Guscio: Sweet smells bring a whiff of the past

This is the time of year I think about all of the things I remember about growing up.

Strange, but smells are what affected me the most. The smells I remember come from such unusual places. Several of these I don't care for but there are many that I adore.

When we were small, my mother decorated the C&S Bank in Athens every Christmas. There was only one then downtown and it was quite big. We never put up anything artificial; all of the decor had to be gotten in the woods surrounding Athens. The fun started the weekend before Christmas Day -- never any earlier. In fact, we never put our own tree up until Christmas Eve, which was always quite a blur of activity.

On the appointed day of decorating the bank, William Jennings, who worked for my mother and grandmother in every capacity including babysitter at times, piled us all in his old pickup truck with my mother leading the way in her car. We headed out of town to search in the woods for "the tree." It had to be nicely shaped and tall.

We looked around for smilax vines -- they were hung around everything -- shot mistletoe out of trees, cut holly and picked up pine cones. The weather was always nippy and the smells of all of our "loot" so wonderful, woodsy and earthy.

Then it was back to the bank to watch William and mama decorate . This special time lasted about 10 years or so and what a treat it was.

I have a childhood friend who lived in a beautiful old house on Prince Avenue built in 1830.

In the fall, on either side of her very big porch, were planted several large tea olive trees that bloomed November through December. When we were playing outside and running around the scent of those blooms was intoxicating. There was something so magical about that.

I was thrilled when I discovered a perfume named "Florence" by Tocca. It comes in a gorgeous bottle that makes it even more intriguing.

PERFUMES AND SMOKE

My two grandmothers were polar opposites.

My maternal grandmother "Deckie" lived near us in Athens and my paternal grandmother "Grandma" lived all over the world. Deckie ran her household in a very Victorian manner, meaning there were things one had to do or else. I was always amazed at how lovely she smelled.

Her perfume was "Quelques Fleurs" by Guerlain that had to ordered from New York. I thought it was such a delicious thing when the package arrived. My daughter Tat uses the same perfume at times and it was quite by accident she picked it.

On the other hand, Grandma smelled like saddle leather and sandlewood, which I like, too.

Her perfume was by Hermes and smelled "worldly" to me.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit once a year usually around Christmas and brought lots of presents. Both of my grandfathers were also quite different. My maternal grandfather "Too-Too" was a surgeon who smoked a pipe, most often when he was reading the paper or a book.

My paternal "Grandpa" smoked Benson & Hedges cigarettes in a cigarette holder, which we were in awe of especially when the smoke curled up around his head. He was a very dashing figure at cocktail parties, smoking and speaking with his charming French accent. All four of my grandparents led a very interesting, aromatic life.

'A WILD CHILD'

My mother was always sort of a "wild child."

She found no harm in taking us out of school to go somewhere on an adventure. It was always fun, of course, to be snatched out of the classroom. We were often off to something or other in the morning then dropped off at school around noon.

The principal would shake her head and say "if school started at 3 p.m., you Paris children would still be late!"

Of course, school would have been out by then so we thought that was funny.

My mother's perfume was "Vol de Nuit" by Guerlain and it, too, had to be ordered from New York.

I saved some of the bottles for a long time, but as with some things, they got lost in the shuffle.

SMELLING HOME AGAIN

I love the smell of coffee brewing, wood burning in the fireplace, pluff mud, puppies and kittens, bourbon in winter, oysters roasting ... I could go on and on.

We planted two tea olive trees on either side of our house and the smell of the blossoms has transported me back to the house on Prince Avenue in Athens many years ago.

Babbie Guscio is the social columnist for The Bluffton Packet. She can be reached at The Store on Calhoun Street.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Guscio: Sweet smells bring a whiff of the past."