home » stories » by mesearch within stories
It was convenient to have my grandpa Jesse Hibbard live right next door (to our south) as I grew up. It was particularly helpful if either I didn't like what we had for dinner (I was a fussy eater until I started eating Harold's meals), or I didn't get enough at home. (More often the former in my earlier days, rather than the latter.) If grandpa was cooking at the time I came in, he would often ask if I was hungry. Then he might say “Would you like some fried rabbit tracks or [I forget the second common offer – please help].” I was usually interested in something else. If it was during the summertime, there would usually be fresh potatoes, green beans, or some other vegetable(s) from the garden that he had just “killed”. There might be fried chicken or fish to complement it or Johnny cake (corn bread – whose recipe I learned by heart, having made it so many times with him). Of course, whatever we had needed to be capped with either Pepperidge Farm cake or ice cream with maple syrup poured over it.
During the four years that we lived in Fargo, I would spend one to four weeks with him in the summer, helping him with various farm and household tasks. During those times, I would wake up to the smell of sausages being cooked on the stove and pancakes following, or just the smell of the wood fire portion of the stove burning off yesterday's garbage. Typically, we would both sleep out on the front porch with his bed by the door and mine around the corner against the far southern wall, but he would leave the door open when he got up. I suppose the WCCO news contributed to my arousal as well. Often, I would wake up in time to help stir the pancake batter or cook the sausages or bacon strips, and, eventually, actually cook the pancakes for us. This is where I learned from him to watch the bubbles on the pancakes to judge when to flip them. During these summer weeks, I was first accused of being a chocoholic as we made our almost-daily trips to town for a few supplies. It was a good life to be a kid in his shadow.
Published 2021-03-25. Revised 2025-07-02.
If you find any error(s) in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]
Need Something To Do?listing of family stories by me Christina's Birth