Heritage Notes – Gomin’, Warsh, and Subtitles
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Today I’m proud to bring you Mama’s third installment of Heritage Hints and Notes. I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. We’d love to hear from you in the comments below and be sure to check out her other Heritage posts by clicking here. Gratefully, Christy
I come from a long line of proud, hard-working country people, and despite what you might see on television from time to time or hear about ever now and then, we country people are definitely not stupid or ignorant. My ancestors may have talked differently from others but they were soft spoken gentle people.
A while back, I happened upon a documentary on Appalachian people. I try not to call Christy when these are on because more often than not they subtitle folks as they talk and nothing gets her riled faster than seeing Southerners subtitled…
This particular documentary really stood out to me, though, because I recognized a lot of phrases used by my grandparents, phrases that I’m often corrected on nowadays because folks simply don’t understand them. As it turns out, the words make perfect sense (and always have), it’s just that they were somewhat foreig – what things were called in England and Scotland years earlier and passed down generation by generation.
A prime example is a phrase I’ve heard all of my life. My grandmother (Lela) always complained that we kids were “A messin’ and a gomin’ ”. I always wondered what “goming” was. A man on the documentary explained that goming was making a real mess or being messy. Brings to mind how we were always in the kitchen fixing us a snack and leaving a mess behind-“goming”.
My grandmother “toted stuff in a paper poke”. Translated that means carrying things in a paper sack. Times were hard and my grandmother carefully folded her used paper pokes to be reused whenever she got any. They were reused until they were soft and floppy. Unknowingly she was practicing saving the earth. Country folk recycled long before it was popular. Every now and then I toss a plastic throwaway container in the trash and I can’t help but pause to think of how my grandmother would have loved and cherished something as simple as a plastic container.
Country people rose with the dawn, worked the fields all day, raised all their own food, and preserved it to feed their families through the winter. They made every piece of clothing their family had and even recycled outgrown clothing into clothes for younger children or quilts to provide warmth on long winter nights. Nothing was wasted. Every scrap, thread, and piece of string was valued and saved.
I am often corrected for saying “warsh” instead of wash. Christy tells me that her kids have told her she is supposed to pronounce her father’s title “Da-dee” instead of “Deh-dee”. We aren’t supposed to say ain’t, pokes, “coo-pun” instead of q-pon and the likes. Often, I am torn between using what I know as proper grammar and holding on to the speech and values of my beloved ancestors. It feels as if I am turning my back on them if I change my ways. On the other hand, if I don’t I am perceived as backwards or uneducated. Many a Southerner (or folks from any region with a specific dialect for that matter) struggle with these same feelings.
From my ancestors, I have learned values, how to work hard, and integrity that no school could ever teach. Just like Northerners speak differently, so do I and I will continue to do so. I am proud to be from great loving hardworking stock. I can never turn my back on my heritage but I will try to tone down the “ain’t” at school assemblies for my grandkids as long as they’ll sit and listen to my stories of the people they come from – I figure that is a fair trade off. It is my hope to pass on the integrity with which my ancestors lived every day. I may sound more like them than future generations will, but I only hope I can be half the person that they were.
When asking my Mother what should I do in a sticky situation, she would answer…
“In your heart of hearts you already know the answer. You just have to listen to your heart.”
~Advice from Dawn Tierney’s mother that Dawn submitted on our Give a Penny Page.
I just remembered an old saying that was unique to my family: “That won’t last as long as Pat stayed in the army”.
I’ve heard it all my life, but it wasn’t until my nephew (passed away) started doing research on the family. In the first world war, a distant relative named Patrick was drafted. He was on his way to basic training when he decided it wasn’t something he liked so he left and WALKED HOME…. carrying his new shoes. He said he “figured” they owed him the shoes for keeping him away from his family so long… he didn’t like it, so he left and went home.
He shows up as a deserter in the listing of relatives that were military. However, my brothers made up for it in the 2nd W W. One brother was in Africa, one was in the navy in the Pacific and two were in the infantry…. one going ashore at Normandy on D Day…. and then fighting in the Battle of the Bulge shortly thereafter.
So, we’re not proud of dear old Patrick… but I guess in his mind, his family needed him more than the army did.
@Jane – my family /mother and grandparents – also used that phrase ALL the time , and I mean all the time. I had NEVER heard of anyone else using it until about 10-12 yrs ago , I finally read Homer Hickam’s books – I dearly hope I have spelled his last name correctly! – and in one or more of his books, he quotes his motherr saying the phrase. I was so excited to have finally “heard” someone else use that phrase! (He is the author of the book that inspired the movie “October Sky.” His nonfiction books are amazing reads of his life growing up in the coal mines in West Virginia — and what those young boys accomplished is AMAZING! Oh – and I still use the phrase all the time. 🙂
Loved this post, Chrsity, and all the comments, too! Takes me back and reminds me of some of the most wonderful people in my life- my grandparents, great-aunt and their contemporaries. What wonderful people, and I so enjoy our way of speaking- it’s a wonderful life! There’s just no folks like Southern folks, and no where I’d rather live. My husband and I were watching tv one night and heard an Irish gentleman speaking, and we both understood him perfectly- he sounded similar to us! I once saw an interview with a professor from the University of Tennessee who explained that a lot of our words and sayings- like nary, opry, you’uns, y’all, etc- are from our Scots-Irish background, and I am proud of it. I used to let people’s snarky comments about my accent and some of the words I use make me feel inferior but I don’t anymore! I love my Southern roots and heritage. Thanks, Christy’s Mama, for a lovely, sweet post that brought back some treasured memories!
Mamma, I can’t tell you how many times I have been in “Hot Water” for “messin” & gommin” in Granny’s kitchen!!! We also had pokes, and folded and saved them. We had “Hissy Fits” and got plenty of “peach tree tea”!!!
Lisa, I have always heard older folks say “Nasty as kyarn”, didn’t know what it was, just always figured the nastiest thing you could think of was “Kyarn”!!!
I’n southern to the bone and PROUD of it!!!
“Mamma, I’m with you all the way”!!!!!
Have a GREAT day!!!!
Maryanna
I don’t know how many times in my life I heard the term “mess and gom” in reference to my siblings and me… or how many times I used it myself. I love that phrase…. it’s so expressive. Even if no one is sure what it means… they know what it means. LOL
Being from West Virginia (which many of the fine educated folks think is part of Virgnia including ESPN newscaster) I can realte to your story which is part of everything I grew up with. I’m proud of being from West Virginia and proud of my southern accent. I am not ignorant and people do wear shoes where I come from.
You may still walk in a store in West Virginia and someone will tell you they’ll getcha a poke, would you like a pop, wanna go feeshing? Wouldn’t have it any other way and and thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed it!
hi there! We live in Virginia, and my Granny and her sister say POKE chops, instead of PORK chops….my cousin and I always lovingly chuckle at that one!
I’m not as south as Alabama…..but even when I visit friends in just a state above me, they have me repeat my words and then they all laugh. One time it was just the word spoon. I didn’t know I said it any different than they did! LOL.