Life on the farm was a gift from heaven to Eva and her siblings. There was freedom to run and enjoy the outdoors without worry. Near the small house were willow trees with a few poplars here and there. There was even one special tree that Alice liked, behind the house. The children explored the little paths that went through the trees. One path led to a slough which dried up in summer. There, in the midst of the willow trees, they played house in the open spaces.
Sometimes they would go into the pasture looking for strawberry patches, especially after a rain when they would find ripe berries. Tom made them a swing among the trees which they really enjoyed, each one trying to go higher and higher. When some of the relatives who lived a mile away came for a visit they tried the swing too. One day something unfortunate happened which later became a hilarious story recounted again and again with much laughter.
Not far from the swing was a pig pen which Tom had built for one of the pigs that was mean, biting the other pigs in the barn. This particular day Uncle Jim and some others had come to visit and he decided to try out the swing and take four year old, Alfred for a ride. So with Alfred sitting straddled on Jim’s lap, they were swinging higher and higher, when suddenly the swing broke and they landed in the pig pen. Jim was still on the swing board and Alfred still on his lap!
One day Eva’s dad gave her a special gift, a horse named Sandy. From the time she started school at six years old Eva had ridden a horse by herself to school but now with her younger sister, Florence going to school they could go together. To their delight they could hitch Sandy to the buggy and ride to the school. Sandy knew the routine! They would drive to a place near the school where there was a certain telephone pole on the corner.
Then, instead of turning the corner, they would turn the horse and buggy around, head him in the direction of home and tell him to go. Sandy would go home, pulling the buggy behind him, right into the yard, stopping in the place where the buggy always sat. Tom would then go out and unhitch Sandy and put him in the barn. Once the girls sent Sandy home they would walk the short distance to school.
The summer of 1924 would be forever etched in Eva’s memory as a time of great joy. Her dad’s brother, Charles and her dad’s sister, Esther were bringing their families from Michigan for a visit. Uncle Charlie and his wife, Olive (Ollie) were coming with ten of their twelve children. The two oldest girls, Mary Esther (21) and Hazel (20) would not be coming but Charlie Jr. (19), Art (18), Henry (15), Willie (13), George (11), Clarence (9), Jim (8), Em (6), Toots (Olive 4), and baby Sam (1) would all be coming with their parents.
Aunt Esther (Ett) and her husband, Guy would be bringing their four children; Hazel (12), Ruth (10), Bessie (4), and baby Billy (1). Although Eva’s parents looked forward to seeing family, they wondered how they would find room in their small house for that many people in addition to their family of five; Eva (10), Florence (9), Alfred (8), Gladys (2), and baby Ethel (6 mo). Everyone was excited as they looked down the road, watching day and night with anticipation!
One night after everyone had gone to bed, her Mom and Dad heard the sound of cars honking in the distance. Looking out the window they could see two cars with their lights shining brightly. They dressed quickly and hurried outside to welcome them. The children did not wake up although Aunt Ett had tried to wake Eva. In the morning when Eva and Florence woke up there were three girls dressed in white dresses and long white stockings, sleeping on the foot of their bed. Before long they woke up and introduced themselves as Hazel, Ruth and Bessie.
Instead of Mom and Dad in the other bed there was Aunt Ett and Uncle Guy. Aunt Ett was waving and saying hello to Eva who remembered her from when they had lived on the homestead near them, five years before. As soon as the girls were dressed they headed outside as Hazel was anxious to introduce some of the others. There stood the two cars. Uncle Charlies’s car had a trailer hooked up behind it and that’s the first place they stopped.
The three older boys were sleeping in there and Hazel opened the door, pointed her finger and said, “That’s Charlie, that’s Art and that’s Henry.” Next they went to the car which had a black curtain hanging in it and someone jumped out and over their heads. Hazel said, “That’s Willie.” Both families had also brought tents: a big white tent which belonged to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Ollie and a brown one which belonged to Uncle Guy and Aunt Ett.
Uncle Charlie and Aunt Ollie slept in their tent and ate their meals in the house while Uncle Guy, Aunt Ett and one year old Billy slept and ate in their tent. Eva described the sleeping arrangements for herself and some of the other girls, “When night came this is what happened in the house where some of us kids slept. They lined us up like soldiers on the floor. I slept by the sewing machine, then Hazel, Florence, Ruth, Emma and Toots .” They were almost too excited to sleep as they thought about the fun they were planning to have tomorrow!
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