~~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.
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