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Show in my father's house/ 77 duce a search warrant or respect his civil rights. In addition to unlawful cohabitation, he was charged with "distributing lewd and obscene literature through the U. S. mails" -- his beloved tract, "The Star of Truth." The "lewd and obscene" charge was based simply on the fact that the pamphlet advocated plural marriage. FBI agents also stayed at the white house, combing each room for diaries, journals, letters -- anything that might be considered "incriminating evidence" of unlawful cohabitation, At lunchtime, Aunt Sarah fixed a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of hot chocolate to refresh the agents as they sifted through my mother's belongings. The agents, nonplussed by her courtesy, perched on my mother's bed, munching and trying to make light talk with Aunt Sarah, who, in her attempt to balance fear with goodwill, didn't think to ask for a search warrant. In their introduction to the intricacies of the criminal justice system, my mother and Aunt Helga were booked on conspiracy charges: my mother for playing the piano at meetings, Aunt Helga for teaching Sunday school. Then newspaper photographers clustered around, wanting front page shots of these twins accused of marriage to the same man. Years later, when I learned the details of the arrests and trials, my mother took a cigar-box from the drawer where she stashed records of our blessings and baptisms and the notebook of funny things we said. Inside the box lay a bunch of dried flowers -- "from my father's funeral" -- and some yellowed |
