Zeke Had So Many Stories But How To Share Them

 Zeke immediately liked Grandma Lu when she came out to visit. His kind of dog lift their paw to people to get their attention. They don't like to be ignored, so he loved it when Grandma Lu loved on him and told him how handsome he was. He heard Grandma B and Grandma Lu talk about the olden days.  If he could only make them understand he had a much better understanding of his ancestors than even Grandma Lu did about hers. When they went inside he didn't come in but watched them from the living room window. He was so full of stories about his ancestors. How was he going to get their attention?

From the time Zeke was just a small puppy his mother told him all about his grandmother and her grandmother. She said that his ancestors had been  passing on their stories for generations, thousands of years even. He couldn't imagine that many years, but he did love the stories she told him and his brothers and sisters.

One day before he went to the mini farm his mama told him all bout his many times great grandfather. He lived in a place called Asia Minor. It's now part of a country called Turkey. It was a wonderful place where people met each other on their way to and from Europe to Asia.

 Then time went by and his family moved to a beautiful mountain range called the Pyrenees Mountains. Those beautiful mountains were between two countries; France and Spain. The way his mother told it the peasant shepherds loved their dogs because they didn't sleep much at night. They watched and protected the sheep while the shepherds slept. 

He grinned to himself because his mama said, "We bark a lot at night because that's what we have to do to scare off animals like wolves, bears, and other animals that might hurt the ones we are supposed to protect. We are their guardians and we take this job seriously." Zeke loved this part because he loved to bark.

After their family moved to the Pyrenees Mountains  the French royals noticed how big and beautiful they were. Actually Zeke had royalty in his family! Oh how he wished he could tell Grandma Lu all about it because one day she was saying she joined this ancestry group hoping she would find herself related to a king or queen along the way. He wanted to tell her he was! Yes, King Louis the XIV declared the Great Pyrenees Dogs the Royal Dog of France in 1675. Even the Queen of England, Queen Victoria had a Great Pyrenees in the 1800's. He was so proud of that. How could he get his fun news to Grandma Lu?

Zeke's grandmother told him a funny story about the king. He wore high heeled shoes. The higher and the redder the better, but only royalty could wear them. He had seen Marlee wearing red high heels. She was a fun little girl and he loved her.

His grandfather told him a story one time about one of those royal men who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He brought one of his ancestors to America with him. George Washington, America's first president, also had one. His ancestors went on to help win the WWII by hauling supplies and artillery over and through the the mountains in between Spain and France.

Zeke took a look at his little girls playing pioneer out in the yard. He had an idea. Grandma B's dog, Stashia had a running conversation with Marlee when she was just Whitlee's age. I wonder if Whitlee and I could talk like they do. If I can make her understand then she can tell my story.

Zeke had a plan....

Stereoscopes And View Masters No Cell Phones And Television..

 Grandma Lu was chuckling to herself as she bustled around and grabbed a package of store bought cookies to take out to her friend's mini farm. She couldn't believe what B had bought for her two little granddaughters. She made sure her phone was charged and threw it in her purse, put the cookies in a sack and headed out to see what those two little monkeys were up to. This was so much fun. She felt a little guilty about taking store bought cookies out to her friend. B always had homemade snacks for her at Marleewood, but she didn't want to take the time to bake. She didn't even grab her hat off the hook when she rushed out the door.  As she drove down the driveway there they were all dressed up in their new prairie dresses. Oh she loved those little girls like they were her own.

Sometime back Whitlee had told her that she wanted to be in one of her "old" stories, so evidently B had helped it along by getting these precious little dresses, aprons, and bonnets for these two. She stopped the car and got out and said, "What are you two doing?" Marlee and Whitlee said together, "We are playing pioneer!" Marlee said, "Come see. Grandma B told us all about when you were little. We want to do some of those things so you can write a story about us and take our pictures. Can we be in a story?"

Grandma Lu laughed and said, "Of course, you can. But first I want to take some pictures of you two." About that time, Grandma B came out with her camera. "Ok, you guys. Why don't you go sit on the swing. We don't have a picture of all three of you together. This will be fun to have." She showed them the swing and thought that would be a good place for a picture. Zeek thought so too. So he joined in the fun and barked 'hello' to Grandma Lu.

