Chapter Two

 

 

Jobs were assigned for sweeping, dusting and washing windows. By noon they had the house clean and sparkling.

Allen was kept busy helping each of them. He brought straw from the shed to stuff the mattresses and Letty was having fun jumping on them to distribute the straw. Dolly and the two older girls unpacked the house wares and linens finding appropriate places to put them away. The oval, rag rug was placed across the garden fence, and with Allen and Letty taking turns beating it, there was no dust left in its thick pile.

"Betsy, I'm leaving you in charge while I look over the land," Dolly said, after the work was finished. "Cook some beans so they'll be done when your Papa gets home. We'll have cornbread and open some canned spinach. Allen, see if there are red onions left from last years garden."

"Tell Letty to stay out of my things," complained Betsy. "She's been getting into my hair ribbons and pins all morning."

"Letty, come with me," her Mamma instructed. It was the best solution she knew to keep her out of trouble.

Letty liked the idea of getting to run free, and hurried to slip on a sweater to go exploring with her Mamma.

They examined the horse shed first. It wasn't very big, but had a small attic and chicken nests along the covered side. There were shelves and hooks along the walls for tools and harness. Feeding stalls were mounted in the center and on each side were steel rings to tie the animals.

They went to the smokehouse and Dolly put her hands on the door. The door was thick, and heavy. It took all the strength of her 102 pounds to open it. Letting Letty inside first, she stepped across the threshold.

Her eyes swept across the entire building with its cobwebs and unkempt appearance. It was apparent it hadn't been used for some time and there was a musty smell.

"There's a lot to do here," she said to Letty, but mostly to herself. "All the shelves have to be cleaned with lye water and the floor will need the same treatment. It will be a good place to store our food and cure some meat though."

Letty's big, hazel eyes were searching the whole room as she said, "this would make a nice playhouse. Can I play here?"

"Not until it's cleaned. It hasn't been used for a long time and needs lots of attention," and she walked along the shelves inspecting each one.

A large toad was disturbed by their intrusion and began hopping up and down in the corner trying to find a place to hide, while Letty tried to catch it with her hands.

"Leave that toad alone!," cautioned Dolly. "Don't you know you'll get warts all over your hands! Come on, let's go look at the pond,- - and you stay close to me!"

They walked slowly and Dolly looked in all directions, paying close attention to the boundaries. She stooped down and picked up some of the rich, black dirt several times and sifted it through her fingers.

"This land is good," she thought to herself. "It's much better than the farm we came from. We will have good crops on this soil. Isaac was right, it has been managed well."

They found wild grapes in the wooded area beyond the pond, and in the corner of the fence was a patch of wild strawberries. She would watch the area closely and pick every luscious one!

"Come, let's go back to the house," Dolly called to Letty, who had drifted away watching a beetle. "Stay out of the mud! You'll have to clean those shoes when we get back to the house or you'll get mud on our clean floors."

As they approached the house she could hear Oprah crying. It was time for her to eat. The beans were boiling and the lid on the pot was making metallic sounds as it popped up and down. The aroma filled the air as the steam was released into the room. Carla was putting curlers in her hair and Allen was sprawled on the floor reading a book Mr. Hayes had given him. Poor Betsy had her hands full trying to appease a crying Oprah by carrying her around the room.

Dolly hurried to wash her hands and soon had Oprah satisfied and the atmosphere more relaxed. She called to the children, "listen, your Papa said the school is at the end of this road. Tomorrow we will visit and see if you can join the classes."

"Aw Mamma, do we have to?," asked Allen, laying his book on the floor and leaning back against the wall. "Papa needs me to help plant the crops."

"You'll like school. You will meet the other children in our community. Don't you want to have friends?," asked Dolly as she held Oprah against her shoulder and patted her.

"Well I do!," exclaimed Betsy. "I hope there's some good looking boys!," and she and Carla began to giggle.

Allen was fourteen, Betsy twelve, Carla nine, Letty six and Oprah was four months. Dolly knew it was a natural process of growing up for her children to be interested in the opposite sex - but she would as soon put it off long as she could.

