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Note: REFN24 Ethel Purdon was born in Shanghai China where her father was active in trading.:. I remember her as a very 'warm arid humourous person. As children Jimmy and I used (to spend some summers in Mass. with. our: Grandparents. I have two recollections of those summers; one time, there: was a storm and. as a 4 year old I guess was afraid. The memory of having: hot chocolate, sitting on Grandma's bed and listening to stories of the .Derbys and Coffins. She had a. way of telling these tales as adventure stories. Gradually the fear seemed to disappear, I was told later by Aunt Jeannie that episode took place during the hurricane of 1938. Another fleeting memory; we were sitting on the porch in Nahant. I was about 8 or 9.. I guess she must have known that she was getting sick because she asked me to remember the stories that she told, so I could tell them to my cousins. She said since I was the oldest grandchild that I had a responsibility to tell these stones when she could no longer do it Even then she made me feel very important and I felt that I had a responsibility We used to spend every other Christmas at 275 Malboro. Every Saturday night we would have roast chicken and I can remember that Grandma would always carve, she said Grandpa, always made a mess of it. During; the day i would go into her room. sit on tne chaise with her and help put the genealogy book together, she would let me use the iron to put in the pictures. The Introduction to that book explained her great interest and her desire to have future generations learn about their ancestors.
Grandma had so many wonderful (qualities however when it came to cooking, she could not boil an. egg. I remember tea at 4' o'clock. Grandma with the tea service, cookies., cake and watercress sandwiches. We .always? had tea in the downstairs drawing room. then cocktails in the living room and then dinner
She was a good mother and wife. I am quite sure that she believed that a woman's place was in the home!;, caring for the children, house and whatever else she would have to do to please her husband. She would probably have wanted her gnandaughters be brought up to in the same maner. I wonder what she would think of todays modern woman.
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