ask grandma j

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling




Today is St. Patrick's Day.....a day for all things green. You wear it, eat it, drink it and pinch it. Ok, you're not supposed to pinch it, but rules can be broken, especially if you're color blind.

As popular as this day is for the Irish, and those who stake that claim for one day, this whole party started in New York City in the 1700's. Of course no one told those Irish immigrants that St. Pat was born in England. Nevertheless, he saved the Irish from the serpents. He drove them into the sea, never to be seen on the Emerald Isle again.

Many Irish countrymen were so sad about the snakes banishment that they traveled to the United States of America. That's what my ancestors did. My sweet paternal grandmother used to love looking for snakes on the farm that she lived on with my grandfather. It was in Rhode Island, so it was a small farm. The snakes she would find were small barn type snakes. Pretty much harmless. For my grandmother, catching these snakes was a sport she could brag about in her letters home.

Margaret Mary Spellman, arrived in the USA on June 6, 1900 aboard The Oceanic. She was seventeen and alone. She worked for a nice family in New York City as a nanny for five years as payment for her visa and fare. Luckily for Margaret, she really liked her "family" and not all the immigrant Irish nanny's could say that. In later years she married a Frenchman of all things. OOOO LA LA.

My maternal grandparents were both Irish too, which is probably why I have such a pleasant temper-free disposition. Ok, I hear all the snickers. So, today I salute my heritage. I will wear my claddagh and I will have a boiled dinner the way my family always did with ham, not corned beef.

Now go be Irish! Even if it's for just one day.