Grannie Annie

(Photo left to right: Me (Annie), Grannie Annie, Katie (my sister), Katie (Grandma's sister.)

Anne E. Curtis (Mikulin) 12-13-1924 ~ 5-14-2009

Today is the day that in 1924, my grandmother, who has the same name as me, was born in Croatia. She grew to be an amazingly beautiful woman who fell in love with a man called John Curtis. Ever since I can remember, and pretty much as long as my father and his siblings can remember, they lived on Hickory Street in Wood River, Illinois. My memories begin every Thanksgiving since I was a baby. Every year, my dad, sister, and sometimes mom would get into the car and drive for hours, stopping halfway (Bloomington, IL) for food and restroom. After we’d ordered food, dad would call Grannie Annie to let her know where we were and how long we’d be. We’d eat and then climb back into the car to finish our long journey. It always seemed like it took sooo long to get there… longer than it actually did. That was probably the anticipation. Arriving at Grannie Annie’s meant seeing her, Grandpa, Aunt Jeanna, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Johnny Wayne, Kris, Karey, Johnny, and sometimes, Johnny’s kids. It also meant Grannie Annie’s chicken and dumplings. She made the absolute BEST chicken and dumplings in the entire world. No one’s been able to master that recipe since. When we were kids, our grandparents started buying our favorite cookies/other random food they knew we liked about a week before we showed up, and also stocked up on soda and chocolate milk… usually Yoohoo. Grannie Annie was the funniest old lady I’d ever met when I was younger… she always made jokes about things I didn’t understand though, lol. Mainly because I was far too young to understand them. Once Thanksgiving dinner came around, Grannie Annie had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, stuffing, cranberries, green beans, pumpkin pie… you name it, Grannie Annie, and sometime Aunt Jeanna, cooked evvvvvverything. After Thanksgiving Day, we stayed at Grannie Annie’s for 2-3 days. Grannie Annie always asked my Dad to sing and play guitar, and she’d sit at the table with her pad of paper, writing who knows what down, and she always had an extra pad for me, because she knew I loved to write and draw. With this entry, I’m posting a picture. The picture is of Grannie Annie and her sister Katie… along with me, Annie, and my sister, Katie. There are other pictures of my grandma, pictures I saw at her funeral, that I wish I had so I could post them. One in particular, when she must have been about 25… she was sitting at a kitchen table smiling that biiiiiiig Anne (at the time) Mikulin smile of hers… it was gorgeous, I will have to get a copy of it from my aunt soon. I miss her so much. Grannie Annie passed away on May 14, 2009, my 17th Birthday. I only wish I could have known her more. I love you Grannie Annie, and I always will.

XO,
Anne E. Showers-Curtis [Mikulin Clan]