Colorado vacation continued, 1996

After a wonderful visit with Jo Anne Wahlstrom in Buckley, Washington, we headed for Colorado – Jo Anne took us to SeaTac and we said our goodbyes.

The Denver International Airport is situated in the middle of a large cow pasture in the middle of nowhere, east of Denver. Bernie’s good friends from Erie, Lillian and Chuck picked us up and took me to Boulder where my sister, Ginger and Mom lived. Bernie went home with Lillian, who were her friends and neighbors before Bernie and King moved to Alaska.

My mother was so glad to see me in her own fashion, frail, old and suffering from the first stages of Alzheimer’s, she was full of big smiles.

I unpacked the next morning and showed mom a hat that Bernie had made for me out of purple flower material. It had a rim that could be bent in various shapes. She made a big purple fabric rose and tucked it on the side of the brim.

Mom fell in love with the hat! I wore it. She wore it. I wore it. She took it off my head and put it on hers. We played the hat game all day.

The next morning the purple hat was resting on my dresser next to my bedroom door. I looked up just in time to see an old wrinkled hand with the crooked finger, grab the hat. Mom poked her head in the door of the bedroom, jammed the hat on her fuzzy gray haired head and skipped ran down the hall laughing “Tee heee! Teeehee!” She pulled out a chair, sat down at the table and started eating her oatmeal with the hat on. If I came near her she would grab the rim of the hat, pull it down over her ears and say with a grin, “It’s mine!”

She wore that hat off and on each day I was there. We had so much fun with that purple hat. When I packed my suitcase to leave, the purple hat was in her bedroom. I told her she could have it. “Thank you, thank you!” she said with a big grin. I have the feeling that was hers from the very first day.

When she passed away, my great niece Kaylie wore it and then sent it to me. I wore it off and on and gave it to Gail to wear and then to Susan so she could wear Grandma’s hat.

I treasure the memory of my mom and the purple hat. Thank you Bernie for the wonderful memories.

Make sure you make memories every day. They are important!

The Pioneer Potluck series is written by 50-year resident of Alaska, Ann Berg of Nikiski. Ann shares her collections of recipes from family and friends. She has gathered recipes for more that 50 years. Some are her own creation. Her love of recipes and food came from her mother, a self-taught wonderful cook. She hopes you enjoy the recipes and that the stories will bring a smile to your day. Grannie Annie can be reached at anninalaska@gci.net.