After that picture was taken Grandma Lu said, "Well what things did your grandma tell you that I did when I was little?" Marlee said, "Well she said that your mama washed clothes in a bucket and didn't have a washer and dryer. She said you didn't even have a microwave. Did you have a big flat screen like we do? What kind of music did you listen to?  How good was your phone? Did you have a favorite video you liked to watch? Did your phone take good pictures?"

As anxious as Grandma Lu was to take their pictures she took a minute and said, "Mercy on us, I have to tell you that I didn't have any of those things until I was much older. My mama and daddy had a big old radio and I played the piano. I can remember my mom and dad listening to radio shows at night while she ironed or dad read a book. He often read to her while she ironed, or mended.

One day I was snooping around in the store room and I found a record player. You had to crank it to make it play music. No one used it. I guess because they had a radio. I had my mom show me how to use it. You had to crank it enough times to play a whole record through. I didn't like it much. I have no idea whatever happened to that thing.

That was the music I listened to, but my grandparents did have a stereoscope. Have you ever heard of one of those? Well when I was just your age, Marlee, we would go to my Grandma and Grandpa Banister's house for dinner after church sometimes. In those days, kids couldn't talk at the table. After we finished our dinner (that's what we called lunch in Iowa) we were sent to the living room or parlor and were told that we could sit on the sofa and use the stereoscope while the grownups visited. Let me tell you that was the most boring thing I ever did in my life. You put cardboard picture cards through the clips on the back of it. They were mostly of old people and scenery. The cards had two pictures just alike black and white or brown and white pictures on them. When you looked through the eye piece it looked like 3D does now. Boring! Let me tell you that sofa was horsehair and was so slippery. I was told not to fidget both at church and at my grandparents' house. It was hard work to sit still on that thing. That was my Sunday until I got home to the farm. Then I could read or play piano or go for walks. I mostly read my books."

Grandma B said, "Those were kind of like View Masters weren't they?" Grandma Lu said, "They sure were. The View Master was not invented to use as a toy. A Mr. Grueber was touring a scenic park with two cameras taped together. Another man whose name was Mr. Sawyer watched him. He sold post cards for a living. The two of them got together and invented the View Master. It was first shown in 1939-1940 at the World's Fair. The government actually used this to help them during the WWII. They really caught on. Even movie stars would advertise them and so did Disney. I bought my children View Masters when they were just your age, Marlee and Whitlee. They loved them. I think they were about five dollars when they were little, now they are considered antiques and are very expensive as are the stereoscopes because they are very old.

"Now that I think about it, my grandparents probably were proud of that stereoscope because it was pretty new in the stores back then. 

Marlee told Grandma Lu that their grandma had told her about her mother's big garden and how the sheep ate all of her pea plants one year. She said, "I have a dishpan full of peas in the house that Grandma B had me practice shelling. This is fun to do. How come you said it was hard work?"

Grandma Lu said, "Well, she had to do that sometimes after we were all in bed. To get enough peas to put in jars took lots of days. She was so busy during the day that she hardly ever got to sit down to rest. She always said, "I'm not like my mother, I think eating fresh vegetables are the best. Mother never let us eat fresh because she was always afraid we wouldn't have enough to last the winter." Grandma Lu said," I can remember Mom making creamed peas and new baby potatoes. She made them with butter she churned and cream she had separated from the milk." 

Whitlee said, "Grandma Lu when is it my turn? I'm Lulu in the story, 'member?"

Zeke barked in agreement and gave Grandma Lu a minute to think while she was chuckling to the dog's antics. What story can I tell about my Grandmother Banister? She remembered her mother's memory box at home. Yes there were stories in there, but how could Whitlee understand? I must think of something this little one could relate to. Shopping?  Puppies? Yes, those would be good stories."

Moving To Town Was A Cultural Shock

 Grandma Lu had been working for several days on her mother's memory box. It was full of keepsakes and newspaper clippings, and of course, old letters. Some of the things she kept were happy, some were sad, but most of all so very interesting. The newspapers were so old and brittle she had to be careful handling them, but they were full of news from when she was just an eleven or twelve year old child. "Oh I remember moving into town that year. What a shock. The water didn't taste good, the milk didn't taste right (there was no cream floating on it) and my mother had gone to work at a grocery store! Dad had gone to work at the local newspaper as a linotype operator. Oh my goodness, here is one of my favorite pictures of dad. He's reading a book. He loved to read. Here's another one of him at the newspaper. Oh I loved that man. I actually made this picture at the photography studio I worked at when I was only fourteen years old.

