Jackie Brooks — “Make Do”
I first sat down with Jackie Brooks’ at her dining table in December of 2015, and oh my goodness her holiday cookies! Our cozy sessions had a quiet feeling, with lots of long pauses between sparkling memories of childhood and raising a family, and a deep love of farming. Jackie is a master baker, quilter, gardener, and so much more. After our first couple of sessions, I shared that she struck me as a person who really likes to make things. “Everything was make do, you know,” she responded. By the next week, the refrain, “Make Do” had been turning over and over in my mind—the pleasure of making the most with what you have, resilience. When I described it to her, she said simply “That’s me!"
Jackie’s song was part of the “Unsung Heroes” concert honoring elder farmers. A collaboration between SageArts and the Rondout Valley Growers Association, it featured local high school students singing background vocals and special guest musicians.
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© Kelleigh McKenzie with Jackie Brooks
Riding in the wagon to the red milk barn
A barefoot girl on a Kyserike farm in June
Smelling those Sweet William blossoms
Strip out the cows while they're putting in the hay
Feed the chickens and play, jumping down the chutes
The summer night sky falls
Father walking, showing the stars to look for
Felt so rich, we didn't know we were poorMake do, make do
A little cardboard in my shoe
Kept the mud from coming through
Make do, make do
You cultivate a graceful view
When you make doStone Ridge square dance, Barringer's band
The apple pie queen met a city boy and
Got to stitching a pretty patchwork life
Substitute teaching in a homemade dress
Planting flower beds, raising sons to listen
Tell ‘em "you like cold soup"
Room by room fixing the house up just so
Stenciling walls to make it feel like times of oldMake do, make do
A little cardboard in my shoe
Kept the mud from coming through
Make do, make do
You cultivate a graceful view
When you make doBandits stealing berries from the tree
I watch from the window and let the memories take me back
Miss that big old house
Towing grandkids in the wagon as I mow
Thread my needle and sew
I meet my Thursday morning coffee ladies
All my boys love farming like my father long ago
They got second jobs to keep a herd of their ownMake do, Make do
A little cardboard in my shoe
Kept the mud from coming through
Make do, make do
You cultivate a graceful view
When you make doI trust in god, my life unfolds
Like a mystery quilt never knowing where it all leads to
And I make do
“America, I Am” quilt by Jackie Brooks
