My sweet 85 year old Grandpa, whom I just adore, wrote a beautiful, brief history of his life and emailed it out to all his family a couple years ago. Last night I was just reading through it again and it is just amazing to me. He had a very humble life, moving across the country during WWII, and working hard to help provide for his parents and family.

A part of it that really stood out to me this time was a part about his Dad really caring passionately about his big garden.

(That is my grandpa on the far left and his dad in the hat on the right.)

My grandpa was born in Arkansas and they lived there for the first 10 years of his life in an apartment. Some cousins of theirs who lived in Yakima, Washington told them it was a great place to raise a family, so they left on a train but didn’t quite make it to Yakima. They stopped and visited another family member in Rupert, Idaho and never left. They were impressed with the little community there and my great-grandpa applied for a job and the rest is history.

They bought a house and immediately he planted a HUGE garden. He would share his bountiful harvest with family, friends and neighbors. My dad followed in his grandpa’s footsteps by also planting a big, bountiful garden and sharing with everyone around. He even wore a hat every time he’d garden, just like his grandpa :)

(Those are 2 of my kids standing in front of my dad’s big garden :) )

One of the cutest stories in my grandpa’s history was how the whole family would get together to harvest their huge crop of corn and freeze it together. They’d work hard all day together and then go get hamburgers for ten cents a piece at Arctic Circle. “Many hands make light work” was their motto for everyone helping (especially for any kids who were whining about the work!).

I remember doing the same thing with my dad’s corn. We’d work hard all day to shuck, blanch, cut, bag and freeze the corn and then go get hamburgers :) My grandparents would always come over to help us on this day so I bet that warmed their hearts to see the same activities happening together as a family a couple generations later.

On the other side of the my family, my mom’s mom made a beautiful family cookbook probably 30 years ago and gave them to all of her kids. She has since given them to all of us grandchildren as wedding gifts.

It has over 100 recipes and wrote a cute story with each and every one. Her personality just shines through on the pages and it is something I will cherish forever!

Food is such a great way to carry and pass something on from one generation to the next. Food is a big part of memories that are created with family gatherings or even the simplest of family dinners.

If you are a younger person and still have some living grandparents, I would encourage you to ask them stories. Ask them about their youth and the things that are most important to them. Ask them what things they learned from their parents and what kind of things have been passed down from generation to generation.

If you are a grandparent, I would encourage you to do the same to but vice versa :) Tell your grandkids these same kinds of things. It was so fascinating and inspiring to learn my Grandpa’s first jobs and what a hard worker he is and why. Your grandkids will really appreciate you so much for this and grow to love and know you even more.

If you haven’t done so yet, I would take the time to write a little autobiography of the things you can remember and the things that are most important to you. It will be cherished forever by those who love you most!

What is your legacy you are leaving? What things do your family do that have come from previous generations? Are there any dishes or types of food you know have been in the family for a long time? It is so fun to think about!