Today is October 11th. It would be my Grandma Mullen's 126th birthday. The photo at left was taken in Sacramento, California in 1969, during one of Grandma's winter visits to the Pacific Coast.
The photo was taken by my cousin, Tom Sheley. His mother and mine were daughters of Grandma Mullen. It was the last time he saw Grandma. He went into the service shortly after and she never returned to California for another visit.
Grandma was born Katherine Genevieve Griffin in Iowa in 1883. She passed away in November of 1972 and left behind 89 years of a hard work ethic and stoic Irish Catholicism.
She married Francis Mullen and they toiled on a farm near Lawler, Iowa, with eight daughters. In the 1940s, they moved to New Hampton, Iowa where Grandpa worked as a city policeman until his death in 1950.
Grandma then moved to Waterloo, Iowa and lived with my aunt, Madonna.
Grandma had grit, had spirit. I remember her once stepping into the middle of a fracas between me and another boy. We were about eleven and, as even friends do as children, engaged in a disagreement that turned ugly. I was beating the hell out of my good friend and he was crying and Grandma came to his rescue. At the age of 81, she had the strength to pull me bodily off my friend, which spared him a savage beating.
I remember once (it was during that same period of time) my oldest brother calling her "Granny". She didn't take to that. As a matter of fact, she picked up a broom and chased my brother out the door and halfway down the block. She came back to the house with that trademark Irish twinkle in her eye, her jaw set in a slight smile.
Grandma liked to give me dimes. Whenever she'd visit, I was wealthier for it. And believe me, dimes back then were like dollars are now. And the more, the merrier!
When Grandma's mind was failing, but prior to her taking up residence in a nursing home, Mom and I brought her to our home in Nebraska for a short visit. It was a 400 mile trip and Grandma wasn't sure what was going on. But, when we stopped for gas, she reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of dollar bills and forced them into my hand. "Here you take this, it'll help pay for the gas." That was Grandma. She never failed where generosity was concerned.
There's a lot more that I could say about Grandma Mullen, so I invite you to link to a column I wrote a few years back. It tells the story of one cherished possession I have to this day.
http://www.wendelpotter.com/view.php?page=mullen
Happy Birthday, Grandma Mullen. I'm playing an Irish Tenors CD and lighting 126 Irish candles for you!
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