~~February~~

Berdina loved the reed organ that stood in the living room. It had to be pumped and as soon as she   got tall enough to reach the pedals, she began playing simple tunes she would pick out by ear. The    organ stood high and had lots of carvings; it had a mirror and on each side was a small compartment with doors. These held a couple of small song books.

Berdina liked any kind of music, so did Pa. He had played the clarinet in a band in Globe and was a good singer. Berdina liked to hear him lead the songs in church. He was the choir master. Sometimes Pa would sing German songs to Berdina and her sisters. Pa and Ma used to speak German at home, but had to quit so that the children would learn to speak English before they went to school. It was interesting to hear them talk German when they were visiting their relatives, but Berdina sometimes thought they were saying things she shouldn’t hear.

There was a radio in the house. It ran with a big battery that had to be taken into town ten miles away to be charged when it went dead, so Pa would only put the radio on when everyone was around and
could enjoy it. This was mostly at night when the work was finished. There were shows like “Lula Belle and Scotty”, and several big German bands, also comedy shows like “Amos and Andy”. The boys and Pa liked a show called “Death Valley Days”. Berdina and her sisters didn’t care much about it, as it seemed pretty scary. This show came on later at night, so the girls usually went to bed when that came on.

There was also a phonograph to play which had to be wound up by hand with a crank. This was played a lot. Sometimes Berdina danced to the music. Her friend Lila had taken tap dancing lessons in town and had taught Berdina some of the steps. One time when a friend was visiting with Pa and Ma, they asked Berdina to dance for them. She was shy and didn’t want to, but danced when the guest offered her a dollar if she would. A dollar was a lot of money in those days.

Berdina was always full of life and liked to talk; sometimes her older sisters called her a chatterbox, then she would be quiet for a while, but soon she would be talking again.

After Berdina’s sister, Ottillie, became a teacher, she bought herself a new player piano. The family all enjoyed this. They would gather around the piano and sing along while someone pumped and played the rolls. Now the organ was moved upstairs into the girl’s big bedroom, where Berdina could play to her heart’s content without bothering anyone. Ottillie took piano lessons and could play very well. She later gave piano lessons. She let Berdina play the piano if she was careful.

Music was a big part of school life. There was a phonograph there too. The teacher, Mrs. Carlton, would play records during music at times. One record was a favorite of Berdina's. It was called “Whistler and His Dog” and it was all whistling. If Mrs. Carlton played a march, the pupils all had to march around the room. There was a record with simple exercises which the pupils had to do.
Berdina also liked playing in the rhythm band. It was fun to keep time to music with sticks, bells or the triangle.

Mrs. Carlton taught the pupils about Abe Lincoln and George Washington, but the highlight of February was Valentines Day. The older children covered a big box with white paper and decorated it with red hearts. A slit was cut in the top where you could stick your valentines. Berdina made valentines during art class with red construction paper and white lace. The little store down the road had a few small ones that could be purchased. When your Valentine was ready you could sign it and put it in the box. There was a lot of excitement the two weeks before Valentines Day. Everyone
wondered who would send them a Valentine.

Each person only sent a few. After the valentines were handed out, there was some kind of treat, maybe candy the teacher had brought, or cookies some of the mothers had sent along to school.
The snow came again, several inches of it.

Ma said, “It’s a nice, clean snow, we could make snow ice cream.”

Lydia went out and got a big pan of clean snow. Ma added thick cream, vanilla, and sugar and carefully stirred it together. Berdina thought this was a good treat as she never got ice cream in the winter. They didn’t have an ice cream maker like some people did.

Lent started. It was time to think about Easter and look forward to spring. Berdina and her family didn’t have to fast like Lila and her family did. Lila’s family and the storekeeper’s were the only Catholic families in Globe and the only ones not related to Berdina. The men of these families were brothers who had come from Neillsville to start the store after folks started settling in the community. Berdina knew that Lila was different. She didn’t understand some of the things Lila had to do, but they never really talked about it. Berdina was just glad that Pa and Ma allowed her to play with Lila.
Lent for Berdina and her family meant more praying, no dancing or partying. There would be Lenten services to attend each Wednesday evening. On Good Friday everyone went to church in the forenoon. Ma always cooked a big kettle of rice early in the morning; she made it with milk and butter and added sugar as it cooked. When she had it in the bowls, she would top it with cinnamon and sugar. She also cooked prunes which Pa always put over his rice.

Berdina asked Ma, “Why do we always have rice and prunes on Good Friday?”

Ma said, “It’s a tradition. Pa’s folks always had it in Germany and Pa wants it that way.”

Berdina thought it was a good idea, That way dinner was ready when they got home from church.

The weather warmed a bit and there was a February thaw. It made Berdina think about spring and how nice it would be to be warm again.

In school the older pupils were studying for the grain judging contest that would be held later on in Neillsville at the High School. They studied the characteristics of good seeds of all kinds, oats, wheat, barley, rye, corn, soybeans, peas and others. They judged in teams of three to a team and they would spend the day in town. The seeds were in small dishes and each team had to decide which were the best samples. They were judged by color, size, shape and if there were weed seeds in them. After judging in the forenoon the students were treated to lunch, then a movie at the theater. After the movie, which included a comedy followed by a good feature (such as “Treasure Island” or “Huckleberry Finn”) the judge would announce the winners; and awards would be given to the schools with the highest scores. Students came from all over Clark County to compete. Berdina couldn’t wait to be big enough to go along to the contest.

Ma said, “Spring won’t be long now, the basement shelves are getting low, and the potatoes are starting to sprout.”

Saturday, Berdina and her sisters had to help Pa sprout them so they would keep longer. Ma would peel the potatoes early in the morning now so they could stand in cold water and firm up before she cooked them. Potatoes were a big part of Berdina and her family’s diet. Boiled, mashed or riced for dinner, then fried or made into potato salad for supper. Pa liked potato pancakes, and potatoes also made good soup, just plain potato soup or potatoes put in vegetable soup, which was made a lot to use up the cabbage and the carrots before they spoiled.

Ma also made good chicken soup or most any kind. It made a good meal for the family. Ma made noodles when she had a few extra eggs. She would roll them thin and let them dry on the back of a kitchen chair.

Although there were about twenty-five chickens in the small coop, only a few were laying now. Ma used what eggs she got for cakes and cookies and for making dressing for her potato salad. In the summer there would be more eggs to eat. The chickens would lay better again and Ma would set a few clucks and raise some more chickens. In the late summer and fall Ma would butcher the old hens and roosters. She thought nothing of chopping off the head of a chicken and plucking and dressing them. It was what all Ma's did in those days. Berdina hated to see this, but she loved Ma’s chicken. She thought Ma was the best cook in the whole world.

In the summer the chickens would pick a lot of their own food. Ma fed them a little oats and the baby chicks got oatmeal. In winter the peelings from potatoes and other vegetables were saved and fed to the chickens. Sometimes even small potatoes were cooked with the some just for the chickens. A small cement feeder stood in the center of the coop to dump these things in; this was something even Berdina could do. Ma saved egg shells and dried them in the warming oven On the range. When they were crisp she would break them up fine and give them to the chickens. This made the shells harder and the chickens wouldn’t break them in the nests.

The warming oven on the stove was used for many things. It was a good place to keep food warm if someone was late for a meal, also a good place to dry wet mittens for a big family.
Berdina was tired of winter. Even the thought of sledding on the long hill no longer excited her the way it used to.