 Oh what a change for my brother and I. We were on our own for the first time in our lives. He was about seven and I was four years older. He and his friends would be the mighty hunters of snakes and terrorized the wildlife in the woods and the creek that was close by. My friend and I would eat ice cream like it was going out of style. The only time we had ice cream on the farm was for holidays and large family gatherings. Mom made it and the men would crank that old ice cream freezer. Oh it was so good! We didn't have ice cubes, but chunks of ice that she or the men would chop with an ice pick. At one time we had an ice box that held ice in the bottom. I called him the ice man when he came in to deliver the ice. Sometimes the ice would melt and over flow onto the floor. I think I still have that ice pick somewhere.

When we moved into town I had a change in my chores that I had to do. I no longer had to wash all of those hateful baking dishes because Mom no longer baked for the grocery stores for money, but she worked at the grocery store until six o'clock in the evening. It was my job to keep an eye on my brother and to start the potatoes for supper at five-thirty. That doesn't sound like such a hard job, does it? "Oh, I used to get into so much trouble because I burned the potatoes at least every other night and those were my dad's favorite. Mercy, my friend that loved ice cream as much as I did also loved to play piano. We would play all kinds of duets and forget the time to start the potatoes or burn them. Oh, those were the days.

 Oh then there was the can can stage. They were ruffled slips that we wore under our poodle skirts or any full skirts for that matter. Here's a picture of me wearing my disco skirt I made in Home Ec. My mother really came down on me for that. I got a C+. Her sewing was meticulous. I did it to get it done.

I would starch my can cans with her sugar. It was a really bad idea because when it was hot my can can would stick to my legs when I sat down and made a little crunchy noise. They also would drop tiny little flakes of sugar as I walked down the halls at school. Oh the memories. My goodness, this old newspaper said that sugar was thirty-seven cents for five pounds in those days. But, I can see she only made twenty-five dollars a week and I have a feeling that finding the pantry empty of sugar was just a tiny bit irritating. I know for a fact that the flies loved my can can slips because as soon as I hung them on the clothes line there were hundreds of them making a snack of my handiwork. She chuckled to herself as she was going through all of the fun things her mother had saved. 

"Well, I believe I'll give my friend , Grandma B a call. I miss her and the girls. I've been busy going through these things. I haven't even been up to Marleewood lately.  "Hello, B? Do you happen to have the girls today? Great put the coffee on. I'll bring the snacks today. I'll be over in a while. They are doing what? You bought them what? You have got to be kidding me. Well Whitlee said she wanted to be in my "old" stories. I can't wait to see this. Tell them I'll be there in about ten minutes. I'll make sure to bring my cell phone so I can take lots of pictures. Bye!"

Grandma Lu was in for a very fun time.....

Taking A Walk With Sarah

 Sarah walked through the house yard on her family's farm and smiled as she remembered so many things she did as a child. "Look at all those Spirea bushes. Those were my wedding bushes. I can remember that those bushes grew all along the side of the house and made a kind of pathway to the lawn on the north side. I would make what I called a wreath for my hair and a bouquet of lilacs for my wedding bouquet. For my real wedding in two days I am going to carry lilacs. I read in a book that Thomas Jefferson and our first president, George Washington loved lilacs and had them at their beautiful homes. I wonder where our bushes came from. It would be fun if they were starters to two of our presidents. They always bloom around my birthday, so I will have a beautiful bouquet. Oh they smell so good.

If someone was close enough to hear her they would hear her chuckle to herself as she remembered telling her ma that the cats sure didn't like her. Her ma told her 'if you wouldn't hold them around their neck they might'. The cats were always part of her pretend weddings. She would put those that she could catch and put them in Lulu's buggy and stuff it with flowers; peonies, and lilacs if they were blooming. "Those cats sure didn't like weddings!" She grinned to herself thinking of all the wonderful memories she could tell her children and grandchildren.

She had so many good memories of this farm. The barn raising and the fun her brothers and she had. She especially liked exploring the farmland and still did. She walked up towards her ma's large garden and saw the tree. Her tree she called it. It was a mulberry tree. Oh the fruit was so good with sugar and cream on those big fat purple berries. It was such fun shaking the berries out of the tree onto old sheets ma had given them. I think Lulu ate more than she put in the bucket. I don't blame her. They were so good.

