Aunt Delmer...
Now the name Delmer can be used as a boy or girls name. As strange as it seems, it has a meaning of one by the sea. Some Spanish twist to Delmar. The name reached its popularity in the 1930s and rose to number 430 on the most named list. In recent years, you don't run into many Delmers or Delmars for that matter.
I had an Aunt Delmer that passed many years ago. She was a feisty ole soul. Raised chickens for their eggs and on special occasions might sever the head of one she no longer admired. I remember her chicken and dumplings mostly. I think it was because she would ask, "how did we like the taste of Chicken Lips?" Or some other name as odd, much like Delmer.
Chickens go to roost at dusk, but that was not soon enough for Aunt Delmer. She usually ran the chickens to roost well before sunset, just before she went to milk her Jersey Cow. Her chickens always seemed a little nervous around her.
She did her wash on Thursday mornings just before daylight. She would build a fire under her black wash pot. Bring it to a boil and give the clothes a good stirring in lye soap. Her son bought her a brand new Sears & Roebuck washer for Christmas one year. She would have no part of it and claimed it did not get the clothes as clean as a good boiling.
Aunt Delmer could not read or write and would not have known her name written if she saw it. She was Half Indian and a little crazy like her full blooded daddy. He had a peculiar behavior. Usually when no one expected it, he would jump to his feet and pretend he was driving a team of horses.
I always watched in amusement how he cracked his imaginary whip and yelled horse orders at the top of his lungs. Well this is not about him but about Aunt Delmer. Just thought you might get a little of her flavor as she ran her chickens to roost.
There is this story about Aunt Delmer I would like to share with you:
Seems the preacher came calling on her one bright morning. Trying to save her soul is my guess.
She was a religious sort but did not frequent the pews of the church very often. That in itself required saving...:)
Well, the preacher told her that she was getting of the age that she should be thinking of the here after.
She said, "Oh, I do all the time preacher, no matter where-in the kitchen, outside in the barn or yard- I ask myself...What am I here after?"
Be well, think reasonable thoughts and for Pete's sake, let the chickens go to roost on their own...
Doc