Oprah had fallen asleep so Dolly gently put her in the bed. There hadn't been much time to comb her hair, and she wanted to look neat when Isaac came home, so she took the pins out and let it fall on her shoulders. It had a natural sheen with reddish highlights and when it was loose it came to her waist. She brushed with long, sweeping strokes and soon she had every hair neatly in place and puffed around her face.

Betsy came up behind her, and gently touching her hair said, "Mamma, I wish I were pretty like you."

"But you are pretty! Beauty is something more than our outward appearance, it is what is on the inside that comes from the heart. You are kind and gentle and your face just sparkles!," she turned and touched Betsy's face softly as she whispered, "an angel couldn't be more beautiful!"

Betsy put her arms around her Mamma and said, "I'm so glad you're my Mamma. You always make me feel good!"

The sun had warmed the air that had been chilly in the early morning, and was now shining brightly. Dolly asked Allen to bring the large tub and place it on the stove.

"Fill the large tub half full of water, for I must wash some clothes for Oprah," she told him. She spent more than an hour getting them washed, and rinsed them several times in clean water.

"Carla, you and Letty take these outside and hang them on the fence while the sun is out," Dolly told them.

The girls took hold of the basket handles and started toward the yard. Letty handed the pieces to Carla and she carefully spread them across the fence like she had been taught.

Coming back to the house the girls stopped and looked around in the shed. Letty found an iron band from an old wagon wheel, which they rolled back and forth to each other for amusement.

Dolly leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, which looked bare without curtains. Didn't she have some curtains stored somewhere? She went to the chest and began looking through each drawer. Yes! She found them and they would be perfect if they would only fit. She gently lifted them out of the drawer and laid them on the bed as she looked them over more carefully. "I may have to shorten them a tiny bit, but they'll make the room more cozy," she reasoned.

She spent the rest of the afternoon adjusting the curtains and Allen found some heavy wire in the attic of the shed and they put them up, with their ruffles and bows in place.

Letty and Carla came in from playing and Carla said, "Oh Mamma, what pretty curtains! Do you have some for our room?," and she ran her fingers over the full ruffles.

"I'm afraid that is all I had, but if your Papa gets the job, maybe we can buy material and I'll make some for your room. You can even pick the material. How would you like that?"

"Oh, I hope he gets the job!," squealed Letty. "I want some with little yellow roses!"

"We'll see," said Dolly. "Your Papa should be getting home soon and we'll know. We may have to wait a while until we get some other things that are needed badly, but it shouldn't take long."

The girls gathered in their room playing games and getting their clothes ready for school. Oprah was being amused with a red handkerchief Allen had tied to the bed. Allen was outside gathering wood and chips to fill the woodbox, so Dolly sat down in the straight backed rocker, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She didn't get many quiet times alone and tried to make the best of each one she managed to have.

Her mind drifted and she thought of the years when she and Isaac were first married. They had so many dreams and had worked hard to make them come true. It was never easy to make a farm prosper and have all their needs met, for so much depended on the weather. Many times their cupboard was almost bare, but somehow they had always managed. It was so heartbreaking to have their crops destroyed by hail, too much rain, or by drought, but they never gave up in despair for there was always tomorrow, and tomorrow would be better they told themselves many times.

Isaac, with his steady nature, was always in command of every situation. His family was first in his thoughts, and hard works a part of his very being. She was proud of her husband for she knew she was loved, and that made her feel secure. There was an uneasy feeling that had penetrated her thoughts since Isaac's last illness. He had pneumonia just last fall and it was the third time that he was laid low with that illness. He had been in bed for two months and Mr. Hayes had helped them gather their crops. She leaned on him so much, and the thought brought a smile to her lips, but the thought of him getting sick again sent chills of ice down her spine.

"Mamma!," yelled Allen from the yard, "I see Papa coming!"

Dolly opened her eyes and slowly raised to her feet. She saw Isaac coming through the gate, guiding the mule toward the shed. Allen ran before him and was putting hay in the feeding trough.