As she walked she realized she had come to the farm boundary. The Hayes farm ended and her new home began. As she looked over the fence she grinned. "Oh that was one day Ma wasn't happy with me." She walked over and reached into one of the many plum trees. Some of them were ripe. Yummy!

She had taken her apron out to the plum thicket that day and picked as many plums as her apron would hold. She had felt so grownup filling her apron with plums. Her ma had always used her apron to carry vegetables from the garden. "And a hundred other things for that matter," she thought.

She had taken them to the house and announced to her ma that they should make jam that day. Oh my, ma was not a bit happy. She had her day planned, and my wishes did not fit into her plans. I was twelve years old and was confident that I could make the jam if my mother would only let me work in her kitchen. She smiled as she remembered her ma fussing and saying that sugar was expensive and why didn't she ask first. Then one of her brothers saved the day. He came in the back door and saw the dishpan full of plums and said, "Great job, Sarah. Now we can have jam for our biscuits in the morning.

Yes, they did indeed have jam on their biscuits the next morning. As she walked back to the house she soon would be leaving she wondered what her children would be like. Would they be like her or her husband? She would even miss leaving her sister. She would have to put up with the boys' antics soon. She wished her well. 

"My those lilacs smell good. I believe I'll pick Ma a bouquet for the kitchen table. The white ones will be beautiful for my bouquet as well."

Making Soap And New Feather Pillows

 After Sarah finished writing her letter to her friend, Violet, she decided to take a walk. It had been seven years since she and her family had arrived at their new home in Cherokee County, Iowa. People had been moving in and buying land to farm. Her pa also had acquired several more acres of farm land. Over the years her ma had taught her so many things about being a good housewife. She and her soon to be husband were also going to be living on a farm. She smiled to herself as she remembered the day that they had arrived. The log cabin that awaited their return was so small, but her mother had insisted that her sewing machine be moved into the cabin even though Pa was against it. It was going to take up too much room.

He soon realized that the sewing machine was a valuable asset to them all. Ma made new and mended old clothing for them all. That was a job for the evenings by the fire. The old log cabin was gone now and a lovely clapboard two story house now stood. Pa built it close to the creek, but close enough to the beautiful cottonwood trees for shade in the summer. Oh how she loved those cottonwood trees. The glossy green leaves and the crinkly noise they made in the wind she would always remember. She would lay in her bed at stare at those trees and 'daydream her life away' her ma always said.

Ma was a good mother and realized that moving her little girl away from her friends and family was very difficult for Sarah. She convinced her new husband to let her find a dog for her girl. She needed a companion to keep her company. He remembered being a boy and having a dog. He was such fun and a great friend.  They found a a family that had had a litter of new puppies. They were now six weeks old and ready to leave the mama dog. Sarah chose a lovely white puppy that was always by her side. She called him Zeke.  Little did they know that that little puppy would continue to grow into a very big dog.

As Sarah walked into the tall prairie grass that always waved to her in the breeze she grinned and flopped on her back and let herself be hidden in her make believe world. Only the birds and the crickets knew where she was hidden. She dreamed of her new life with her new husband, but she also reflected on the parts of her life that weren't so much fun. She closed her eyes and remembered the day her baby sister was born. She was red and wrinkled and seemed to cry all the time, but her ma and pa made such a fuss over her. Lulu they called her. She was a nuisance for sure. It seemed like she was forever getting into her things as she got older. Pa spoiled her rotten. Even ma would get upset with him for buying her expensive things as she got older.

At times it seemed to Sarah that she was the mother of the twins and the new baby. Ma was always busy cooking, preserving fruits and vegetables from the trees on the farm and her large garden. Once a year she had to help her ma make new feather tick mattresses and pillows. That was a terrible job. All those feathers had to be washed, dried and stuffed into the new ticking. The quills had to be pulled out of the chicken feathers before they could be put in the new casings. I can just see me now running down the ducks and geese for their down. Hopefully I will have boys to help like ma and pa do. The duck and goose down was the best for pillows.  It doesn't hurt them to pluck their down, but they are not fond of being caught and plucked. The geese especially did not take kindly to being chased and caught. It took forever and the smell,  "I don't look forward to doing that job as a new wife."

As she lay there the little ants thought it was fun to explore her eyelids and tried to get inside her nose. She chuckled and flicked them away. She had had a good life on this farm. She thought about the letter she had sent to Violet. "Oh yes, the soap making days. That was a hot and dangerous job. They sell some soap in the stores nowadays. They have big factories I've heard of that make great big vats of soap. 

