My brother and I grew up in Sacramento. At the end of WWII we
lived downtown near the corner of 19th and Capitol Avenue. My
grandparents lived next door in an older home that had been converted to
apartments. My Mother worked for the State, so my grandparents came
over every morning for breakfast and to send (note I said send, not
walk) my brother and me to school.

When the milkman delivered the milk (in glass bottles in a metal
carrier), you could hear the bottles rattle as he walked up the stairs to the
front door. My brother or I would race to beat my Grandfather to the door.
If we got the milk first, we would shake the bottles up to mix the cream,
which was at the top, into the milk. Otherwise, we would end up with the
old-fashioned version of non-fat milk, and my Grandfather would get
the cream for his coffee. We were big into self-preservation.
I remember there used to be pushcarts with fruits and vegetables
going down the street in the summertime. The owner of the cart would
cut a plug from a watermelon for my Mom or grandparents. We also
had an icebox instead of a refrigerator, and I remember the iceman
giving us chips of ice to suck on. We lived catty-corner from a fire
station, and the firemen would open the fire hydrant for us to play in
when it was really hot.

My Grandmother was a great grandmother. She always had
treats for us when we came home from school. One of our favorites was
Lemon Meringue Pie – she always made one for us for special occasions.
For Thanksgiving, my Grandmother always made this great
cranberry salad. I have reduced the amount of sugar she used, and I
serve it alone or with sour cream instead of whipped cream. I still make
this every year for Thanksgiving as she did. With a Cuisinart it is so
easy. I wonder what she would think of all of the appliances we have now.

~Judy Persin

MY GRANDMOTHER’S CRANBERRY SALAD

6 oz. package Berry or Cherry Jell-O
1 cup bananas, cut in small pieces
1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
1 cup ground cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup celery, chopped fine
Juice of one lemon
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 envelope unflavored gelatin, if needed
1 cup apples, chopped fine
Sour cream
Prepare Jell-O as directed on box, substituting cranberry juice for cold water.
Refrigerate until it begins to set.
In the meantime, mix fruits and vegetables with sugar and lemon juice, keeping
walnuts separate.
Let stand for at least one hour;
add nuts before adding fruit mixture to Jell-O.
(I add 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin to the Jell-O mixture at this time
for security in jelling.)
Put mixture in mold and refrigerate overnight.
Serve with sour cream (or whipped cream as my Grandmother did).
My Grandmother also added more sugar but I cut that back too.
Note: I add the lemon juice as I chop the apples and bananas to keep them from
turning brown. I have doubled this recipe many times. It was one of my family’s
favorite dishes for Thanksgiving when I was growing up.

~Judy Persin