HOME CANNING
LOUISE & TOMMY RICKETTS
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| Margaret Louise Pumphrey born November 2, 1928 |
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| William Thomas Ricketts born April 25, 1929 |
Let's take a minute to honor the woman behind most of these great canning recipes.
A glimpse of the married life she shared with her husband and the family and
life they shared together for almost 60 years.
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| Tommy and Louise Ricketts Wedding Day, June 11, 1949 |
On June 11, 1949, William Thomas Ricketts married Margaret Louise Pumphrey at
Epiphany Episcopal Church in Forestville, Maryland. Here began the
marriage and life together of Tommy and Louise. Their first home together
was at 4625 Lewis Ave., Suitland, Maryland at Suitland Manor Apartments from
1949-1950. Louise worked for Western Electric Co., from 1948 -
1950. She owned a 1949 Plymouth car. In 1950, they moved to
an apartment in Kent Village, 7212 Forest Drive. Daughter, Rosie, was
born while they lived here.
Next they rented a home in Clinton, Surrattsville, Maryland, from Mr. Oussler from 1952 until 1955. Tommy and Louise raised chickens and totally renovated this
small home. Dad tells the story,
" Southern States had an advertisement in the paper, you purchase the chicken feed, you get 50 chickens for free. Well wasn't Louise surprised when she came home and I had 50 baby chickens in the downstairs bedroom. I didn't have a barn or shed, they had to be protected. She wasn't too happy."
Daughters, Joan and Terry were born while living in this home. The home caught fire in 1953, and Thomas was burned trying to save personal possessions. The house was repaired and they continued living here until the completion of the new home in Forestville. Thomas said Louise didn't want to move in that old house, but after renovations, she didn't want to move out!
In 1955, Tommy and Louise purchased a new home at 5513 North Forest Edge Rd., Forestville, Maryland. Sons, Billy and Buddy, were born while living here. The address was later changed to: 3500 North Forest Edge Rd., Forestville, Md. This house became the loving home which Mom and Dad would raise their five children, and where Louise began her food canning career. The first pressure caner used by Momma was a gift to her by Mr. Buck Bean, a family friend, who convinced Dad that with Louise raising a family of seven and performing all the household chores associated with this task, she needed some cooking tools to help cut her labor time in half.
In her spare time, Louise was an Elementary School Room Mother, Librarian helper, Little league baseball supporter and cheerleader for her sons, devout Episcopalian at Forestville Epiphany Episcopal Church, teaching Sunday School, baking cakes, and making sure all her children were baptized and confirmed. Momma transported Brownie Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, operated backyard fundraisers for Muscular Dystrophy and kept an eagle eye out to make sure all the neighborhood children were loved too !
Next they rented a home in Clinton, Surrattsville, Maryland, from Mr. Oussler from 1952 until 1955. Tommy and Louise raised chickens and totally renovated this
small home. Dad tells the story,
" Southern States had an advertisement in the paper, you purchase the chicken feed, you get 50 chickens for free. Well wasn't Louise surprised when she came home and I had 50 baby chickens in the downstairs bedroom. I didn't have a barn or shed, they had to be protected. She wasn't too happy."
Daughters, Joan and Terry were born while living in this home. The home caught fire in 1953, and Thomas was burned trying to save personal possessions. The house was repaired and they continued living here until the completion of the new home in Forestville. Thomas said Louise didn't want to move in that old house, but after renovations, she didn't want to move out!
In 1955, Tommy and Louise purchased a new home at 5513 North Forest Edge Rd., Forestville, Maryland. Sons, Billy and Buddy, were born while living here. The address was later changed to: 3500 North Forest Edge Rd., Forestville, Md. This house became the loving home which Mom and Dad would raise their five children, and where Louise began her food canning career. The first pressure caner used by Momma was a gift to her by Mr. Buck Bean, a family friend, who convinced Dad that with Louise raising a family of seven and performing all the household chores associated with this task, she needed some cooking tools to help cut her labor time in half.
