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Learning to embrace diversity requires one to reflect upon his or her upbringing and
heritage. I was raised in a university town in northeast Kansas (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!) and
my childhood memories include traveling to my paternal grandparents’ home to celebrate
various holidays including Easter, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Father’s Day
often coincided with my birthday.
My grandparents lived in a white two-story home in Horton, Kansas, a small rural
community located in Brown County. My grandfather’s family emigrated from
Czechoslovakia. My grandmother was Irish.
Each holiday had its traditional meal including ham at Easter, turkey at dinner and the
option of chili or oyster stew at Christmas. Many meals were complemented with Jell-o
salads, mashed potatoes, green beans, pickled beets and white dinner rolls. And Christmas
was always celebrated with cherry kolaches!
As a result of my oldest cousin’s inability to say “Grandpa,” my grandfather’s nickname
was “Bump.” The name remained through the birth of eight grandchildren and many great
grandchildren.
My grandmother’s name was Opal. In my early teenage years I remember asking my
mother why we didn’t call her “grandma.” My mother’s response caught me off guard as she
replied, “Because she’s not your grandmother!”
Not my grandmother? It was then that I learned my paternal grandmother, Bernice
Gormley, was a victim of ovarian cancer and passed away before I was born. I yearned to
know why this information had never been shared with me.
My mother must have read my mind. She explained my grandmother had lived a difficult life
and for many years displayed an angry demeanor, perhaps caused by depression or mental
illness. The family refrained from talking about her because of their unhappy memories.
There was little else my mother could tell me as Bernice died before my parents married.
Over the years I gathered stories from my father, some that gave me a glimmer of hope
that my grandmother indeed experienced happiness taking care of her family. She was
known for her baking skills, specifically when it came to making kolaches. Even with her
Irish background she was able to master the Bohemian treat!
When Opal, the grandmother I always knew, joined the family she embraced Bernice’s
culinary gift by learning to bake kolaches. To this very day the pastry remains a Christmas
tradition in our family.
