pages 43-45

The time soon passed and once again we were driving over the same road. Just ahead before we made the curve going over a bridge, over a small creek, I could see my parents and sisters driving ahead of us. They were trotting along faster now and soon they turned into the church yard. The same two fellows that came out so gallantly that morning to tie the team, upon seeing my father and mother step from the carriage also, seemed to give them cold feet so they slipped away. Seeing my folks walk on into the church and my sisters linger behind talking to some of the young folks, they slipped back again and asked if they might sit with them, all agreed, so the young folks all went in together and sat down. Maggie and I were watching from the corner of our eyes and were getting quite a kick out if it. The giggly teenagers we were.
Being in my mid-teens entailed other things such as the time my mother said, “now that you are a young lady, it’s fit and proper that you wear one of these,” and handed me a corset. I knew what they were for I had seen my sisters wear them but dreaded the day when I would have to go through the ordeal. “From now on,” she said, “you are to wear it.” and left me holding the corset in my hand. Slowly I went step by step up the stair and tried the never to be forgotten garment on. I stood before the mirror viewing myself from all angles and for the life of me I couldn’t see why I had to wear one. I was as slim as a bean pole and with one of those on I looked larger and bulgy in spots, I thought. Fast being taken away were my girlhood and tomboyish ways by things such as that. When I attended parties, I was never supposed to go without wearing at least three petticoats under those soft, thin summery dresses and never with any dress was I to go without wearing at least two petticoats and my hair had to be fixed more in a young lady style but I wore it a lot in two curls down my back and when I sat down I had to pull it to each side to keep from sitting on it. At times I would ditch the corset I was trying so hard to get use to, especially when I wanted to go on those long early morning horse back rides. If I failed to put it on, on my return, my mother would ask why I was not wearing it an I always had to hatch up some kind of excuse.
This was the year, 1907, my brother had become engaged to a very nice young lady by the name of Mary E. Guy. He had brought her to our home where we lived at the parsonage several times. When June the 19th rolled around they had a big wedding at the Methodist church in Norfolk to which we all attended. My sister, Sallie, was one of the bridesmaids. It was a lovely affair and then they took the boat for Washington, D.C. on their honeymoon.
In the meantime we girls were enjoying ourselves with trips to the beach or Virginia Beach which was only six miles from our home. You could see Cape Charles. There were two light houses at Cape Henry, a very tall new one and the old one which was an old relic now. The bricks had been brought from England to build it. From the big sand dunes and hills we saw the fleet anchored out there that went around the world, which was quite a feat in those days. The light house grounds were very pretty and well kept, and attracted lots of people. Virginia Beach was an amusement place and a summer resort. There were cottages where people could rent and spend their vacations. That spring before we moved to this county the amusements bad burned down.
After returning from their honeymoon, my brother and sister-in-law had come out to our place and were standing on the Lynnhaven station platform waiting to take the next trolley back to Norfolk when two fellows stepped off the car going to the beach. They had seen my brother standing there. Going up to him they said, “where’s your dad?” Harry, my brother, said, “he’s home.” They were from the Navy yard at Portsmouth and they walked the short distance to our home. My father invited them in and they slapped him on the back and said, “we’ve been looking all over for you. We went via Norfolk to Cape Henry, to Virginia Beach and just happened to see your son and wife standing on the platform at Lynnhaven or we might have made the trip back to Norfolk without finding you. Believe me, we’ve been hunting all over.” They called my father Harry and said “Harry, we’ve just got to have you back on that compressor engine. That fellow we have has just about tied up things. When can you come?” “Now look here!” my father said, “I told you and gave you plenty of time before I quit. That was for keeps. I also told you that I didn’t want to board away from home.” “But Harry,” they said and slapped him on the back again, “you’ve got to do this one favor and come back long enough to break in a new man. We’ve got one in view we think can be trained.” “O.K.” my father said, “but just two weeks and no more. If you’ll wait a bit,” he said calling my mother to tell her and have her pack his clothes, “I’ll go with you.”
` Thus two weeks went past faster than we had figured. In that time mama had had a party for us girls and other girl’s mothers of the neighborhood had given parties and invited us girls. Then the young people of the church would get together once a week at someone of the young people’s homes. There they would play games and enjoy one another’s company, make candy and have a lunch like sandwiches, cake and ice cream.
At these parties was a fellow who had taken quite a shine to my sister Sallie and his cousin to my sister Wilhelmina. The one that took to my sister Sallie was somewhat of a bachelor, red hair, and a red handlebar mustache. My sister couldn’t stand the sight of him let alone be near him. He came about three times a week to the house. Most generally it was mama and papa that entertained him and for politeness sake my two sisters would sit in the room. Well one Sunday afternoon he came before we’d hardly gotten home from church and eaten our dinner. We three girls snuck upstairs and left mama and papa to talk to him, which our parents wouldn’t have approved of. But me, I was always getting bright ideas and about that time one popped into my mind. Knowing he wouldn’t leave until after supper, I slipped out of the upstairs window onto the kitchen roof and slid down the porch post then put a ladder up for my sisters. Then I slipped out to the barn and harnessed the horse to the rubber tired buggy. And led the horse slowly out across the small bridge to the road. We three jumped in and were off. We drove to Virginia Beach, six miles away, where before we had always took the trolley, and drove along the beach and in the edge of the water. Then we started back, singing all the way, thinking how smart we had been. It was almost dark when we drove over the bridge into the yard. Our parents weren’t very proud of us and told us so in disapproving of our conduct. They didn’t just approve of the one fellow either but we were always supposed to be polite to folk.
You would have thought that would have dampered his desire to come, but no sir, it seemed to make him more determined. When my sister found out he had a girl he had been going with for ten years, she really gave him the could shoulder and always invited his girl to all of our parties. My sister Wilhelmina soon found out too that the cousin that wanted to go with her also had a girlfriend of long standing. She soon told him that she thought it best for all concerned that he should take up where he left off with his girl. But he was such a nice jolly fellow and quite nice looking.
My father hadn’t been back very long from his two weeks breaking in the new compressor engineer man when he took on the job of rebuilding the Virginia Beach amusements. He was soon mace foreman and by this time our new home was completed and we had moved in. mama and all of us were very proud of it. There were five bedrooms upstairs and a large hall, a double parlor, a dining room as large as the two bedrooms above it, a large kitchen, a large reception hall and winding front stairs, and back stairs from the kitchen up. There was also an upstairs and downstairs front porch in front of the house. I use to love to get out of bed of a morning in the summer time and go out on the upstairs front porch and listen to the birds sing and look out over the countryside. We had two back porches and there were thirty-two glass windows and three glass doors in this home painted white with green shutters on all the windows and built in a (here she placed an slightly flattened and elongated “Z” lying on its side) shape.