I’m a Little Teapot

McCoy TeaSet – A Family Heirloom

Welcome to Rocking Chair Chatter! Won’t you pull up one of those rockers over there and join me and my front porch friends as we fill the air with chatter….telling and sharing stories that have touched our hearts and our lives.

Listen to the laughter as the chatter fills the air. The wind chimes so delicately play a soft melody in the gentle breeze. Look at the old porch swing …I sure wish I could hear some of the stories that have been
shared sitting there over the years. I can only imagine. I bet it was just like in the movies….words of love….good night kisses….and even a few marriage proposals. There’s just something about a swing that captures our hearts and dreams.

Oh look, here come the little ones running anxiously and shouting, “Mommy! Mommy! Look at what we  learned today!” Smiling from ear to ear they begin to sing……

I’m a little teapot short and stout; Here is my handle; Here is my spout; When I get all steam up; Hear me shout; Tip me over and pour me out.

As I hear those words and watch them act out the part.… the right hand placed on the waist, the left turn up to the sky and curved to portrait the spout, then they tipped to the left as if they were pouring out…. It takes me back to such wonderful times as a child when I too would sing and act out that very song.

I can see visions of my mother’s collection of teapots and teacups lining her dining room shelves; as they sit so proudly displayed for all to enjoy. Somehow I think she probably sang the song when she was a little girl. Haven’t we all at one time or another?

Gosh I remember when I would visit my grandmother, Mama Mac, and my cousin and I would get a blanket and spread it out under the big shade tree at the corner of her driveway and have our make believe tea party with our make do tea set. Now those were the days…..not a care in the world. I have to think maybe that’s why little girls and big girls alike enjoy teapots and teacups so much…… It takes us back to a day in time and creates memories to be shared.

I remember Mama Mac had a special tea set that was always displayed on her coffee table in the center of her living room. It was a teapot with a matching sugar bowl and creamer. There was something unique about this particular tea set. It wasn’t as elegant as most….as they are traditionally painted with colorful flowers and the rims are outlined with gold or silver borders…. Yet this set had a different charm about it. It was bold; the rim and borders of each piece was brown in color, the handles were also brown and appeared to be the replica of a sturdy wooden branch extending to the base as it disappeared into a delicate vine of Green Ivy. To me it always portrayed a character of honor, strength, and integrity. As silly as it may seem it reminds me of the bible verse…. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NKJV)

Well funny thing about this tea set….It did represent the character of honor, strength and integrity. This tea set has a story all of its own and how it came to be. As the story has been told by my mother, many years ago my grandmother worked as a cashier at the Superette Grocery Store in Ruskin. One particular day she was anxious to go to work because it was pay day. Everyone loves a ‘Pay Day.’ Money in hand always makes for a good day! Back in those days employees were paid in cash. It was placed in a special designated envelope with the employees name and total wages paid written on the outside. There was no such thing as an actual paper pay check. To my grandmother’s dismay, one of her coworkers, Guy Canaday, went to her and shared that he had lost his pay. What was he going to do? And how was he to feed his family until the next pay day? Distraught as he was, he asked my grandmother to help him look for his pay. Well low and behold before the day was over she found Guy’s pay, still in the sealed envelope, and returned it to him. Needless to say, he was ecstatic with happiness and gratefulness. He couldn’t stop thanking her…..she was an angel sent to him from heaven that day.

Out of his thankfulness he wanted to give my grandmother some money as a reward for finding his pay. She in turn refused to take the money. She was just doing what anyone else would have done. Well Mr. Guy Canaday didn’t agree with her. So he went to “McCrory’s,” the local Plant City “Five and Dime” store and purchased a 3 piece McCoy Tea Set and gave it to her as a thank you gift….. A gift she could not refuse. Of course she was proud. She had never had a tea set before. So she displayed it for all to see and admire.

My mother was the biggest fan and the one who loved and admired it most. She always commented to my grandmother just how much she loved the tea set. As a result, when my grandmother passed, she left specific instructions that the tea set was to be given to my mother, Joyce McFarland, because of her continued love for the set….. And…. after all Joyce knew the real story behind the tea set.

Today that very tea set sits boldly on the top shelf in my mother’s dining room; over and above all the other sets. It is in great condition, only showing the tiniest of cracks here and there, which I refer to as age lines…..but don’t we all have a few age lines?  The name on the bottom of the pieces is McCoy. The way the name is written is really interesting. Oddly enough, instead of a stamp or being engraved into the glass the name is raised as if it were written in Brail…and that’s not all….it is written in cursive writing in a most unusual way. The ‘o’ in Coy is a large loop at the top of the ‘C’ making it appear as one letter…It actually looks as if it says McCy. To me that in its self is fascinating and unique.

I can’t help but wonder at times, does anyone, as they walk by, stop and question…where did this 3 piece tea set come from…..and…. just what does it mean to my mother? To me, it means LOVE! …. A love between two women who had a great bond and a genuine love for one another….and they shared the love for a simple tea set to be admired for many years to come.

Just as my mother does, I also admire the set every time I walk into my mother’s home. I see an heirloom there…..a representation of love to be passed down from generation to generation…..along with the original story that portrays honor, strength and integrity.  One day I hope to see it proudly placed among my own tea sets for all to admire and to share the story.

Once again, I can hear the song singing in the air….I’m a little tea pot….and…as the wind chimes play their melody in the soft breeze, I feel the presence of my grandmother’s spirit as her story is shared with you….my front porch friends.

And who knows….maybe my grandmother also sang the song as a little girl….. I’m a little Teapot…