She went to the kitchen, stoked the fire, and began to make cornbread for their supper.

"Carla, you and Letty get the clothes off the fence, fold and put them away. Soon we'll eat and Papa can tell us about his day," she said, as excitement raced through her heart and she vigorously stirred the bowl of cornbread.

When Isaac came into the house Dolly could tell he was exhausted. His shoulders drooped as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. She quickly poured him a cup of coffee as she went about preparing the table for the evening meal.

Isaac sipped the hot coffee slowly and stretched his long legs under the table. "I have some good news," he finally said. "I'll tell everyone while we eat."

Soon everyone was around the table waiting anxiously to hear what he had to tell them. "Let's thank God for his blessings today," Dolly said.

Everyone reverently bowed their heads and said their own prayer, then Isaac said, "Amen."

The children started asking questions all at once, so Isaac held up his hands and said with a smile, "let me tell you about it and you can ask questions when I am through."

He reached for a piece of cornbread, and while crumbling it into his beans, said, "It took quite a while before I finally saw the personnel manager. They had a series of meetings with their staff this morning, but about one thirty I had an interview with him and filled out the proper papers. I had to wait until he interviewed ten more people. He said he was only going to hire three, and it seemed an eternity as I waited. There were other men I visited with while I waited and they needed the work too, but Mr. Roper, who is boss, came and called me and two other men back into his office. We will start work Monday at eight o'clock and work five days a week. My job will be to put nickel trim on the stoves, which is a tedious job, but doesn't seem hard.

One of the men lives just a mile east of us and offered to let me ride with him. He has a horse and buggy, and his name is Warren Hobbs. He has three children who attend the school where you will go," and he glanced at the children.

Letty was excited and asked, "how much money will they pay Papa? We're going to buy some curtains for our room!"

"I'll get twelve dollars a week, and my quota will be twelve stoves. Every stove over my quota I will get an extra fifteen cents. They will also deduct fifteen cents for each stove under my quota. There shouldn't be any problem meeting the quota, for they tell me it's an easy job."

Everyone was excited and could hardly eat. They hadn't had extra money for such a long time and it was more than they could even imagine! Dolly was quiet with her own thoughts. It was enough to see the joy in the children's faces and the excitement in their voices as they asked questions and dreamed of all they would do. There hadn't been much to dream about for the past year and it was warming to her heart when she saw the hope in their faces and listened to their plans.

"All of you have a big day ahead of your tomorrow," Isaac said, as he raised from his chair. "You'll have to get up early for school, so let's get our chores done and get some sleep."

Allen filled the woodbox and got a bucket of water for the girls to wash dishes. Betsy and Carla cleared the table and washed and put the dishes away.

Letty had disappeared into the bedroom and was sitting on the window seat watching an owl that had landed on a post by the shed. His large eyes glistened in the night and his feathered body was outlined by a large moon creeping over the horizon.

"Put your gown on and hop into bed," Dolly told her as she came to the window and looked out over Letty's head.

"Can I have an owl for a pet?," Letty asked. "My friend used to have one, and I'd take good care of him. Can I please?," and she turned to her Mamma with pleading eyes.

"An owl is a wild creature who likes his freedom. You wouldn't want to take that away from him, would you?," Dolly asked. "It would make him very unhappy."

Letty thought about it carefully as Dolly handed her the gown and gave her a hug before leaving the room.

Everyone was in bed, and Oprah was sleeping peacefully next to her Mamma, when Dolly said, "Isaac, do you think the job will be too much for you? You have been ill several times lately. I don't want you to overdo and get sick again. Farming is hard work, and then to work eight hours at the factory might be too much."

Taking her tiny hand, she smoothed the tousled hair from his forehead. "You looked so tired when you came home. We will make it without the job, for this is good land."

"I'll be alright. Don't fuss over me! I'm just tired from the moving. I have four days before starting work, so I'll be rested by then. We need this money to buy a cow so the children can have milk and we need chickens too," then he sighed as he pulled the covers over his shoulders.

