Double the Blessing

When I was a child I was able to say I had 6 grandparents.  Not because of divorce, but because of some unique circumstances.  My mom had 2 parents, but my dad had 2 dads & 2 moms:)

My granddad Al and his twin brother Bob Murray grew up on a farm near a small town in Coffey County, Kansas.  When they reached high school they became enamored

The Murray boys 1940s

with Verna and Vera Gentry, who were also twins.  Well, how to know who would ask who out on that date?  So, they flipped a coin and my granddad won the toss and when my grandma Verna answered the phone, the rest, shall we say, is history.  Of course, as you may guess, this is no ordinary love story because four years later they were all married in a double ceremony in 1937 and then took up residence together.

Wedding Picture

 They started out in Topeka where the boys worked in a grocery store along side of their uncle Fred Tichenor.  They eventually branched out to owning their own store at 17th and Clay (which was the first grocery store built west of the Mississippi after World War II).  My Granddad ran the meat department.  I can still remember the smell of the meat refrigerator and the American cheese he used to give me pieces of when I'd come to visit him.  They all retired in the late 1980s and the building is still there, but hasn't been a grocery store since.

Murrays Market

My grandparents house was a magical place in my memory.  It was a Mid-Century Modern style home built on a hill overlooking the Wanamaker corridor in Topeka (for those of you that know the area, it was above the Historical Society west of the movie theater).  It had 15 acres and bordered on a creek that kids & grandkids alike took full advantage of.  It was built in the 1950s large enough for the joined families of what would be 4 adults and 5 kids.  At the time they built it, people said they were crazy for building so far out of town (it is only about 15 minutes from where there store is).  The house had huge living areas, and the lower level was at one end my Grandparents' bathroom & bedroom, and the other end their siblings' with the kids' rooms in between.  Their house was in my memory always filled with love and laughter. 

the front of the house

Oh how I miss the back porch

My Grandmas dressed alike every single day of their life, down to the earrings and shoes.  They would alternate days on who would pick out the outfit.  My Granddads were a little more loose with it, and you could catch them around the house with differing outfits, but even at that the majority of the time they were dressed the same. 

Al, Verna, Bob & Vera

My cousins and I could tell which was our Grandparent at a glance, but if there backs were turned to us, we'd just have to say "Grandma" and then we'd figure out which was ours:)  It's funny each set of twins had a more sociable one and a quiet one.  My Granddad was the more talkative of the two boys - I could probably easily count the number of times Granddad Bob and I had a conversation of more than a sentence or so.  Grandma Ber was the more social of the girls, although they both enjoyed going out and about.

Each Grandma had a specific part of the meal that she was primarily responsible for, and they were outstanding cooks!  My Grandma Ber (Vera) did the main course, and Grandma was in charge of the dessert.  My Grandma made a cherry pie that was to die for!  My cousins & I often fought over who could have the last piece, and if we shared, who go the bigger piece of that:)

My Grandma was the first to pass away in 1996, oh how I miss her.  I wish I could say that I had all her social graces and sweetness, but she did teach me so much and I try to be like her:)  Even though it pained the rest of the twins to leave their beloved "Redbud Hill" as they called it, within a couple of years my Grandma Ber and Granddads moved to a retirement community where they didn't have to worry about such a big house and land.  Of course, the proper arrangements had to be made and they had to find 2 apartments side by side where they could break down the wall and continue to be a connected household - why change it after 50+ years?

One of my favorite pics of them - appeared in the book Happily Ever After by Laurie Wagner

My Granddad Bob passed away in June of 2000 and my Granddad in December of that year.  Granddad couldn't live with out his lifelong buddy around.  I sure miss my Granddad, there wasn't a time that I didn't leave their house where he didn't tell me how much he loved me or ask me if I knew how special I was to him.  Of course, I would shoot back with did he know how special he was to me?

We were blessed to have my Grandma Ber around for 6 more years.  She was a spunky woman and it wasn't surprising she outlived them all.  She was very much like her other sisters, one of which (Elma) would not hesitate to speak her mind and in later years would drag her cane around behind her - because she had to have it, but didn't really want to be bothered by it:) 

I apologize for the choppy nature of this blog.  It was a hard one to write, because I wanted to include so much, but I was afraid if it waited until it was thought out enough to write, it would never get done.