This week, I was sorting through the newest batch of photos from my mom’s home. My sister and I are still going through all of her papers, photos, and mementoes she loved. This particular photo stopped me in my tracks. I had never seen it before.

Gretchen is sitting by the fire of their “summer” home, named Grasmere. She is definitely a teenager. I’m going to guess she’s 15 or 16. Her dog, Flame, is stretching out by the fire. Frankly, he couldn’t look more comfortable. Mom has a grin on her face and I wonder what’s she’s thinking. She looks a bit like she’s posing. Did they have company over?

I am curious why she is in a sleeveless dress. It doesn’t make seasonal sense with the roaring fire. She is also seen in an outdoors photo wearing the same outfit, but there are leaves on the ground. It must have been a warm day in autumn. I may be stretching a bit like old Flame, but I still catch a feeling of fall; a country fall.

Her parents, William C. Grauer and Natalie Eynon Grauer, who were well-known artists, purchased the old farmhouse in 1938. They loved the country, and this place was a retreat for them. Originally built in 1831, it had 40 acres of land which their neighbor leased for his cattle. They named it Grasmere after William Wordsworth’s home in England.

It was on Old State Road in East Claridon, Ohio; close to the Amish community in Middlefield. It was not unusual to see horse-drawn buggies pass by their home.

This is another reason I am intrigued by the photo. On the left-hand side, above the fireplace, are two serving dishes. There are definitely Amish figures hand-painted on them. I like to imagine that they drove into Middlefield one day, searching for eggs, bread and supplies. They walked by an artisan shop, paused, and made the decision to go in. I am sure they would be antiques today, but I do not know what happened to them.

Next to the dishes are both dark and light-colored mugs with interesting handles. I have one of those! I don’t remember how or when it came into my possession but I feel warmth, like the fire, knowing that I have something which appears in the photo.

Through my research, I learned my grandfather spent considerable time restoring that house. It had no modern plumbing and only a single electric light. He jacked up the floors with steel posts and tore down two chimneys, building a new fireplace as a buttress and a decoration to the kitchen wing. He replaced old windows with picture windows and installed another bath upstairs. Bill even removed the kitchen ceiling to reveal the hand-hewn walnut timbers. It took him about five years to complete the restoration. After the war, he rebuilt the barn/garage to use as a studio where they held art classes in the summer months.  

I am sure that with Thanksgiving a week away; I am sub-consciously tying the holiday to this photo and that’s why I get a fall impression from it. But it makes sense.

If mom was 16 years-old, the year would be 1946. World War II had ended only a year prior. Food was no longer being rationed. Unencumbered by war needs, being able to celebrate a “true” Thanksgiving again appeals to my sense of nostalgia.

I did a little digging and learned that 1942 was the year of the first wartime Thanksgiving. Even though sugar was technically the only rationed item in the grocery, there were shortages of meat and butter, too. Interestingly, they also had limited access to certain traditional spices because they came from areas now occupied by the Japanese. In addition, cargo space was needed to be reserved for wartime supplies.

The same issues continued well into 1943 and 1944. Not only were meats, butter, and sugar being rationed, but cheese, fats, and canned or processed foods were as well. Some folks would save their ration stamps for the holidays and use innovative techniques to create the perfect meal. Ironically, even though they didn’t ration chicken and other birds, finding a turkey for your own table was quite a chore, since many of the birds were shipped overseas for the servicemen. (Credit: ddaymemorial.blogspot.com.)

I like to think that my family could buy a fresh turkey in Middlefield that year. Mom did share with me that during the war, they grew their own tomatoes and grapes. They made a lot of canned stewed tomatoes and grape jelly. Those items may well have appeared on their table.

Their primary home was in the city of Cleveland, where both my grandparents taught art courses at Cleveland College. This drive north may have been the last one for the season as northeast Ohio can get a lot of snow and frigid temperatures. All three of them would have had a couple of extra days off from work and school.

Whether they took this photo in November, 1946, I will never know, but I am happy imagining this sentimental story. I no longer can ask mom to explain the circumstances, which is sad, but I am thankful for finding it.