Show N I JJ H 00 r. r V r II a HOM ER 6 fi JU CROY 1 7 J l I C ve t l 7 y Nu SERVICE THE STORY THUS FAR Amos Croy settled on a farm at Marysville 1 Missouri Mis 1 sours where he married and a son Homer Homer Ho lIo mer was born Sunday meant church compa company for dinner and steer weight messing guessing Dehorning of the calves curing cure cur ing tog of 01 hams bams weaning of calves and sausage sausage sau sau- sage making were wen jobs that Homer had to help with On Ons Ona of Homers Homer's big thrills was helping Newt a neighbor break in his mules Next Newt used his own system he would the mule double to a a. wag wage wagon on and force forca them to run away He Be al always ale ways said that a mule was no good until after it had run away and he be made money money mon man ey by breaking mules proving his system system tem was pretty good The neighbors did not approve of his method however CHAPTER I EX IX EXIt It took experts for this for a crazy quilt is twice as hard as an ordinary quilt But Phebe knew howand howand how howand and would go from one to another arranging patches and making suggestions sug sug- And now as the days day's quilting drew to a climax there would be a great hubbub as they tried to decide which color of thread went with which patch and what kind of stitch to use But Phebe knew She wouldn't fancy stitch at atall atall atall all herself because she would be too busy showing others Ma would come in and stand in the background background background back back- ground handing out patches and picking up the chalk when it rolled off on the floor Phebe would lower her voice Aunt where do you want the campaign campaign campaign cam cam- ribbon to go In the middle Ma would say The women's voices would fall away to a hush because they all aU knew what the campaign ribbon meant It could not be finished in a day sometimes it took a woman years working alone winter evenings to complete her crazy quilt But it was helped along and the women all aU wanted to say they'd had a part partin in the quilt They would begin looking out the window to see see if the men were coming Theres Newt Mrs Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy Ken Ken- nedy would say One by one the themen themen themen men would arrive and stand in the lot ot talking to Pa never dreaming to togo togo togo go to the house One by one the carts and buggies would leave Mrs Gerilda Knabb would come out but there would be no surrey now so I would have to go to the granary and get two sawhorses I would try to maneuver maneuver maneuver maneu maneu- ver her horse up but he had been standing all day and wanted to get home Mrs Knabb standing on top of the sawhorses would shout Whoa Whoa Stand still now and I would shout too to the prancing prancing prancing ing horse Ma and Phebe would hear us shouting and would come to the door and begin calling warnings to Mrs Knabb and instructions to me And now with everybody shout- shout in the tri horse would prance more than h ever e eFin Fin Finally i Pa Pa would d come i up through the hog lot and take hold of the bit and I would help Mrs Knabb and pretty soon she would be on and going toward the main road pulling and sawing at the frisky snorting animal Homer take down the frames Ma would say once more coming into charge The people in our section took few papers but the ones we did take were vere read and reread and stacked in a pile and treasured We Ve even kept our order mail-order magazines That was the final test Everybody tried to subscribe to the home weekly but there was a pinch it was a year When Pa went to town Saturday and asked for the mail there it would be with I Pas Pa's name written across the top in lead pencil We couldn't wait till i we got home so Ma would put on her glasses and read snatches aloud as we jolted along in the hack But it wasn't until after the chores were done and the lamp lighted that we really tore into it Item by item then After nearly every everyone one there was a discussion Ma would read a name and there would be a silence Then Pa would say Why I saw him not three weeks ago Everybody took a farm paper Or nearly everybody Wallaces' Wallaces Farmer Farm Farm- er was the most popular but The Iowa Homestead was on its heels And there was The Mail and Breeze But hardly any family took more than one Two dollars a year there Ma would read the Farmer aloud and it opened up a world the county weekly didn't know existed There I would be mention of towns we never even heard of far off ofT places in Iowa and Nebraska Now and then there would be a mention of Ohio Pa would lean forward a little Every family took a religious pa pa- per Ours was The Rams Ram's Horn Sometimes of an evening Pa would be reading Wallaces' Wallaces Farmer Ma would be reading The Rams Ram's Horn and I would be breathless in The