I started school in Monitor at the age of eight. I had to learn to ride and handle a horse before I could go as we lived five miles from school. I started in a little school called, “Stone Wall”. Then after one term, I started in another school called “Miner”. I had a good horse and by leaving home at eight, I could ride seven miles and put my horse in the barn in time to be in school by nine. I was never late for school. Lyzzie made my lunch and put it in a red lard pail. I hooked the handle over the saddle horn and after seven miles of shaking and bouncing, my lunch was usually soup.
These times are what I call the good old days. We lived on a homestead of 160 acres and the grass was free for miles around . There was no such thing as a hunting or fishing license. The man with a big herd of sheep or cattle was rich. Berries were plentiful; sarvis berries, choke cherries, gooseberries, and Hawthorn berries. Trapping and hunting in the fall and winter helped provide a living. There were fox, coyotes, badgers, weasels, and mink. One winter the coyotes were killed by poisoning and as many as six were brought in each day.
I lived up to George’s declaration that I was the “feistiest one of the bunch”. There were times when I got into big trouble because of my shenanigans. Some were serious. Some were fun. And some were downright dangerous. I had a little white dog named Spot. I had been sent to the chicken coop to gather the eggs. The chicken coop door had a 2X4 attached that fit down into a slot when you wanted to keep the door shut. The hens were all sitting on their nests, so when I went into the coop, I just left the door open. I would only be in there for a couple of minutes. I told Spot to sit and stay so the hens would not get riled. He was a smart and very obedient dog, so he sat. Just as I was checking the last nest, a gust of wind blew the door shut and I heard the 2X4 slip into place and lock the door! I was locked in and it was not just stinky in there, it was also very cold! Spot sensed I was in trouble and he started barking and raising a raucous. I called to him. “Go get Lyzzie!” Then it got very quiet, so I knew he had gone to do his deed. It seemed like he was gone forever, but sure enough he came back with Lyzzie in tow. I heard her talking to Spot. “What is the matter?” I called to her “Open the door! I’m locked in!” Lyyzie was a person who got very excited whenever things went wrong. She was talking so fast I had a hard time settling her down so I could explain why I was locked in the chicken coop. Finally, she opened the door, and I was free.
When I went to bed that night, as usual, Spot crawled under the covers, cuddled up to me and we kept one another warm. That night. I held him extra close. I loved that dog so much and he had saved my life.
The next situation was a bit sketchy. George had hired a guy to build a corral by the barn. I was assigned to be his helper for the day. I enjoyed the time with him, and we were going great guns but were interrupted on a regular basis by Lyzzie. Whatever she was doing, she needed my help constantly. Every time she needed me, she would come around the corner of the house and call, Clar-EENCE!! Each time she called; I knew I had to check to see what she needed. The guy was getting disgusted with her and finally, he suggested: “Why don’t you tell that woman to go shit in the lake!?” I thought that was a good idea and since the man suggested it, I took that as permission. So, the next time Lyzzie called, I followed his suggestion. I was in big trouble when George came home that night!
And if you think I was in trouble over that one, it was nothing compared to what happened one day when some people came to visit George and Lyzzie. They had a little girl about my age and the adults sent us out to play while they visited.
We played with Spot and the little girl was quite taken by my stories about hunting and trapping, being able to shoot a gun, and ride a horse. I don’t remember how we got on the subject of peeing, but I told her I could pee over the rafters in the barn. She did not believe me so we went off to the barn so I could prove my claim. I was just in the process of doing so when George and the little girl’s father walked in. I don’t know if they had something to prove by going to the barn but they sure weren’t impressed with my demonstration.
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