Cookies and Kisses

This week, my Cookies by Bess blog is all about Cookies and Kisses, a poem written by an unknown poet.   The poem, shown below, was hand written with calligraphy by artist Judy Hagstrom.  Judy also illustrated the poem with hand drawn and painted cookie designs.   This illustration, hand signed by Judy Hagstrom herself, is one of kind!

When my parents and I began our journey to revitalize the Cookies by Bess brand,  my father, Rich, packed up and sent me all the Cookies by Bess memorabilia he had saved and archived.  I’ve mentioned before in previous blogs, that my father is, in not so many words, a pack-rat.  He kept and stashed away every letter, picture, newspaper article, bill, bank statement, and everything else related to Cookies by Bess.  I have no idea where he kept it all, but I do know that now it’s all here with me in Denver.

I looked through and read every piece of paper and item he sent.  Every once in a while, I’d find a little gem of a memory that would put a smile on my face or bring a tear to my eyes.  Sometimes because it brought back an actual memory of Grandma Bess; sometimes because I learned something about Grandma Bess I hadn’t known before; or sometimes just because it reminded me of Grandma Bess or another family member or fun family time we had together.  I do admit that I shed quite a few tears while reading all about Grandma Bess and looking at all the pictures of our family way back in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

This particular poem was one of those items that really stuck out to me.   Grandma Bess had this poem, framed and hanging in her kitchen in Wausau, WI when she was raising her family and baking her cookies.  It then traveled with her to Los Angeles, CA when she and my Grandpa Abe retired.  After reading all the newspaper articles about Bess and listening to all the audio recordings of her talk show interviews, I’m not surprised she had this particular poem hanging in her kitchen.  Bess always talked about how important it was to have not one, but two cookie jars full of cookies for her children and all the neighborhood children too.  She would say how much her children loved to come home after school and grab a handful of cookies for a snack, even if it was just before the evening dinner.

My mom, Toby, remembers Grandma Bess giving her this poem when she started having children in the early 1960’s.  My mom remembers the poem hanging the poem in her kitchen, right by the refrigerator.  The poem stayed close and made the trek to Santa Rosa, CA with my parents when they moved there in the mid-1980’s.  In Santa Rosa, my mom had it sitting on a bedside table in a guest bedroom along with many other family pictures and memories.

I remember last fall, when my father was packing and sending me all the Cookies by Bess memorabilia, my mom called to let me know they were sending me the poem and asked me to ask if I remembered it.  She was excited to send it to me and for me to have another memory of Grandma Bess and her love of baking, children, and cookies.

Now I’m keeping Cookies and Kisses in my office, next to one of my favorite picture of Grandma Bess.  It’s one of those things that brings a smile to my face, every time I look at it.  Not only does it remind me of Grandma Bess, but it makes me think of my mother and how much she loved the poem and loved baking cookies with me when I was young.  Mom is still baking our favorite Cookies by Bess cookies for all our family get togethers and has been teaching my niece Ella and nephew Jonah all her baking secrets!

When my parents and I began thinking about revitalizing Cookies by Bess, we talked about all our memories promoting and selling the cookie book in the 1980’s.  We talked about how the Cookies by Bess brand  how it represented family and friends coming together.  We talked about how Cookies by Bess can and does represent these same thing today!  This poem, Cookies and Kisses, is Cookies by Bess.  It’s about family, its’s about love, and it’s about baking cookies!

Do you have a poem that has special meaning to you?  If so, please share it with me by going to our Join The Community page.

XXOO,

Janet