Hope for Tomorrow
Page 19
Elizabeth and Dee welcomed Superintendent Malone with big smiles. "Come in please, Superintendent," Elizabeth greeted him, "I am Elizabeth Thornton, and this is the music teacher, Dee Grant."
As he took off his hat, he nodded and stepped inside. "Good morning ladies. Please, I don't like formalities, just call me Mr. Malone," he grinned.
As the ladies sized him up, they both glanced at each other with pleasant looks between them. "Have a seat over by the desk," Dee pointed. She and Elizabeth had their curriculum schedules from the previous school year as well as the program from the summer Bible camp laying on the desk for his observation.
Mr. Malone took his seat and picked up the papers handed to him from the desk, grabbed his eyeglasses from his suit pocket, and quickly scanned them while the teachers watched him anxiously. Without saying a word, he placed the papers back down on the desk with a smile.
"Mr. Malone, if I may, I'm the new music teacher, Dee Grant. When I joined Mrs. Thorton last year I was immediately impressed with the connection she had with the students. Both of us worked together providing what we hoped was the best opportunity for our students to discover and encourage their talents," she smiled broadly while confidently placing her hands on her bump. Little bun was confirming his/her mother with a 'that's right' kick.
Mr. Malone nodded his head acknowledging Dee, "I'm sure you both do."
Elizabeth jumped up and pulled out a file with the children's report cards and asked if he'd like to see them, practically placing them in his lap. "Mrs. Thornton, I am very impressed with the results of the school reports from the past several years. It goes without any further scrutiny that you've provided a remarkably incredible education for these children!" Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief and allowed her smile to return lighting up her face.
"Also, I've heard wonderful encouraging reports that the music program has provided for not only the Hope Valley students, but also in Brookfield," Mr. Malone complimented Dee.
"Thank you, but I must include John, Bill Avery, and Nathan Grant who helped with lessons after school."
Looking at both of them, he looked relaxed and simply said, "Ladies, I am here to meet you, to get to know your students, and see the progress of this town. There is nothing you have to prove. Your stellar reputation is well known," he chuckled.
Both Elizabeth and Dee leaned back in their chairs and laughed out loud. "Forgive us for being so worried, we've had nothing but struggles proving we can provide an education for all, particularly Angela Canfield. She is blind and I have been teaching her braille, without neglecting our other students, I assure you," Elizabeth added.
"Mrs. Thornton, I just came from Minnie's Cafe and had the honor of listening to Angela Canfield playing a beautiful rendition of Clair De Lune, and was fascinated. I asked Mrs. Canfield if I could meet her daughter and they both are delightful. She assured me that I would be hard-pressed to find more dedicated teachers."
"So, everything is approved to continue as we were, if I understand correctly?" Elizabeth checked.
"Yes, now, let's go outside and see the construction going on. I heard your town plans to add to this building for this school year, with future plans of building a new school for the following year. Am I right?" Mr. Malone double-checked.
Dee spoke up, "Why yes, we share this building with the Community Church and since everything seems to be expanding, once the school opens next year, the Church will have a larger sanctuary for a the congregation."
The three of them walked outside, checking out the addition being worked on. It wasn't noticeable from the front, as the back of the building was being extended, with the thought of it being used ultimately as a place of worship. The ladies were imagining how much the additional room would help.
As they walked around, a few of the children were outside nearby practicing baseball. Mr. Malone asked about extracurricular activities for the children, and was informed of the Girl Guides for the girls and a new baseball team for the boys, the Hope Valley Stallions. When he found out that they began with football during the fall and then switched to baseball when the weather warmed up it prompted him to talk about a new program that the area schools were considering incorporating into their curriculum, called physical education. He explained that separate rooms for indoor exercise would be built in new schools, namely gymnasiums.
Elizabeth and Dee were surprised by this idea, and couldn't imagine Hope Valley with one. "That seems like a far-off idea for here." Elizabeth suggested. "I would just be happy to have another teacher with more than one-room classrooms. I like the intimate setting we have here."
Dee agreed, "I know we are growing, but the folks here want to keep us a close-knit town. We also have a community gathering place, Billees. Perhaps, you'd like to have lunch there and meet some of our towns folk."
"Yes, that's a great suggestion. First though I'd like to walk around town and get the feel for it."
Dee spoke up again and suggested he stop by the RCMP office and introduce himself to Nathan. "He's my husband and his assistant is Gunther. I'm sure they would enjoy taking you to lunch at Billees."
