Saturday's Old Photo

These are the Mackies of Missouri, my mother’s mother’s family. I know very little about this photo or the Mackies, and my mother’s writing on the back doesn’t give me a whole lot to go on.  She doesn’t record the date or occasion and identifies only a few of the people.

The third woman from the left in the back row is my grandmother, Rosa Mackie Deckard. (I posted another photo of her last June.) The two women farther left  are Marie and Olive Mackie, the daughters of my grandmother’s brother George, and the woman to my grandmother’s right is her sister, Sarah Emmaline (known as Emma) Mackie Burrell.

In the front row, far left, is my grandmother’s brother Haulace Mackie. He lived in Hailey, Idaho where my mother grew up, so he is the only other person in this photo besides my grandmother that I knew. My mother called him “Uncle Haulace,” so that’s how I think of him. Next to Uncle Haulace in the front row are four people my mother identifies as “4 cousins.” They would be her cousins, I guess.

Because I knew so little about this picture, I popped the names into Google and found this photo of the grave of my grandmother’s parents, John and Mahala (Halie) Mackie, listing Haulace, Rosa and Emma as their children; and also this one of the grave of  my grandmother’s brother George and his wife, listing Marie and Olive as children.

In the information for the first photo, I rediscovered something I’d forgotten: My grandmother had a sister named Rebecca, only she was called Betty, not Becky, as I am. I’m not named after her, since I’m named Rebecca only because the state of Tennesee required a “proper Christian name,” and Becky wouldn’t do. (Haven’t times changed?) I’ve decided it’s nice to have a namesake among my ancestors anyway.

Did you notice that two of the men are wearing denim overalls, but the older man in the center leaning on a cane has topped his with a heather knit cardigan. Everyone else has short sleeves or rolled up sleeves. Is he cold because he’s older?

And three of the men are wearing hats. Not cowboy hats or farmer hats, but fedoras. What’s up with that?

If You'd Googled for News

on Septermber 11, 2001 at 09:54 am US Eastern Time, this is what you’d have seen. This comes via Interactive Publishing, where you can see more screenshots from 9/11)

Banana Sheet Cake

My family loves this cake, and this week I had a request for it from someone outside my family, so I’ve decided you might enjoy it too. I usually make this in a 12 x 18 x 1 inch pan, but I’m also following up with measurements for a 10 x 15 x 1 inch pan.

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 sour cream
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/2 cup)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, then stir in the bananas.

Spread batter into a greased 18 x 12 x 1 inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool and frost (see recipe below). Cut into squares. (I usually do 24 pieces, but you could cut 36 without anyone complaining that you’re stingy.)

Frosting:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3-3/4 to 4 cups icing (confectioners’) sugar

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in the icing sugar.

For 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

Use the same measurements listed for larger cake above for the frosting. Thicker frosting never killed anyone.