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Show 81 of Mama's life-long inability to make up her mind. Everybody was there but Papa. Aunt Rachel and Uncle Abe and their seven children lived in Oak City, as did Uncle Walter and Aunt Eliza and their seven. Uncle Eli and Aunt Dora and their two children lived near, in Delta. Aunt Jane was the school teacher, so it was a real family reunion. Added to it were Mama's half-brother Soren, and her half-sisters Maggie and Eliza, their husbands and wives. To top it all off, Grandpa Rawlinson and his last wife and two of their three sons lived in Oak City, his step-sons by her former marriage. It was quite a congregation when we all got together. We sang, talked, ate, and had our pictures taken together, and it was fun meeting all the cousins we hadn't met, marking the growth of the ones we had. Papa was so glad to have his cook back that he forgave Mama when we got home. Joseph was growing. When I was ten it was illuminated with electric lights. Up to then we had used kerosene lamps. Some people in town had gas lights, but never more than one to a household. It was wonderful to see Leavitts light theirs, the little gauze cones grow white-hot without burning up, and to see the white light cast by it. It had been our weekly duty to clean all of the several lamps in the house, see that they were filled with oil, turn the wicks up and trim them, polish the glass chimneys. They were such a useful article that some stores still stock them. The ones we considered most common are now displayed as cherished antiques by the "now" generation. |
