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Her Hearing Aids Don't Work
Written by: Allison
On December 15, 1933, Theresa Louise Shultz was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
She is known to all of her grandchildren as Grandma, her friends as Treety,
and her children as Mom. When you need her the most she is always there.
She lives just down a very long and bumpy lane in a very old house that
was built partly during the Revolutionary War.
We say there are ghosts in her house, but
to this she replies, “There are no ghosts in my house, there is only your
imagination.”
My sister says ”It followed me up the steps.
I don’t now who it is. I think I’ll name it Fred.”
Also my grandmothers hearing aids don’t
work either
Childhood
During her childhood she lived in a frame house in Baltimore County. To
entertain herself she did a number of different things. She would play
dodge ball with her schoolmates. Double Dutch and other jump rope games
were among her favorite things to do during her free time at school. At
home she would play with a number of toys. Some toys Grandma played with
were dishes, a dollhouse, a tricycle, a bicycle, a scooter, and doll carriages.
Grandma said to me ”When I was young I liked to play cards. I still do,
but my favorite toy when I was a child were dolls.”
School Years
Grandma always loved school. At first she went to a three-room school where
she learned how to do mathematics and grammar. After going to a three-room
school from first grade through fourth she went to a Jarrettsville School,
which was 1st through 11th grade when she moved from Baltimore County to
Harford County. By the time she was in her senior year of high school North
Harford was complete. She then attended North Harford High School and was
elected the first class president. She also graduated from Piedmont Conservatory.
“My year of being class president was quite a stressful one.” stated Grandma
Later Years
After attending North Harford, Grandma got a job working at her family
owned business in White Hall, Maryland. It was an apartment house with
a lunch counter. There she met my grandfather, John Milton Perdue, and
learned that he was sixteen years older than she was. John Perdue was a
farmer on a large piece of land in White Hall. They were married on February
23, 1957. They had two children, John Milton Perdue Jr., and Diane Theresa
Perdue. Her family lived in an upstairs apartment in her husband’s father’s
house. My grandfather had two sisters, my great aunts Mary Alice
and Margery.
Her husband died on February 24, 1989, my
sister’s birthday and my grandparent’s wedding anniversary. I believe that
it was a tragic day for everyone in my family, especially Grandma.
My Memories
I will
always remember my grandmother for everything she does for me and loves
to do. Some of these things are playing the piano, singing in a welsh choir
and traveling to different countries. My fondest memory of my grandmother
is she loves to cook. During every meal we have ever had to celebrate something
she would always make it even more special, by making something terrific
for your taste buds. One year during my mom’s birthday she made a large
cake as one of her gifts.
As you can tell she has lived a life of
good times and tragic, but there are two things for sure, my grandma will
always be there for me when I need her the most, and she will always make
a special occasion even more delightful.
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