Boon Lake – Part 8
Farming in 1968 treated us well. Prices were good at the sales barn, the chickens kept us in egg money and we were keeping our head above water.
We were getting ready for a baby in the mid part of July of that year. I was feeling good. Carrie was sleeping in a big girl bed that sister-in-law from Hector had shared with us. Hmm . . . that memory bounced across decades. Carrie’s daughter Megan had that as her big girl bed.
As soon as public school was out in Hector for the summer break of 1968, we had extras move in as Orlin’s nephews, Craig and Frank, loved to stay with us. Orlin put them to work. Four extra hands helped with a lot of chores and fetching. I was pregnant keeping up with my chores, baking and making meals for hungry boys that had bottomless pits for stomachs. Good times all around.
The first part of July Craig went home to Hector and Frank decided to stay. Frank never got tired of the farm work, where Craig was ready to go back to the town life. With Orlin’s mother now being a widow and retired from being the head cook at the Hector school, she enjoyed when Carrie and I would come in and take her on some errands. Esther never drove. She had a friend that lived in Redwood Falls that she wanted to visit. Mrs. Conners sold Tri-Chem oil fabric paints. Esther incorporated the painting with her love of crocheting. It was a great July 4th day that we decided on. No huge celebrations as there was hay to cut and side-rake on the farm. Orlin and Frank were going to be busy. I had left a picnic lunch for them as I knew noon would bring hunger pains. We had a good visit with Mrs. Conners and Esther had made her purchases. As the three of us gals decided to head home, Esther wanted to treat us to a stop at the Hardee’s in Redwood Falls. Carrie was all about that. As we left Hardee’s my shoe caught on a crack in the sidewalk and I caught myself before I hit the concrete and only came away with a scrape on the knee. It was quite the jar. As we got closer to Hector, I realized that I was in labor. It was the 4th of July and not the mid point as we had been banking on. I didn’t drop Esther off in Hector, she came right to Boon Lake with me. By the time we got home, of course, it was right at chores time. I called over to Mom and Dad’s. Dad came over to start milking with Frank, Esther stayed with Carrie. Orlin and I headed to the Hutchinson hospital.
Kevin Michael Schafer made it the best 4th of July ever. Though a bit early, Kevin did tip the scales at 8 plus lbs. His torso was long and his legs were long. Kevin wasn’t a chubby newborn, but he had the most important attributes . . . ten toes, ten fingers and a good set of lungs. I was able to go home after three days and Kevin, having come almost two weeks early, needed to stay under care at the hospital. Those several extra days gave us a chance to tidy up what was needed when Kevin could come home. The day that we went to get Kevin, Frank had Carrie in the car before either Orlin and me had left the house. Those first days of having a new baby in the house, if Frank was in the house, I knew where his first stop was. Frank loved to hold the tiny feet in his hands. I will always remember that tenderness of that thirteen-year-old young man. He couldn’t believe how tiny Kevin’s feet were. Frank holding Carrie on his lap would make sure she had baby time. It was a sweet summer.
—– to be continued.
I did got for a walk today in my winter coat. Dennis thought it was too raw out. There were winds that clocked 26 to 30 mph. But . . . I needed to have that walk. Today is Thursday. Monday morning, I had gone to visit a friend to deliver a quilt to her that she had started. Her time was short as cancer doesn’t hold back. It was earmarked for her oldest granddaughter. That Monday night the quilt was hand delivered . . . from a loving grandmother to her granddaughter. This morning that family had to handle how they will begin and how to go on after the grandmother passed. Yup. I needed to take a walk in the brisk raw air.