~~June Days~~
Berdina, Lydia, and her brothers all had to
go to Bible School for a few weeks each summer. It was held in the little white
school building next to the church. The minister taught Bible School, or German
School as they called it, which was in the forenoon. Everyone who was school age
had to go to Bible School. They went each summer until they were confirmed which
was about the age of thirteen or fourteen. The younger children had Bible
stories read to them. Sometimes the minister’s wife taught the younger ones, the
minister taught the rest. The older children had to learn the Bible, the order
of the books. They had to read and memorize certain verses, the catechism, hymns
and the “Feeble”, a German book that taught the alphabet, rules and sounds of
German and simple German words. It was all pretty serious study, but it only
lasted a few hours each day. Berdina and the rest of the children were home each
day by noon.
Berdina enjoyed the new friends she met at school. Some of the students were
from a different school. They all belonged to the same church.
In the afternoon, Berdina, Lydia and the boys had to pick beans. Pa had planted
a big patch of green beans. Ma canned some, the rest were sold at the bean
factory in Neillsville.
It was hot in the bean patch in the afternoon and the job got very tiresome. It
helped to have someone to talk with while Berdina worked.
Pa said, “You must pick the beans very carefully so as not to damage the
plants.”
Sometimes when Berdina picked up the bush there would be a little snake under it
trying to get out of the hot sun. Berdina would get shocked and frightened. The
snake would crawl away.
Ma said, “Those little garden or grass snakes won’t hurt you.”
Berdina wasn’t so sure about that.
At night after the milking was done, the beans that had been picked that
afternoon were dumped onto the big kitchen table and everyone had to help snip
them.
Pa said, “If we snip them, the factory will give us a few cents a pound more for
them.”
Some nights the neighbors came over and helped snip while they visited.
When the beans were all snipped they were put in
bags and tied shut. Pa would take them into town early the next morning.
Each day more beans were picked, snipped and taken into town until the bean
season was over. If it rained, everyone got a rest.
Soon Bible School was over. Now they would have a picnic. This picnic was called
“Kinderfest”, which means “Children’s Feast”. What a feast it was. Each child
that attended Bible School received several tickets, each worth a nickel and
each capable of purchasing either pop, a candy bar, gum, cracker jacks, or an
ice cream cone.
The picnic was held on a Sunday afternoon in the church park, or the picnic
grove as it was called.
It was hard for Berdina to decide which candy bar she wanted: there were Baby
Ruth, Butter Finger, O'Henry, Hershey and the Three Musketeers.
Berdina said, “I think the Three Musketeers are the best buy because they have
three pieces in each wrapper. One light brown, one pink and one white, each
covered with chocolate.”
There were three choices of gum: Doublemint, Spearmint and Juicy Fruit all made
by Wrigley.
Berdina made her double dip ice cream cone last a long time. It would be one of
the few she would have during the summer.
The pop was cooled in tubs of ice in the stand. It looked so good! There was
root beer, grape, cherry, orange and cream soda, so her choice wasn’t easy, but
Berdina usually chose grape. After the last drop was consumed, Berdina had to
return the bottle to the stand. She could keep the cap; she would take it home
and with a knife pry off the cork inside the cap, then put the cap on her
blouse, and press the cork back in on the back side. It would stay right on.
Berdina thought her handsome pin looked great with her favorite flavor written
across it.
Berdina was eager to purchase a box of cracker jacks and see what the little
prize was inside.
Games were played at the picnic and prizes were given, but the real attraction
of the picnic was the treats Berdina could buy with her tickets.
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