I wish I could see that old house again. Maybe one of my relatives will share a picture with me someday!

If you are blessed to have young grandchildren still, take the time to do special things with them...take walks in the woods, have a little tea party, or make them something special just for them...a rag doll or teddy bear...something that will be a keepsake.  Send them letters or cards or something written in your hand that will become a cherished treasure.  In this digital age we tend to do everything online or with gift cards, and there is very little tangible human contact.  I only have one grandson, who is now almost 19.   21!!  When he was young we tried to visit every year for his birthday and do fun things together, but because they lived so far away from us it was difficult to be together very often.  Now that he is grown I miss those happy times when I could hold him in my lap and read to him or just listen to him talk about everything that came into his mind...he has always been a "talker"... so I struggle now to think of things we can do to make more memories.  Now I am waiting for him to present us with some "great-grandchildren" someday...maybe? Please? But not TOO soon! :) 

Taken from a little book
"The Little Big Book for Grandmothers"
published 2002 by Welcome Books

Here are some other links to previous posts I've done about my Grandmother in one way or another:

Who Do You See In the Mirror?

Just What Is A Journal Anyway?

Discovering Hidden Treasures

Family Traditions and Happy Days

P.S.  10/7/2020:  I hope you have enjoyed this little walk down memory lane with me and my Grandma Tedlie.  Cherish your family and the memories that you have, and make new memories every day that you can for the future generation to share.  And most importantly, let us heed what this psalm tells us below:

Psalm 78:1-4

1. "Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2.  I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

3.  Which we have heard and known,

and our fathers have told us.

4.  We will not hide them from their children,

telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,

and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done."