In those gray and grinding days of the Depression, we often found comfort in the old, familiar Proverbs. We knew that in unity, there was strength, that blood was thicker than water, that to err was human and to forgive divine. Usually, we never examined these truths too closely, but in the autumn of 1935, I discovered through pain and remorse just how profoundly true they were. I was a newlywed had a new baby sister, and was a college freshman, thinking of myself as invincible and on top of the world. But I was soon to find out that I could never count on anything for sure.
September 25, 1935
"Hey!" Grandpa smiled at his grandchildren as they drove into the yard with a boat in the bed of the truck one Wednesday afternoon in early Autumn. John was driving. "What on earth have you got here?"
"It's a boat." Jim Bob smiled.
"And its' all ours!" Erin added enthusiastically.
"You know Mr. Charmichael, the one who owns that big house on Rockfish river?" Ben asked.
Grandpa nodded. "Yeah."
"Well it WAS his." Ben, the businessman, grinned with pride.
"Well how much did he pay you to haul it away."
"Let's go get Jason, John-Boy, and Jenny!" Erin was excited to show off their siblings' new prized possession.
"And Mary Ellen and Joy." Elizabeth added, not wanting to leave out her other two sisters.
The family was thrilled when little Joy Olivia Walton made her entrance on September 16, 1935. Everyone was happy to have another baby in the house and the girls were thrilled to have another sister to finally even out "the score," making John and Olivia's family comprise of four sons and four daughters. Jenny, too, was a newcomer to the family. She and John-Boy got married in June and were now living about two miles from the rest of the family. Jenny's step-mother, Eula, lived about five miles from John-Boy and Jenny. The newlyweds loved having all three of their parents close by.
"Maybe we can unload it now." Erin suggested.
John helped Elizabeth jump down from the truck bed. "Not now, we'll unload it after supper. In fact, it can wait until after the dishes are done and the homework's finished."
Elizabeth and Erin groaned. "Oh Daddy."
"Daddy's right. There's nothing more that could possibly happen to this boat that hasn't happened to it before." Grandpa assured his granddaughters.
"We're gonna fix it up and sail it on the pond." Elizabeth said.
"We're gonna give it a name and everything." Jim Bob added.
"Why don't we call it Ile De France?" Erin suggested.
"I think that name has been taken, Honey." John smiled.
"Might I suggest Cork?" Grandpa asked.
Ben furrowed his brow. "Cork? Why Cork?"
"Cause cork is the floating-est material there is known to man. And you're gonna need all the help you can possibly get with this sorry mess."
Ben chuckled. "Grandpa!"
After supper, Mary Ellen, Erin and Elizabeth cleared the table faster than the speed of light.
"You children oughtta get a boat more often." Olivia smiled.
"Erin, I'm not through yet!" Grandma scolded. "Hold your horses!"
"Daddy, can we go work on the boat now?" Ben's eyes lit up.
"Did you do your homework?"
"Yeah!" Came the chant of all the children.
John nodded to his father. "Pa, let's set it up on some sawhorses and they can work on it."
"That's one way of keeping her afloat." Zeb chuckled.
"There's nothing to fixing that boat." Esther said. "You just put some bandages on it."
"John-Boy, Jenny, do you want to come?" Jason asked.
"I'd love to." Jenny smiled.
"John-Boy?" Jason asked.
"In a minute." John-Boy said.
"What's wrong, College Man? You too grown up for a little fun." Jason teased as he and Jenny went outside.
Olivia looked at John-Boy and smiled.
"What are you smiling at?"
"Well, I was gonna ask you what's wrong, but I knew you'd say 'Nothing Mama,' so I'm not gonna ask."
John-Boy snickered. "Well, it's that special writing class I've been trying to get into for a long time."
"Is that it, they won't accept you?"
"No, they did accept me, that was the problem."
"John-Boy, you've been talking and talking about that class for months, are you telling me you don't want to get in it?"
"I just don't think I belong there. Everyone else in the class is a sophomore. They've even got a senior who's supposedly writing a novel in verse. I'm the only freshman in the entire class. Jenny thinks I should drop out, but I'd like to finish what I've started."
"It's a feather in your cap."
John-Boy sighed. "That's true. I just don't think I'm gonna measure up to it."
"Brooding about it isn't gonna help. What you need is to keep busy. I'm sure your siblings can find you something to do on that boat."
John-Boy nodded and even smiled slightly. "Okay. Maybe if we get it into shipshape, I can escape in it before class tomorrow."