Dolly clasped his strong, calloused hand in hers and said, "I not only have a handsome husband, but a smart one as well. They picked you among all those other men. I'm proud of you." Placing her face close to his, she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Oprah awakened early, so Dolly was the first one up and had coffee boiling on the stove. The aroma awakened Isaac and he came into the kitchen holding Oprah in his arms while Dolly started breakfast. It would have to be grits this morning, with some canned peaches, so she put the water on to boil while she went to awaken the children.

Gently she shook each one, saying, "time to get dressed, breakfast will be ready soon," and she poked her head into Allen's room, saying, "you have a shirt in the top drawer of the chest."

Everyone was up scrambling to get ready. The girls were combing their hair, trying to look their best for the first day at the new school.

"Will you put one of your barrettes in my hair Betsy?," begged Letty. "I promise not to lose it."

"Sure, come sit on my lap. You need something to hold those curls out of your face," said Betsy, laying her brush down and pulling her up on her lap. After they ate breakfast, Dolly fried crisp, salt pork and put it between some cornbread for their lunch. There were peaches left from breakfast so she added a small jar to their lunch bucket.

"Be sure to put the forks back into the lunch bucket," she cautioned them.

Allen and Isaac brought the wagon around to the front gate and Dolly and the children climbed aboard. Isaac would stay and do some cleaning in the shed until dolly returned with the team, then he would work in the field.

It was only a mile to school and the children would be required to walk after today, but Dolly wanted to go with them to meet their teacher and be sure they could enroll so late in the term.

Their teacher was a nice man in his forties, short and stocky. He wore thick rimmed glasses but had a warm smile that revealed even, white teeth. He introduced himself to Dolly as Cal Simpson, and she could tell he was a man dedicated to his work. He gladly welcomed the children and gave them books as Dolly observed the classroom.

Being satisfied that all was well, she left to take the team back to Isaac.

Dolly spent the rest of the day in the yard. She worked up rich dirt close to the house and planted petunia seed given her my Mrs. Hayes. She loved the smell of petunias in the early morning, and they lasted longer than some of the other flowers. Out by the gate was a good place to make a bed and plant her zinnia seed.

She was almost finished when the children returned with their arms full of books and exciting things to tell.

"Mamma, I have a friend named Jenny. Papa rides with her Papa to the factory. She is so pretty! Her hair is black as my skirt and she has a puppy named Biscuits. Isn't that a silly name?," Letty asked, as she held her load of books before her with a grin all across her face.

"I have a friend too," said Carla. "Her hair is red and she has lots of freckles! Some of the kids call her freckles and it makes her so mad! She really is smart and helped me with my arithmetic."

Betsy and Allen went into the house and changed their clothes to do chores. Dolly followed them, telling Carla and Letty to change their dresses.

"How was school for you two?," she asked, noticing they had not volunteered any news.

"It was o.k.," said Betsy casually. "There aren't any good-looking boys though. There is one named Beryl who kept looking at me, and it was so embarrassing!"

"It was boring," Allen said. "I think I was the oldest one there!"

"There's only two more months of school, then you'll be out for the summer," said Dolly. "Make the best of it while you can. Your teacher is nice. Now all of you get your chores done. Letty, watch Oprah while I get supper."

The remainder of the week was spent in cleaning fields, plowing and raking the garden.

Allen helped Dolly plant seeds in the garden on Saturday. The days were getting warmer and the trees were budding, making the whole world come alive with their newness.

"It's going to be a beautiful spring," Dolly said to Allen. "The rains came at just the right time. Hope your Papa can bring home some seed potatoes next week for it's time they were in the ground."

Isaac worked long, hard hours and got much of the field plowed. He and Dolly decided to plant corn and an acre of cotton. She also wanted a field of peas and beans.

"Tomorrow we will rest," declared Dolly. "We have accomplished much since we got here and we all need to relax, especially you, Isaac."

There would be no argument from Isaac. He was feeling the need for rest from the grueling work of the move and the long hours in the field. Letty wanted to explore the pond again. She was sure she had seen fish in its clear water.