Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Pink Bowl

pinkbowl
The pink Stetson Melmac bowl has been a part of our Thanksgiving tradition as far back as I can remember.  It belonged to my maternal grandmother, and only on special occasions did she take it from its designated spot in the buffet.  We would sit around the large oak pedestal table, all the leaves having been added to accommodate the four generations.  Grandpa was seated at the head of the table, and the three kids would fight over the two chairs on either side of him.  I vividly remember staring at the bowl from my place at the table, being too short to see inside, and wondering what deliciously wonderful surprise Grandma had put in it, as it was passed from person to person.  Sometimes it was mashed potatoes, sometimes a vegetable dish, sometimes it was fruit salad.  Didn’t matter.  Anything she cooked was especially tasty, but there was something about that pink bowl... the sight of it still makes my mouth water in anticipation.
pinkbowldinner
After Grandma passed away in 1991, my sister and I were sharing our precious memories of dinner around her holiday tables, when Grandpa surprised us by telling us to take the bowl home.  I like to think I would have insisted my sister take it, but thankfully, it was not an issue.  We were delighted to discover there were actually *two* pink bowls, as pictured in the photo above, side by side.  Now, at each “pink bowl occasion”, we compare notes about what will be served in them, hundreds of miles apart.
It’s hard to imagine a Thanksgiving without the pink bowl, and the precious and comforting memories of times past.

10 comments:

  1. What a wonderful memory and post.

    Be pink!!

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  2. Love this memory. In our family, there is the "flower bowl" - one of a set of plain old cereal bowls, only the others all have a red stripe, and only one has green flowers. My daughters used to fight over it endlessly until they hit their early teens. I think I'll leave a provision in my will: "The flower bowl goes to whichever one of you carries on my genealogy research!"

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  3. Greta, that's a great idea! lol

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  4. What a great memory. I love reading about family traditions etc :)

    Keep Smilin
    Jenn

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  5. I loved this post, and wholeheartedly agree with every word. But I can't help but think what Grandma would say if she were here listening to us talk about our emotional attachment to her pink bowls. She'd probably swat us upside the head and say, "You prunes!"

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  6. You are so right, Debra - she'd wonder what the fuss was about! They're just serving bowls, right?? NOT! :)

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  7. Well now, this is unique Thanksgiving story. I love it! Besides the fact that I'm quite partial to all things pink, I think it's grand that you have such fond memories of a serving piece. I'll bet your grandmother would be delighted to think that you are remembering her, her house, her table, her food, and her serving pieces so kindly. :-) Thanks for sharing your memories in the COG, Karen!

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  8. I think I will buy a set of identical serving dishes so that everyone can have one when I'm gone to remember the "good ol' days."

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  9. How wonderful that there were two pink bowls! I think that is the best part of the story.

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  10. Karen, and the most delightful part is that you and your sister are still creating wonderful memories around those pink bowls --- and so be it for generations to come.

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