Ma always makes her own. She says homemade soap is better at getting out grass and blood stains. The whole family has a part in making soap because it takes about a year to have enough ashes and fat saved to make a barrel full. Every fall on the farm is a busy one, the men are out in the fields harvesting the crops and when it rains sometime in September the men will butcher a couple of pigs because our family is so large. We eat a lot of bacon and pork chops so there is a lot of fat left over. When the butchering is done Ma renders out the lard. I loved that part because the cracklings are so good. The men cut the meat into pieces for her to save for the winter. She puts a layer of lard on the bottom of a large crock then a layer of pork chops, then another layer of lard until the crock is full. Then she covers it with an old towel and plate to keep the spiders and mice out. Then she has one of the boys carry it to the cellar. She fries meat in the lard and when the meal is done she saves the fat in a little crock as well as the bacon fat.

As the year goes by she has a large amount saved for soap making. All year long she saves rain water in a wooden barrel out on the porch. She needs that to make soap too as well as another container she calls a hopper for all the ashes from the fireplace. It sounds easy, but it isn't. Those three ingredients make lye. Lye can burn your skin and your eyes. I loved to help my ma on wash day, but I was never allowed to help make the soap. I would learn why one day. But she smiled to herself as she remembered being a little helper to her mother. "Those were fun days. Iowa has such beautiful spring and summer weather."

I can remember how she taught me to put my wet clothes on bushes before we had clotheslines. As long as the wind didn't blow them away and the sun was shining the bushes worked well.

When Sarah closed her eyes she could remember the windy day she got too close to the soap making. She opened her eyes and saw the little scar on her arm that reminded her that if or when she had children to send them to friends or neighbors on soap making day.                                     

                                                          ********************

As I remember my near horrible accident on soap making day neighbors had joined in the fun and grownups not always paid close attention to the children while they were visiting. Especially a little curious girl that saw no reason not to get closer to the fire to watch it bubble.

Here is a computer picture that so reminds me of that day sans the pioneer bonnets. Mother had the big black pot and the wooden stick. I can remember clothes lines, but I'm sure if they had fences and no clothes lines they worked as well. It was a hot and dangerous job for sure.

Then on wash day she would take a sharp knife and shave parts of the block of soap into again hot boiling water. She seemed to always know how much.

I wanted to know why the homemade soap didn't bubble and get sudsy like it does nowadays. Sugar! That's the ingredient that helps create the bubbles. Of course, sugar was a scarce commodity in those days as well as being expensive. Those two things do go hand in hand.

A New Bride Reflects On The Past And Hopes For The Future

 It seems impossible, yet very real to Sarah that six years had passed. She would soon be seventeen and a new bride in just two days. Her ma had told her that every young woman should take one day to reflect on the past as well as the future before her wedding day. She had chosen today to do just that. She was going to send a letter to her best friend that she had left behind all those years ago to come to Cherokee County, Iowa. She opened the drawer to her mother's little desk and took out her stationary and pen. The blotter was with the bottle of ink in the corner of the drawer. She began her letter with a faraway look in her eyes.

My Dearest Violet,

In just two days I will be a married woman. It hardly seems possible that I was just a child and a willful one at that when I started on the journey to my new home with my family and new pa. Oh, I had so many lessons to learn. I learned how to obey my parents without asking questions that's for sure. I almost got attacked by a bob cat just because I wanted a bath. I know it sounds silly now, but I was indeed dirty. 

The wish for a bath seems so trivial now compared to other things that happened on the trail. I actually saved my stepfather's life! I know. I was so young, but he had taken my brothers and I fishing for supper one evening. The rocks were slippery with moss and he fell in. He could swim, but his foot had been caught under a rock, the current was swift and I jumped in! I can't believe I did that, but I was able to loosen his foot and he was able to swim to shore. They all had to save me because my skirts were heavy with water and I almost drowned. Oh what days those were.

The day we drove into the lane with our dirty faces and clothes after being on the trail for weeks, there were so many people waiting for us. They had organized a barn raising for us to surprise us. It wasn't completely done, but it was enormous. They had brought tables of food and drinks. There were so many people that were anxious to meet us. I learned that day that my new pa was a good man. Folks here share their work and get together often. That barn has stood throughout the years and is being used as a landmark for folks to find their way. The Hayes barn they call it. It was a good thing too, because the cabin was so very small that my brothers had to sleep out there for a while. The cabin would soon seem smaller. Ma and Pa announced to us that a child would be born in a few months. Well let me tell you I was not happy girl. In those days I thought we had too many children as it was. Of course, I couldn't choose who not to have as a brother if that was the case.

