I guess I had to turn 80 and be immursed in Family History before my mind began to churn on this one thought. Well, that, and the fact that Chicken Wings are pretty much a "thing" today. You can buy them in about any flovor you can think of. They are good hot or cold, and can be bought at just about any place on the globe. Then why, so many years ago, did Grandma Hall pick them out of all the rest of the Chicken as her favorite? Then there is that other question that I hadn't thought of in years. Why did my Mother always boil the chicken first then dredge it in flour and fry it? Well boys and girls I guess it takes growing up to figure out just what such perplexing questions REALLY mean!
Now, here is my take on it all. Grandma Hall was left with 5 growing boys and 3 girls to raise by herself. She ran a boarding house, which would have brought a mouth or two more in to feed every morning and evening. Taking stock of just how many pieces there are to a cut up chicken it isn't hard to figure out that the wings would be just about the only part of the bird that no one else would grab off the plate first, or last for that matter. Deduction! Grandma made her choice seem pretty special. "I like the wing the best!" Naturally her doting children would leave that
part for her, and of course the boarders would take the biggest and best for the price they were paying for their honor of being part of the "family". Then why did Mom learn to boil the chicken
first before frying? That one isn't hard either when you think about it. By boiling the chicken first they had stock for soup, or Chicken and Noodles another day. The back was pretty sparce
on meat, so that would furnish the little bit of meat for the Noodles. Mere deduction kids. I never remember having "fried chicken" in my home as a child. It is not a practice I kept when I started "housekeeping" myself. Jay liked his "fried chicken".
I guess taking time to find out just what might have been at the bottom of both of these questions I gleaned just a bit more into the wonderful women that preceeded me in this family.
A grandmother that was quick to let her children think they were doing her a favor, and a mother that carried on the frugal habit of making a chicken stretch into at least two meals. We
today don't think of such saving habits. We are so use to going to the store and buying what we need and then bringing it to the table with as much taste and look so to tease the appetite of the family that set at the table.
Grandma would have to raise the chickens in her yard, taking great pain to see they were fed properly and watered so they would grow as big and fat as possible. The choice of what kind of chicken to raise would have been concidered as well. Maybe that was why Mom always looked for Rhode Island Red Hens when she went to the Poultry Market on Pacific Blvd. in Huntington Park. No question, they were always fat, and tasty even when boiled before frying, not to mention the great chicken and noodles they produced in Mom's kitchen. It is the little things we seem to miss when we are young that stand out so when we reach old age.
Grandma always had an herb garden, and raised a great many things that were put into medicines that she used in caring for her patients when she was nursing, another way she helped keeping her family.
You know today we read and hear of all kinds of help single mothers have in keeping their families together. There were no such things back when Grandma found herself left with such a large family to care for. Oh, her children helped. The oldest boys went to work outside the home to contribute. It seems the girls found husbands early so they could leave the home to ease the burdens. When she moved to Ohio from Iowa with the family her oldest was 14 and the youngest was only 9 months old - that was Mom. Everyone had to pitch in. There was no griping or grumbling allowed. The older ones made sure the younger ones learned not to make waves or cause any extra stress for Grandma. A close knit family, they cared for each other and had such great respect for their Mother.
Well, that is the story of Grandma Hall and her favorite "chicken wings". You know I heard that when I was a kid, and to this day my favorite part of a chicken is the "wing". I never really knew my Grandma Hall. I saw her once when I was 8 years old. By then she was in her 60's and seemed to me to be a very sad lady. I asked Mom about her one day what she was like. Mom said she was fun to be with and smiled a great deal. Something I did not see her do while I was with her. It was my pleasure to submit her name to the Temple and do her Ordinance work. I am sure she is happy and smiles a lot where she is now. You know what? I bet she still takes the wing of the chicken if they have such things there.
Written this 6th day of October 2009
by: Eileen C. Rosenberg
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