Aunt Vernie

I have recently been working on some geneology and had a distance 2nd cousin contact me about a mutual ancestor who was my aunt Vernie.
It brought back some memories about her that I thought I would pass along.
When I was little I was afraid of her. She looked mean to me and from a kids perspective scary. I remember leaving the room whenever she would come over to visit my Granny.
As I got older, I saw past the rough exterior and learned to really like being around her. She had raised 17 kids. I have the pictures to prove it. She did alot of nursing and midwivery. She would tell us about her famous salve. She told us about Uncle Jess cutting his arm once and how she sewed him up and put her salve on it and he healed up just fine. (About then, I was glad she wasn't around when I got hurt or cut) On one of the last visits I had with her, she gave me her recipe. She didn't want it to be forgotten. I wrote it down and still have it. I have never made it and after looking at the ingredients, I am not sure I ever will but you never know.
Recipe for Aunt Vernies salve
lb. tallow
lb. hog lard
lb. reson
lb. bees wax
melt together
add 14 drops carbolic acid
14 drops turpentine
strain, do not use if diabetic

To me, Aunt Vernie was a great example. She was rough and tough but had a heart of gold. She would do anything for just about anyone.
She loved to quilt. She made quilts for all of her kids and then went on to make for her grandkids. She went on to make quilt tops for the nieces. She figured if she made the tops they could make it into a quilt. I had mine for many years but never made it into a quilt. Sorry Aunt Vernie.
She loved to garden. When she wasn't able to walk up and down the rows, she would crawl.
She lived to be 95. She was my hero in many ways. She lived through tough times and raised a huge family and was still going strong until the day she died. I used to tease about keeping up with her but decided 8 kids was enough and if I could still be as active as she was I wouldn't mind reaching 95.
Uncle Jess was alot like my Grandaddy, He was tall and lanky and quiet and easy going, loved kids and loved to tease. That seemed a big trait in the
Andrews men.
It was fun to remember my Aunt Vernie after all of these years. One time when I was looking at some family trees I found where someone had listed Aunt Vernie being married to her husband's brother who was my Grandaddy. I had to laugh, she and Uncle Jess and Grandaddy would have gotten a kick out of it. Granny might have had a problem with it but it was funny to me.