pages 60,61,& 62

Soon home and mama had a nice dinner waiting for us. My brother-in-law to be, Pruden, put his arm around my mother and drew her up close saying, “We’ve got it.” Then he pulled the paper out and showed it to her. “Well, that’s nice.” She said. “I am happy for you both and I trust you will always be as happy as you are right now.” Then picking up the corner of her big apron brushed a tear from her eye. About that time my sister Wilhelmina came in. “Well”, she said, “you’ll soon be and old married couple.” “That’s what we are aiming for,” said Pruden. With that we all sat down to the table, looking around. Two were missing. Here they came arm in arm down the stairs, my brother Harry and wife Ida. Ida, with a faint blush on her cheeks, looked so sweet in her smock, that was hiding what would soon be the first grandchild. She was making an effort to smile but the evidence showed a trace of a tear for she cried easily, sometimes because she was just happy. She loved to read the Bible and have prayer with the family. My mother was a lover of reading the Bible also. Many is the time I have seen her reading by an old coal oil lamp. Mother used to say to we children, “remember prayer is the bridge that will always carry you safely over.
Pruden tried teasing mother a bit. Finally she smiled when he said, “maybe we are the ones,” putting his arm on Sallie’s shoulder, “that should be sad.”
The next few days passed rapidly and the time arrived. A doctor and nurse were summoned. That afternoon, about five o’clock on my father and mother’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, a little girl arrived to my brother and wife. They gave her the name of Mary Maxine. She grew and thrived but cried a lot. The nurse said she had the colic caused from gas on the stomach.
Different ones called to congratulate Harry and Ida and tell them what a fine baby they had. Some also brought gifts for the baby.
The next morning Pruden received a letter from his friend, Ossie, whom he had asked to be best man at their wedding. Wilhelmina was to be the maid of honor. Ossie came a few days ahead of time and he was smitten with Wilhelmina right off. We could all see that from the start. A nice looking, dark, curly haired fellow, well raised and well educated. Of course, she didn’t take too much to him because she was still in love and writing to Sidney.
The days went by and preparations for the wedding were at hand. The home had to be decorated with flowers the day before. The invitations were already on their way. Mama hired help for the extra cooking that had to be done. The ninth of September, 1908 dawned as any other day, only the household was astir a bit earlier that morning. The woman mama had hired drove in the yard as mama came down the back steps from the bedroom above. Mama was glad to see her as the house was full of company and she needed help on the breakfast.
My brother’s wife hadn’t been allowed to go up and down stairs yet so the nurse took her breakfast up, as usual, on a tray. When the wedding was about ready to be performed, Ida was dressed in a very nice dress and Harry and the nurse assisted her down the winding stairs and into the double parlors from the large reception hall. She was given a good seat. The nurse said the baby must witness this also so she went back up the stairs and slipped a pretty dress on her and brought her down as the bridal party was ready to walk in under the arch between the double parlors.
It was two o’clock in the afternoon. The wedding was to be a quiet home wedding but neighbors and friends had been invited anyway. Just as they were ready a carriage load drove up that had come a little late on the trolley from Norfolk.
Sallie was beautiful in her white satin ruffled dress and her flowered veil head dress and white shoes. Wilhelmina looked just about as beautiful as the bride, in her dress of the same material and white shoes.
The bridal couple had their suitcases all packed. After the wedding and reception were over and the bride changed to a light blue jacket suit, hat and black shoes, my brother, Harry, took them to the station where they took the four o’clock trolley for Norfolk. From there they went to North Carolina for an extended honeymoon, visiting all of his relatives and friends.
Ossie stayed for a couple more days before leaving. I believe if Wilhelmina would have agreed they would have been engaged before he went back. The letters that followed, one almost everyday, kept her busy answering for letters came from both Sidney and Ossie.
The day after the wedding, September tenth, 1908, I was sixteen. I wasn’t telling anyone but some how it leaked out. I heard so often that day, “Sweet sixteen and never been kissed!” After I had heard it so many times I finally got brave enough to say, “how do you know?”
That night up in my room I wrote Frank telling him all about the wedding and that I would be going back to school again tomorrow. I wrote. . . we seem to have the same old crowd on the trolley each morning. They start loading at the Virginia Beach station and four stations before they get to my station. Sometimes it was so crowded I could hardly get a seat. There’s one new face that rides our school trolley, a young lawyer that graduated last year. My folks and his folks have visited. The only differe3nce is they attend the Methodist church and we the Baptist. One morning he gave me his seat and then after that he’d save me a seat which made it nice. He’s nice looking and a good talker and we enjoy each other’s company. But, don’t worry, I haven’t lost my heart to anyone yet and don’t intend to for a while. . . .After several sheets I was getting sleepy and thought it best that I go to bed.
The day before and the next day found our home empty of company for which we were glad for a while. All the rooms seemed so quiet. Mother had the cleaning woman to come and give the house a good cleaning. I was at school while that was done for I never cared too much about the house anyway and less when it was torn up. I liked best the out-of-doors, winter and summer.
When father returned from work that evening I heard him telling mother that the oil company had given him a new job, that of putting in pump stations throughout several of the Southern states. He’d be leaving in a couple of weeks, all of which was quite a surprise for mother. “That means, “She said, “I’ll have to be getting your clothes ready for travel.”
A few days later Maggie and I got into it somewhat because I went to Lynnhaven each morning to take the trolley instead of walking through our field to get on with her a the Tylor Station. She said it was all because Eddy saved me a seat. Well, I said he’d still have the seat saved for me even if I did get on at your station. We still sat together anyway when we could. I didn’t quarrel or get provoked because the way our folks had raised us we were always supposed to be nice to the other person whether they were with us or not.
That was one thing our parents stressed – good manners at all times, no matter who we were with. My parents were always telling us above all things we must grow up to be good American citizens and never be snobbish with anyone. They gave us nice clothes and paid tuition to send us to town schools when we could have gone to the country school. They furnished our home nice with carpet, new piano and furniture, gave us music lessons from extra good teachers. And never objected when our friends came to spend a week or a few days. They had a new carriage and buggy, harness, and good horses to pull or hitch to them so that when we went places we acted and looked like the kind of a home we came from or just well dressed, good American citizens as our folks taught us to be. The thing my father was the proudest of was his naturalization papers, showing as a young man of twenty-five, he was a true and loyal citizen of the United States.
In the weeks that passed we received several cards from the newly-weds and mama had gotten her first letter from papa. He said he had found a place to stay and was on the job. He said the work was going well and told where to write. I did not pay too much attention to the letter as I was busy with my school work.
That fall was a rather rainy one. My overshoes and umbrella came in handy most every morning. We had had such a dry summer, the fall was making up for it. I remember one night the young people of the church were suppose to meet at our house for their once a week get-together at the different homes. Mother had fixed for them then and began to wonder if they would come because of the pouring rain. But, nothing deterred them. Then mother began to wonder if her carpets would be ruined. Because of the rain outside everyone seemed to have a better time than usual. We all played games and played the piano and sang until we were all ready to sit and be quiet for once. About eleven thirty p.m. mother began serving the treats. Believe me it wasn’t long vanishing and mother was glad she had fixed a lot. For it was a cool, rainy night and there was a chill in the rainy mist that came down. Along about midnight, as the young people left for home, it let up. And we had quite a little frost that next morning. I was up early and off to the station before any of the others were awake. It was a cool walk, with my books under my arm. I hurried along for I was a wee bit late and the trolley was due at the station at seven forty a. m. That put me into Norfolk at about twenty to nine. You see, it took time stopping at the stations along the way.