In her spare time, Louise was an Elementary School Room Mother, Librarian helper, Little league baseball supporter and cheerleader for her sons, devout Episcopalian at Forestville Epiphany Episcopal Church, teaching Sunday School, baking cakes, and making sure all her children were baptized and confirmed. Momma transported Brownie Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, operated backyard fundraisers for Muscular Dystrophy and kept an eagle eye out to make sure all the neighborhood children were loved too !
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| As Momma called us..."My darlings!" (top row l to r, Joan, Terry, Rosie, Billy and Buddy) |
In 1979, Tommy and Louise began building a new home in
Lothian, Maryland, ten acres purchased from Mr. King. After working all
day, Tommy would go to the new house and work long hours to finish the family
home. When they finally moved in, sons, Billy and Buddy, moved with
them. Tommy took down the existing barn, rebuilt it on another
location on the farm, built a work shop, machine shed, grain storage shop,
cattle run-in shed, planted white pine trees to line the driveway and some
white pine trees to block the view of the shop. He said,
" Louise didn't want to look out and see the shop." Their family is extremely proud of the home and farm that Mom and Dad
built. This estate was built totally from money saved from years of hard
work, raising and selling cattle, investing in CDs and stocks, never purchasing
anything on credit.
Tommy and Louise planted a huge vegetable garden every spring. raising Silverqueen corn, tomatoes, green peppers, yellow squash, zucchini
squash, butternut squash, lima beans, green beans, turnips, kale, potatoes,
just to mention a few. Louise spent her summers every year canning the
vegetables. Buddy entered some of Louise's green beans and tomatoes in
the Prince George's County Fair and Louise took First Place, Blue Ribbons for
her work. Louise spent many long, laboring hours carefully preparing
tomatoes, green beans, and making the best bread-and-butter
pickles. She made many other delicious canned foods, Green Tomato
Relish, Dill Pickles, Zucchini Relish, Chili Sauce, Ketchup and Corn Relish, just to name a few. When canning season was over, Louise enjoyed a trip to Bethany Beach. She loved the ocean.
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| The Ricketts Family, Spring 1986 |
Tommy and Louise were the proud parents of five children: Margaret
Rose Ricketts Mencer, Joan Frances Ricketts Locke, Mary Theresa Ricketts
Redell, William Thomas Ricketts, Jr. (Billy) and George Walter Ricketts
(Buddy); nine grandchildren: Aprel Ann Mencer Green, William Christopher Walter
Mencer,
Wendy Sue Redell , Richard Aaron Redell, Angela Dawn Locke , Andrew Ronald Locke, Jeanne Nicole Ricketts, William Thomas Ricketts
III and Christina Michelle Ricketts; and to date (2012) eleven great-grandchildren: Sarah, Rose, Cassandra Rose,
Jordan Thomas, Tyler Christopher, Aaron Christopher, Madelyn Elizabeth, Bailey, Lauren, Ethan and an adopted great-granddaughter, Julia.
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| Grandma and her grandchilren (missing in picture is Chris) |
On October 23, 1992, their first-born daughter, Margaret
Rose Ricketts Mencer, lost her battle with cancer. At Rosie's funeral, I will forever have engraved in my memory, Dad and Mom
grasping hands as they walked away. The encouragement, strength, compassion and
strong will that life must move forward was a lesson taught to us all.
After long years of heart disease, neuropothy and finally
cancer, Margaret Louise Pumphrey Ricketts left this earth to live with our
heavenly father on August 30, 2008. Fifty-nine years of marriage to
Tommy, they had been through many challenges in their married life
of heartbreak and happiness. Tommy and Louise were totally
devoted to each other. The loss of Mom left a tremendous impact
on all. Her legacy leaves us with many happy memories spent as a family together, especially when we all gathered together to enjoy the delicious meals she prepared with her loving hands.
Though her hands were crippled with arthritis and her health had taken it's final toll, Momma was in her kitchen, canning tomatoes, the last two days of her life.