The UPS Store #6197 PRINTING • SHIPPING • FAXING BINDING • LAMINATING NOTARY • MAILBOX <strong>Brandon</strong> MS 601-824-2221 Fax 601-824-2213 M 8a-7p • T-F 8a-6:30p S 9a-2p • Closed Sunday store6197@theupsstore.com www.theupsstorelocal.com/6197 62 • <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Recalling Memories Camille Anding Three ladies representing a total of 271 years sat comfortably in a quiet hallway in Peach Tree Village, their assisted living home. Mary Gibbs, 95, Bessie Long, 94, and Mary Green, 82, were blessed with loving families and Christmas memories they enjoy sharing. Mary Green operated a florist out of her home in Morton, Mississippi. She remembers the long hours of work, especially when working with weddings and funerals. Mary said, “Flowers were always comforting to a grieving family and provided smiles for happy occasions.” Once, a customer requested a turkey-shaped floral arrangement. She challenged her creativity and cut out a turkey from a wooden board and then covered it with flowers. Mary stopped to laugh and said, “My family said it looked more like a duck!” Christmas in her 24/7 shop that was attached to her home was filled with poinsettia deliveries and glittering floral arrangements. She said that an in-house business was convenient but it also meant husbands ringing her doorbell at six in the morning, panicking over forgotten birthdays and anniversaries. Bessie Long whetted our appetites when she shared about her bakery in Westland Plaza in Jackson. Bessie and her husband, Joe, owned and operated Long’s Pastry Shop where they had a booming business with fourteen employees. Joe worked in the back, overseeing the baking while Bessie covered the front and decorated the cakes. She remembers decorating and selling 100 birthday cakes in one day. The work was strenuous and demanding. Often, customers would stand in line and be willing to wait for Bessie to perform her artistry on their cakes. During Christmas, there was a large demand for their ambrosia, rum, and candy cakes. She described the candy cake as a multiple, split loaf cake with a cooked chocolate filling. No, she wasn’t able to keep her recipes or formulas as her husband called them. Life is much more relaxed for Bessie at Peach Tree, but she still recalls the exhausting work in their bakery. “If the car hadn’t know the way home at night, I’d never have gotten there!” Mary Gibbs recalled wonderful, warm memories of her childhood Christmases. She and her eight siblings grew up on a farm with their parents. “We were poor but didn’t know it,” she said. There was no electricity or running water. The only kind of Christmas tree she can remember was a holly tree. Her dad would secure it in a bucket of sand, and the kids would string popcorn for decorations. After finding safe spots for candles to perch on the branches, the kids would light the candles and surround the tree to make sure it didn’t ignite. There were no accidents, but Mary remembers that glimmering, homemade joy. She still recalls her dad taking the wagon to town one rainy, cold Christmas Eve, not realizing that he was going to buy Christmas presents. On Christmas morning she was thrilled with her present – a green and white striped dress with a sash. She and her siblings also saw Santa’s boot tracks on the hearth and the empty cookie plate. The family would eat biscuits, sausage and syrup for breakfast and spend the rest of the day making popcorn balls and syrup candy. Then they would gather around the pump organ and sing Christmas carols. All three ladies agreed that times are far different now. Their Christmas memories have no resemblances to this generation’s celebrations, but they’re grateful for their treasured memories and a safe, happy environment where they can still reminiscence. <strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 63
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