It’s not a fancy table, but it’s big. When the kitchen was “modernized” in the 40s, the table was constructed inside the kitchen out of wide fir planks with cedar posts, thus making it too large to remove from the room. It has been the central gathering place for family meals and conversations over the many years that the ranch has been in our possession. As long as I can remember, there has been a green piece of gum stuck underneath. I often wonder when that gum first appeared and think about how it has silently witnessed generations of family meals, conversations, and laughter.
It's possible that the green gum was left there by my Dad or his friend Richard to hide a “crime” as a result of one of their youthful adventures on the ranch. A breath freshener, perhaps. A tale told round the table is that once they shot a turkey hen off its roost. Not only was that an illegal act, but Pa Buck was a keen observer of treating the property with respect. Dad says that he and Richard felt so guilty that they immediately cooked the bird, ate it, and buried the carcass to hide the evidence. When they returned to the ranch, it was dinner time. Dad said they were so full of guilt and turkey, they confessed right there at the table.
Maybe the gum fell out of one of my terrified sibling’s mouths the night my mom tried to convince us that aliens were not about to invade the ranch. Earlier that evening, we had gone on a long jeep ride over into the next pasture two hilltops away. At the very back of the property, as the sun was setting, the jeep quit. (Not unusual for the old war surplus Willys Jeep.) We began hiking back to the lodge, expecting someone to come looking for us soon. As we climbed the first hill, a full moon began rising over the hilltop, and the stars started to appear. My grandfather pointed out satellites, called them UFOs, and began elaborating on aliens and how they liked bright moonlit nights. He told us the ranch would be a perfect landing place because there was so much space. We ended up trekking all the way back to the lodge. As it was not unusual for us to stay out after dark “varmint” hunting, my mom never suspected that we were in need of assistance. When we returned to the table for a very late dinner, my sister and I were so hooted up we couldn’t eat. That late-night supper continued deep into the night because going to bed meant no one would know if the extraterrestrials arrived.
Or perhaps that gum was stashed there by one of our many cousins at our big Thanksgiving dinners after the blessing but before Maw Maw’s famous rolls were passed around. Every Thanksgiving, my grandpa would smoke the turkey, and every year, he would blow out a breath and say that this was the last year he would smoke the turkey. And every year, there would be another one of Grandpa’s turkeys until the year that it was his last.
At the end of such meals, when my great-grandparents were alive, Pa Buck would say,
"I have dined sufficiently!"
And Mama Williams would respond
"You say you went fishing?”
and it would continue:
"No! I said I’ve had plenty!"
"You caught 20?"
"Oh, you old goat!"
"You fell out of the boat?"
That silly old joke has become ingrained in our family culture and is often repeated as a signal that we have indeed been blessed with plenty. Even though my grandparents are gone, they remain at the table through their recipes and tradition. My children never met those grandparents, but every year, they anticipate the rolls and the smoked turkey, and inevitably, someone will say, “I have dined sufficiently.”
We are currently planning my daughter’s wedding, and many planning sessions will take place at the kitchen table. That green gum remains as a silent observer, quietly holding onto memories of the past. In a way, it represents the continuity of family life, connecting the present to the past. The fact that the table is too large to remove from the room speaks to its permanence and symbolic importance within our family home.
As we continue to cherish these traditions and stories passed down from generation to generation, we remember that they are not just anecdotes but living connections to our family's heritage. The table and its green gum underneath are more than objects; they symbolize love, laughter, and the timeless bonds that unite our family across generations.
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