Oh, Violet, I do sound such a spoiled child, but at the time I was the only girl and did have my ways. We had to live in that cabin for months, because we had trouble getting lumber for our new home. The saw mill was miles away and so many other problems that caused the delay of getting our new home built. I seem to be rambling, but reflecting is the word my ma says.

I had so much to learn about being a young woman in this new land. Oh you will be amused at this. The day that my mother taught me how to make soap. I knew how to make a little liquid soap on the trail. I would make just enough to do the dishes and to wash our hands. Making a barrel of soap to last a year was entirely different. It was a difficult and dangerous job that actually took a whole year to prepare for.

I hope this missive finds you well and happy. Please let me know how your life is faring. I do miss you so and wish you could attend my wedding.

 I will sign off for now. I will enclose my new name and address in this note. My new husband has purchased the farm adjoining ma and pa's so we will be able to see each other often. As a new wife I'm sure I will be a bother to her with all sorts of questions and problems.

Your friend as always,

Sarah

After she had put her letter in an envelope and addressed it she sat back in her chair and thought about that soap making day, oh my what a day. "That will be a good story to tell my daughter one day," she thought to herself. Oh it was a beautiful morning....

Sarah Disobeyed Once Again!

 Sarah made her way carefully through the timber in the dark. Even though the moon was big it was still difficult to see where she was. She was trying to be as quiet as she could. She had been told not to leave the trails without telling someone where she was going. She also had been told that she would not be having a leisurely bath on the trail or in the stream because the water was too cold. A bath in a tub would have to wait until they got to their new home. She was used to being the only little girl and for the most part having her own way. Suddenly she heard a scream! The screaming seemed like a woman crying. Was it her mother? Was she hurt? Then she heard other voices. Her little brothers had followed her! She could hear their giggles and talking, but who was screaming? 

She turned following the screaming sound and there was a bob cat. She just knew he was going to attack her. But no, he was looking towards the twins. She had to do something quick. Sarah backed up slowly and deliberately. She said, "Boys there is a bob cat up here. You do not run whatever you do. Just back up and go back to the wagon and get pa as quickly as you can. Make sure you don't fall down or run. I will be right behind you, but if you get to the wagon first tell pa 'bob cat'. Sarah needs help."

Sarah needn't have worried. Sarah's mother had turned in her sleep and discovered the boys and Sarah were gone. She immediately woke her husband and they woke the big boys and the search was on. Pa was the first to hear the bob cat. "He said, "Stay here. There's a bob cat out there. I think he has spotted the little ones. I'll get my rifle."

Bob cats don't like noise and Pa knew that. He walked into the woods with his rifle. He could see the outlines of the children. He aimed his gun in the air, kaboom! The bob cat ran and so did the children. Just exactly what they weren't supposed to do. However they were safe. Pa shook his head, gathered all three of the children to him and said, "We need to have a serious talk. If we ever are going to make it home, you just have to do as I say." Pa was a religious man and did not resort to violence, rather to talking logic and kindness to the children, but he felt this was an exception to his own rule. They were told to go back to sleep under the wagon, but the next morning they were to find a willow switch for him to use for their punishment.

The next morning no one ate much for breakfast. Everyone was thinking about the spanking that was going to happen soon. Sarah told her pa it was her fault so please don't use a switch on the twins. He said, "Eat your breakfast, Sarah. I'm the pa. I make the decisions."

Sarah's mother looked down at her plate and didn't say a word. They were in complete agreement on this decision.

After breakfast she quickly did her share of chores and helped with dishes and putting them away. Then she knew it was time. As she walked through the woods she realized she didn't know what a willow tree looked like. She found one with pretty flowers on it and thought, "Maybe this one won't hurt too much."

After her punishment was over the oxen were ready to head towards their new home. Everything had been packed while Pa and Sarah had gone for their walk. Pa figured they had about three more weeks before they got to his homestead maybe sooner depending on the weather and barring no accidental breakdown of the wagons.