Youths Youth's Companion Especially in Tracks End by Hayden Carruth where the Indian came crawling through the snow tunnel But there was another kind of paper that everybody took And that was what we called the lithe mail mail- order monthly The reason everybody everybody everybody every every- body took it was because it was cheap twenty five twenty five cents a year Once the thing got coming it kept kepton on coming It was not like The Youths Youth's Companion which gave you two weeks' weeks notice and meant it I Sometimes it would keep on a year or two after alter your subscription ran out before it would whack you off The one we took and the one that was most popular in our section was Comfort published in Augusta Maine where they all seemed to spawn I can still see the heading which said COMFORT Key to a Million Homes The in Comfort Comfort Comfort Com Com- fort were strung along a gigantic key It seemed to me there was no limit to human ingenuity This along with others of its tribe carried order mail advertisements which had to do with How to Make Money Raising Belgian Hares How to Cure Bed Wetting and Big Money Money Money Mon Mon- ey in Squabs There was an ad that was tremendously persuasive to me Send me Send Ten Cents for Big Mail I loved to get mail and so saved up and subscribed to one or two Of course it was all advertising advertising advertising advertis advertis- ing matter and it never had my name right but just the same it was something coming through the post office addressed to me Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times I got more mail than Pa He would say Homer why do you want to carry carryall all that trash home But I clung to it I had many hours with nothing to fill them so soI soI soI I pawed through it from How to Get Rid of Chicken Worms Worms- to toMake toMake Make Easy Money Selling Soap to Your Friendly Neighbors We had a patent washing machine machine machine ma ma- chine just as most of our neigh- neigh r i. i a tl R lT fl b I 1 I. I 1 y 1 i 1 ii iii i The one most popular in our section section section sec sec- tion was Comfort bors had The patent consisted of ofa a big iron ball balI fastened to a pendu pendu- lum When you pushed the handle back and forth the pendulum with its iron ball swung to and fro clumping clumping clumping clump clump- ing everybody on the shins The printed notice pasted on the side said that running this machine was wasa a pleasure I would look at the notice notice no no- notice tice and wonder what kind of man had written that My mother was not strong so I always had to help with the wash wash- ing How long and dreary and harrowing harrowing harrowing har har- rowing Monday was Carry water from the wash boiler on the kitchen stove and dump it into the Ezy Family Family Family Fam Fam- ily Washer then push the damned handle back and forth till I thought I would die N Now ow and then Ma would come out I would swing up the lid and she would peer into the steamy depths A moments moment's rest and Id I'd hope the clothes had been washed long enough But they never never never nev nev- er had The lid would have to go godown godown godown down and the pendulum again started started started start start- ed swinging back and forth I used to read as I pushed the han han- dle A book was too heavy and too awkward to hold But COMFORT COMFORT COMFORT COM COM- FORT Key to a Million Homes was just about right So I would grasp it in one hand and read about people in Newport It did not take me long longto to discover they were a pretty bad lot Also I thought I would like to have a fling at it myself One day as I was pushing the pendulum back and forth I read an announcement which said the magazine magazine magazine maga maga- zine was was' going to have a true dream contest open to any subscriber This was before the post office department department department depart depart- ment got ideas And that all you had to do was to write plainly on one side of the paper and see that I I your subscription was paid up As I swayed the pendulum back and forth I began to think up a true dream A little trouble with my conscience there Still the Newport Newport Newport New New- port set wouldn't have hesitated I laid the scene in the Ozarks although although although al al- al- al though I had never been there The idea dealt with myself and a companion who had gone on a camping camp ing trip in the Ozarks The poor poorman poorman 1 man got lost and I dreamed where I he was and I went to the cavern 1 where he had fallen faIlen and lowered a rope which I happened to have I handy and pulled him out Then we looked at his watch which had stopped when he had fallen into the water It had stopped at exactly the hour I had wakened from my dream I I felt pretty hopeful about the watch touch I wrote it plainly on one side of the