Memories

When I was growing up, the Fourth of July was always one of my favorite holidays. My grandfather had a large barbecue pit that he’d start getting ready early in the morning. He would always grill both pork and beef ribs. I always preferred the pork. He’d be joined by my dad and maybe one or two male cousins to help him barbecue the ribs. He would slowly cook the ribs to perfection.

My grandmother would be inside cooking everything that would go along with it. She’d start with a heating up a mixture of water, salt, vinegar, and butter in a sauce pan that she’d send out to my grandfather to baste the ribs with as they cooked. She’d also boil a huge pot of corn-on-the-cob, all fresh from their garden. She’d also make fresh lemonade, sweet iced tea, and prepare the barbecue sauce. 

While she was doing this, my mother would get the baked beans ready to go in the oven. Usually, my mother also made two large bowls of coleslaw before we left home. She made two because she made one with tomatoes and one without. She’s the only person I knew who’d use tomatoes in coleslaw, but some in our family loved the tomatoes. My sister and I didn’t, this the reason for the second bowl without.

Family came from as far away as Tennessee and Florida. Nearly all of my paternal grandfather’s family came for the Fourth of July barbecue. They’d bring with them a wide variety side dishes and salad (traditional, fruit, congealed, and/or pasta), and almost everyone brought a dessert. There would be so cakes, pies, and confectionery concoctions that always seem to pop up as popular around the Fourth, usually with a red, white, and blue theme. Someone would also bring plates, cups, and ice. 

Speaking of ice, I had one cousin who constantly ate ice because she believed she’d spontaneously combust if she stopped. She was not joking either. She really believed this. She was also from the crazier side of the family, those who lived in Florida of course. She had married into the family. Very sweet, but crazy as a loon. My Florida cousins would also stop at the Creek Family Restaurant in Atmore, Alabama, to buy some bread, which they were quite well known for. It was owned by the Poarch Creek Indians who had a nearby reservation. I’m pretty sure that the restaurant is now closed since they built the casino there instead. Just in case they didn’t stop to get some of this bread, my grandmother would also get a few loaves of B-B-Q bread, which was basically thick cut white bread topped with sesame seeds.

Most people would stay all afternoon and visit. My grandmother would usually make some ice cream. She made the best ice cream. I can still remember that avocado green ice cream maker that was about the size of a five gallon bucket. Vanilla was always my favorite, but if someone else brought their ice cream maker, she might also make peach or chocolate ice cream. There was also usually a watermelon cut up at some point. In the evening, we’d shoot off fireworks.

It was always such a special day. In the last years of his life, my grandfather had cancer and was in the final stages when the Fourth of July and could not get out of bed. Everyone came and my dad did the barbecuing that year. My grandfather was bedridden and barely able to eat anything, but he enjoyed having everyone there. It was the last time we all gathered like that, and he passed away later that month. Some people say that family members in the final stages of life will hold on through Christmas holidays, but my grandfather held on for the Fourth of July. 

Each year, if I can, I make barbecue ribs, corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, and slaw to remember those wonderful times so many years ago. I don’t have a barbecue grill, but I make do. This year I made the ribs in the slow cooker and finished them under the broiler. They turned out wonderfully. They are such happy memories, and I try not to dwell on that final gathering. Granddaddy would want me to only remember the good times, and they were great memories.

I hope all those who celebrate it had a wonderful Fourth of July!

I can’t forget the Isabella pic of the week!