Pa worried about his new daughter, because there may be times when she had to obey him without question. The native Indians sometimes would invite themselves into the settlers homes and take what they wanted. Some wildlife might not be scared away and full streams could be dangerous as well in the early spring. This new land was alive with unknown dangers not only to the children, but to him as well. He was determined to prepare Sarah to  make choices that could affect not only her life, but the lives of her family members in the future. She had learned a good lesson in her future as a young woman of the untamed territory of Iowa.

Sarah Gets Her First Scolding From Her New Pa

 After her new stepfather saved her from being bitten by a rattlesnake in the woods, Sarah looked at him with new eyes; kinder eyes. She knew that he had been a friend of her father's but had paid him no mind. However, he was taking her away from her home, friends, school, and grandparents. She also had to leave some of her personal belongings that she cherished. Most of all her books. He had told her mother that books were very heavy and not many could be packed onto the wagons. Each wagon could hold two thousand pounds which sounded like a lot to her what would a few books make a difference. None in her mind. He said she could pack the Bible and only one or two of her favorites.

 Her mother also was not happy when he told her that she would have to leave her sewing machine behind. She was so unhappy that she told him that it was fine he could go back to Cherokee county by himself. She was not going to leave her machine behind. Well, he was a man and had never had a woman talk back to him before. He had never heard his mother talk back to his father. It was a woman's place to do as her husband said, wasn't it? He reached in his shirt pocket and took out the relatively new picture they had taken on their wedding day. She did have a look about her didn't she? "Well, I guess the sewing machine can go, but nothing else." He walked away, but looked over his shoulder at his new wife. Was that a hint of a smile he just saw?

Nathan thought, "I might be in for a very interesting new life. At least her big boys will be a great help on the farm. I have a surprise for them when we finally get back to the homestead. The cabin is small and will be a little cramped, but we will get by until I get us a proper house built. Again the boys will be a big help. I want to add onto the farm and accumulate as much land as I can afford. I just feel in my bones that land is the way to go in this new land. Something to leave my mark on."

They had only been on the trail for a couple of weeks when Sarah began to whine to her mother that she wanted a bath. She said her brothers wouldn't heat her any water for a bath. Where was her soap and towels? Furthermore her clothes were all dirty and wanted her mother to wash them. She started to take off her bonnet to make herself understood that she was going to have a bath right then and there. Then when she was all clean she wanted to take a nap. She was done traveling for the day. She had used such a loud voice even the deer scampered away.

Nathan heard and saw what was happening. "Well, I guess a father's work is never done. This little one needs a helping hand when it comes to life on the trail." He walked over to her and said, "You don't need to raise your voice to your mother. That is not going to work while you are under my care. You show her and all adults respect. Do you understand? Next you do not take a bath on the trail unless it is in a stream, river, or lake, both of which are ice cold right now. You do know what month it is? April is a month that you never know what's going to happen. Sometimes we even have bad snowstorms in April, it's not all daffodils and roses, young lady. Now you wait until after we camp tonight and your ma will show you how to make a little liquid soap out of the ashes and fat from the meat we eat. You can wash the dishes for your ma and then if there is some left over you can wash your face and hands. You need to be a help to your ma not a hindrance."

That night at the wagon her brothers teased her and said, "You better be careful, girl. Our new pa will leave you at the side of the trail along with your bad manners." She made a bad face at them and went about eating her supper and thinking....

Well Sarah had never been scolded like that before. Her father adored her. She was the only girl and she loved being spoiled. She did as she was told, but after everyone went to sleep that night she carefully crawled out from underneath the wagon and went off the trail to see if she could find a stream. She knew that there was one not too far off because one of her big brothers brought some water back to camp in a bucket. Surely the water wouldn't be that cold. She had sneaked a small rag into her apron and proceeded to disobey her new father. She wanted a bath.

There Were Many Dangers On The Trail

 Sarah was only eleven years old and her whole life had been turned upside down. Her father was gone, she had a new stepfather and now she had to leave her home and go over two hundred miles away to her new home. She knew she would never like this new place. She was sure it was going to be cold and ugly. Yes she had her brothers going too. She had a set of younger twin brothers and four older ones. They were such a bother. Always teasing her, scolding her and especially telling her what to do and what not to do. Then her mother kept saying, "It will be an adventure. Look on the bright side of things. You will meet new people, make new friends." Nothing will be the same. Oh her throat hurt and her feet were sore from going barefoot for so long. It was springtime, but the rains hadn't come yet. She could taste the dirt in her mouth and her eyes hurt too. Her mother called, "Sarah, get your bonnet on. Protect your face or you will get freckles and dirt in your hair."