as instructed and sent it to Our National True Dream Contest Contest Contest Con Con- test without saying a word to anyone The watch touch might not really work I expected the winner would be bein bein bein in the next number for I did not know that a monthly magazine had problems our weekly didn't have to contend with One day I would be sure I would win the next I would be sure I wouldn't that being the nature nature nature na na- na- na ture of hope One day Pa went to town alone and when I saw him coming I rushed out to get the mail as I always did There among the advertising matter was an envelope addressed to me on a typewriting machine the first I ever received The big mail concerns wrote my name in lead pencil except now and then when I seemed promising enough to have my name printed on a slip of paper and pasted on When this happened I was sure to get mail from them for quite a while But after a time they would get discouraged and Id I'd have to make new contacts But there it was I opened it it- it Dear Mr Croy We Ve take pleasure pleas pleas- ure in telling you that you have won first place in Our National True Dream Contest and we are herewith enclosing check for first prize I opened the check and there it was was was-a a check for a dollar It was a thrilling moment I went around to the side where Pa was unhitching and said with a tremendous effort at casualness Well VeIl I got a check He stopped with a tug in his hand and looked at me incredulously A check Here it is I fluttered the docu docu- ment How much is it for I told him How did you get it I told him Take it in and show it to your mother he said and led the horses down across the lot to the water tank Ma thought it was wonderful It wasn't long till tilI Pa came up from the barn walking faster than usual took off ofT his overshoes and sa sat t down in his rocker Well Susan it seems the boys boy's got a check It was a supreme moment moment mo mo- moment ment for me How long did it take you Homer Two vo hours Two hours' hours he repeated and andI I could see he was doing mathe mathe- matics I guess you'd better read his piece aloud Susan I tried to look as modest as I could As Ma read the expression on Pas Pa's face changed He quit rocking rocking rocking rock rock- ing and sat there puzzled and dis dis- dis- dis appointed The piece e about the calf to drink was fine helpful anybody could put it to use But a adream adream adream dream Id I'd made up out of my head I He praised it a little but only a little for he wasn't a man to say something he didn't mean Finally choring time came and he put on his overshoes and started back to the barn lot But Ma wasn't disappointed It was a fine piece One day shortly after this as I Iwas Iwas Iwas was going down the street in town I saw in the window of the racket store a picture I knew the instant I saw it that I wanted It was a apanel apanel apanel panel containing pictures and a caption caption caption cap cap- tion which said Six Famous American American American Amer Amer- ican Authors Under each was printed the name Henry Wadsworth Wadsworth Wadsworth Wads- Wads worth Longfellow John Greenleaf Whittier Nathaniel Hawthorne Ralph Waldo Emerson James Russell Russell Russell Rus Rus- sell Lowell Edgar Allan AlIan Poe I looked at them and thought what great men they were and wished that I myself sometime could do something worth while I was able some way or other to raise the money and bought the panel When I got home my mother moth moth- er wanted to know what I had I Iwas Iwas Iwas was suddenly self-conscious self and did not show it to her because my secret was so precious She came up aft I Ier Ier er I had gone to my room and there was the panel unwrapped She I looked at me for a moment seemed I Ito to understand my hesitation in showing showing show ing it and said Ill help you put I it up And she did but neither of 01 ofus ofus us mentioned the significance of the picture I In July my father would say to my I mother Ive just been through the I I watermelon patch and some good I II melons are coming on I think we might have a swimming party Then hed he'd say to me in his sly humorous humorous hu hue way Homer would you mind telling the neighbors Of course I wouldn't because nothing nothing nothing noth noth- ing was more fun than a swimming party The evening of the party wed we'd get the chores done early and eat an early supper then get the plates I and knives and benches ready and go out on the front porch to wait I for the neighbors It'd seem to me they'd never come but at last wed we'd see them coming down the road in Newt Kennedys Kennedy's spring Pad lean forward I III do b believe lieve hes he's got a new mule on the wagon spring-wagon I Hes He's go goin in to kill somebody sometime sometime some some- time you just mark my word TO BE CONTINUED |