~~Summer Activities~~

Lila, her two brothers and her parents lived on top of the hill next to Berdina. Lila’s parents were farmers, but to Berdina they seemed different. They had cows, but they also had turkeys, geese, bees and a flock of sheep.

Berdina thought the sheep were alright. She really loved the baby lambs that were born each spring. However, there was one in the flock she didn’t like at all. In fact she was afraid of him. He was the sheep buck.

The sheep were kept in the pasture across the road from the farm buildings. Berdina had to walk by them each time she went to school or to the store.

The sheep buck had jumped the fence many times, and every time she went by, Berdina thought he was going to get out and hurt her. He always stood close by the fence and stared at her. As a rule, Berdina wasn’t alone, but occasionally the older kids ran ahead of her. Berdina was always glad when she passed the place where he stood. Sometimes the older boys teased him and that made him mad. Lila spent a lot of time at Berdina’s house. There were always enough people to play ball or most any game.

Berdina knew Lila had a lot more of everything than she did, except for sisters and brothers. She had more money, more clothes; they also had more dogs.

Lila’s Ma had a pair of Boston Bull Terriers; she raised puppies and sold them. They also had a big, gray police dog. They called him Don, although he also had another big long name as he was a purebred dog. Berdina couldn’t remember that name and she really didn’t care as she disliked him. He was a fierce watch dog and was kept in the house.

Berdina and her sisters never went to Lila’s house unless they were invited and then Lila would come out to meet them. Lila’s Ma would put the dog out on the enclosed porch while the kids played.
 

Berdina often noticed when she played at Lila’s house that big cars would come into the yard. Shiny, new cars, not the kind the people in the Globe community drove. Berdina wondered who the people driving them were.

One day she noticed Lila’s Pa and a stranger go down by the corn crib behind the house. When they came back, the man was carrying a couple gallon jugs.

Berdina asked, “Lila, what does that man have in those jugs?”

Lila replied, “That’s gasoline. That man must have run out of gas?’

Berdina didn’t learn until years later that it was “moonshine”. Ma and Pa knew Lila’s Pa made moonshine, but they never told the younger children.

Pa and Ma made home brew. They made it in a big stone crock. They would mix malt, yeast and water in the crock and let it stand to work. Later it was put in glass bottles and caps put on with a capper.

Pa served beer when relatives came, or when his friends came to play cards.

Pa liked to play cards. He taught Berdina and her sisters and brothers how to play. He was a good card player and if you played with him you better play right. Berdina thought it was more fun playing cards with Lydia or her brothers or Lila.

Berdina liked Lila’s Ma. Sometimes she gave Berdina and Lydia clothes that were too small for Lila. She was a few years older than they were. These were store bought clothes, and they were a nice change from the home sewn ones.

Lila’s Ma also cut their hair, both the boys and the girls. Ma never needed her hair cut as she wore it pulled back from her face and put in a pug in back. Berdina liked to watch her take her pug down each night before she went to bed. It took a while to take out all the hair pins that had held it in place all day.

A Model A Ford drove in the yard.

Ma said, “It’s the Rag Man”.

“Got any old rags today, Main?” the Rag Man asked as he jumped out of the truck.

Ma went up into the attic and came back with a couple of gunny sacks full. All year she had been saving worn out clothes that could no longer be patched. The Rag Man tied the bags shut and hooked them on his spring scale to see what they weighed.

“Rags are up a bit this year, Mam,” he said as he reached into his pocket to pay Ma.

This made Ma smile.

Berdina’s brothers handed him some pieces of iron they had gathered and the man gave them a few cents each.

Now Ma would have enough money to buy a few products from the Rawleigh Man when he came around. Ma liked Rawleigh’s vanilla, pepper and cinnamon.

Ma said, “The products are so good you don’t have to use as much.”

Ma needed more nectar too. It came in quart bottles, was a concentrate, so each made several gallons of drink. Ma usually bought grape, cherry or orange.

If Ma didn’t have enough money to pay the bill, the Rawleigh Man would take an old hen or some eggs for the difference.

Berdina liked to watch the Rawleigh Man open his case. Ma knew what she wanted but he wanted to show her everything. He had rows and rows of bottles in his case: different flavored extracts, as the man called them, also medicines and salves and pudding and pie mixes. Ma always made her own pudding and pie mix from scratch.

The dealer tried to talk Ma into buying more things, but she was very saving, and took only what she needed. He would be around again in a month or two if she needed something more.

Summer birthday parties were lots of fun, with all the cousins getting together.

One day Ma said, “Berdina, I think it is your turn to have a birthday party once.”
Berdina’s birthday was July 18th.

All the cousins were asked, both boys and girls, and of course, Lila. Ma invited the minister’s boy, Richard, as Richard had his birthday on July 18th too. Richard did not attend school as his father taught him at home.

The children didn’t bring presents, but Berdina would get a small gift from Ma and Pa, maybe something from her Godmother and her older sisters. Some other day Lila’s Ma would see to it that Berdina got something extra.

Games were played all afternoon; games like Drop the Hanky, Tag, Hide-and-Go-Seek, and ball.

The children all stayed for supper. Ma had made potato salad, a pot of baked beans and they all had bologna. This was a treat. Earlier in the day, Berdina and Lydia had taken a few dozen eggs to the store and traded them for a few rings of bologna.

The birthday cake Ma had made for Berdina was a layer cake. Ma only made layer cakes for special occasions, as they took more time. Ma also made red Jell-O with bananas in it. She could get the Jell-O to set, no matter how hot the weather, in the basement with the cement floor. Ma made nectar in the gallon crock that usually sat on the little shelf in the corner of the kitchen and held drinking water. The water was pumped and the nectar made just before supper so it was nice and cold.

Berdina thought the party was great and everyone seemed happy as they said goodbye and walked home after supper.