Sarah thought, "Who cares about freckles there's no one to look at me, and the bonnet makes me hot. At least the breeze feels good in my hair. Finally I see some trees. There sure aren't many out here for shade. We had some pretty ones at home. I think I'll walk over here a little bit, it's so much cooler. Maybe I will find some flowers. Oh there is a pretty rock. I'll put that in my apron pocket for a keepsake."

Just as Sarah was going to stoop over she heard her new stepfather yell, "Sarah, stop! Don't move! There is a rattlesnake just a few feet away from you. She stood still as a statue. She could hear the rattle of the angry snake. She knew that they were poisonous and could be very very dangerous. She just couldn't see it. It was the same color as the dead grass and twigs in the timber. Then she heard a boom and felt herself being lifted in her new father's arms. The snake was dead and she had escaped a rattlesnake bite. 

Sarah's heart felt like it was pounding so hard it would jump right out of her chest. She could hardly breathe, but there were two strong arms that were holding her and soft reassuring words comforting her. Her new stepfather told his new family that they would rest for a spell and have something to drink. Sarah's mom, Catherine, hurried and told the boys to get out some cheese, bread, and some water. The water had been put in glass jars with burlap wrapped around them. The burlap had been soaked in cold stream water from their last stop. That kept the water a nice cool temperature. Her new stepfather's name was Nathan. He came from a large family too, but had never had any children of his own. This being a father business was all new to him. But he knew he had to explain some of the hazards of the woods to this little girl.

While they all sat down on a quilt and ate their snack he explained the habits of snakes. He said, "In the spring when the sun comes out the snakes crawl out from under rocks and logs to soak up the sunshine just like we do. They get cold and can't warm up like we do though. They warn you that you are too close by rattling their tails and that's what happened, Sarah. You got too close and scared that snake, didn't you?"

The tears were still easy to come from being scared, but she smiled a tiny smile at her new father and said, "I guess I kinda did. I was going to pick up a rock to keep as a remembrance of our trip."

Nathan chuckled, gave her a squeeze and said, "I understand, but from now on we will make sure that we watch very carefully and always tell one of us when you need to go off the trail, okay?"

Sarah assured him that she would do as he asked. Then Nathan said, "Okay, now do we have something along in the wagons that in case one of us do get a snake bite that we can use in a hurry?" It was Sarah's mother's turn to look worried. She said, "I never gave it a thought. What can we gather out here in the wilderness for a poultice? I did bring some whiskey in case of any kind of accident, would that work?" He nodded his head and smiled. He was a very religious man and did not partake of spirits, but did know the value of whiskey for injuries and a sedative if needed.

Nathan had owned his eighty acres for quite some time. He had built himself a sod house covered with weeds and grass so he was well acquainted with all the good that nature provided for him and  his neighbors, both white as well as the natives they called Indians. He said, "We need to find a special plant called plantain. We can let some dry and grind it up and it can also be chewed and bandaged on a sore or bite. It draws out the poison. There should be all kinds of it even this early in the spring. Hopefully we will never have to worry about it, but it's always good to be prepared."

He did not go on to describe what really needed to be done in case of a bad snake bite, but he would talk to the older boys to keep an eye out for their sister as well as rattle snakes, and other poisonous snakes that might be waking up for the spring and summer sunshine.

                                                                        ******

It is a good thing that Sarah wasn't aware of the sod house. It is now long gone, but in it's place was a log cabin. It would not be to Sarah's liking, but indeed better than sod. We shall follow these pioneers from Grand Mound, Iowa to Cherokee, Iowa which had been settled by G.W. Banister and his nine friends along with their families and others. The population although scattered was about two hundred fifty people in the 1850's. The Hayes group would settle about six miles south of Cherokee.

The burlap wrapped glass jars were used on farms for many years for the field hands and farmers to carry with them. I can remember them being packed in a basket and hauled to the field by my mother in a small wagon along with a huge lunch of sandwiches, rolls, cakes, cookies. She always told me that the men worked so hard they needed all that food. This was done twice a day morning and afternoon. The lunches were called dinner and the evening meal supper. They also were heavy meals loaded with real butter my mother churned from the milk my father milked three times a day. The mashed potatoes were made with whipping cream as well as the gravy from the meat she fried in lard. We did not know about cholesterol in those days.