The Red Flannel Rag

Goldie married Rob at age twelve. They immediately established a household and took

my mother to live with them. They raised her from age ten to age eighteen, when she

reconnected with my father and got married.

Rob and Goldie Crawford’s family. Left to right: Joyce, Ruby, Goldie, Mom (standing), Rob, Randy, and George

My mother told many stories about her place in her sister's home. She slept in an

attic room; and, after Goldie had her own children, they slept in the bed with Mom.

“There were cracks in the walls of my room, a nd at night I could see moonlight shining

through them. In the winter when it snowed, I woke up many mornings with a skiff of

snow on top of my comforters,” she told me.

“I had to do most of the cookin’. Rob wanted his food cooked just right so when

he told me how to fix something, I made sure I did it his way,” Mom said. “A couple of

times, he threatened to whip my ass because I didn’t get enough salt in the beans. Rob

was a pretty good teacher when it comes to cookin’.”

Mom told us she was given all the dirty chores and was responsible for taking

care of Aunt Goldie's four children. She tells stories of how those children did mean

tricks to her by running ahead of her as she was going to the outside toilet, sitting on the

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