"Are you staying in town, Mr. Malone?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, for a few days only, and I believe I have a room booked at Billees."
"Well that's great! You'll be here for our next baseball game this Saturday. I hope you can join us, that way you'll meet most of the students and their families," Dee remarked.
As they parted ways both Elizabeth and Dee waited until Mr. Malone was on his way before they both hugged and were happy that the meeting with him had gone so well. "He seems so friendly." Dee stated.
"Not bad on the eyes either." Elizabeth giggled.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 20
Christy was glad to be back at Nichols and Dimes working for Fiona. Now that Rick was back working, she no longer needed to be home to care for Rick. Mary was always more than happy to watch Timi Anne so that allowed Christy the opportunity to help out Fiona.
"Take the hours you can Christy, I'll be fine with Timi Anne. I know you will miss her, but I also know you want to save for your own home," Mary offered.
Christy thanked her and gave her a long hug, "You have been such a help. Rick and I truly appreciate it!"
There had been such a hustle and bustle around town with carpenters, plumbers, and electricians just about everywhere you looked. That meant Fiona was constantly running from place to place checking on the progress popping up all around town. She counted on Lee and Joseph to inspect the buildings for safety and make sure all work was properly done. Henry was busy with his men digging and installing pipelines and working the rig.
New people were everywhere and as much as Mayor Fiona had started with town meetings gathering names and employment records, she was hard-pressed to have more as most of them were working until sunset, putting in long days, and too exhausted to attend a meeting. Time was of the essence as there was an urgent need to accomplish as much construction as possible before the snow hit. So, it was decided that she would leave a sign-up sheet at Billees where anyone new would fill out their names and who they worked for, and then held monthly meetings with the employers to keep track of progress. Fiona definitely proved that a woman could be the mayor and a great one at that!
Christy was very much needed to help at Nichols and Dimes not only because Fiona was busy with her mayor duties, but with all the new people, there was more demand for haircuts and shaves. Christy didn't mind, in fact, she enjoyed her job and had a piggy bank almost full of tips. She and Rick were hoping to build their own new home next year and every little penny helped towards their goal.
When new men came in, she had to learn all types of hair from straight to curly to almost bald to down the shoulders. Most of the men were nice enough, but many of them fell asleep once they sat down and she started working. Some of the children came from the tent city with their mothers and she had to deal with lice. It was not easy to treat and if they had lice, most of the family did too. About 20 years ago Lysol was invented and was used to treat lice, so Ned had ordered extra after they ran out which helped, but Christy didn't touch anyone's hair until the family was rid of lice.
Dr. Scholl was busier too. Most of the men had very poor teeth, as many had neglected their health and unfortunately suffered the consequences of having at least one or more teeth pulled. He was called into his office at all hours with men complaining of pain. Luckily, the infirmary kept up to date with medical supplies of pain medicine and antibiotics.
Both Dr. Faith and Dr. Carson were persevering handling sore shoulders, sprains,
out-of-socket arms, cuts, fingers that had been hammered, backaches, and more. The physical labor was taking its toll on the men, so there were those who had to go home and those that would come in looking for work and replacing them.
Living in the tent city was not the best either with snake bites and even a rabid raccoon who got into the encampment. Fortunately, the raccoon was trapped and no one suffered from rabies, but it was a scare. Thankfully, the second row of houses was coming along quickly, being a priority, to get the men out of the tent city. Several homes were already roughed out and some of the men who were expecting to bring their families to Hope Valley were given the opportunity to buy into a row house for very little money down. The bank had been very generous allowing the men who Gunther had cleared with the RCMP, a chance to invest in a new start in the town.
When Ned posted his Help Wanted sign he knew that with the Mercantile was expanding, he needed supplies, so he wanted someone to keep track of the inventory he couldn't fit in the Mercantile itself. That meant he had to open a vacant building in town for the overflow. That's when Kevin Townsend who was losing work at the livery applied to help Ned at the Mercantile which worked out well for both of them.
It wasn't long before Nathan was seeing his house almost ready to move in. As he and Gunther went on rounds, he always stopped to see how it was going.
Gunther mentioned to Nathan that he would need a place to live, "You know with Bill and Molly getting married soon, I'm going to have to find a place to live. Do you think I could rent out your row house?"
Nathan sat back and thought, "You know Gunther, I'm wondering, is Bill moving in with Molly, or is Molly moving in with Bill?"
"I'm not sure either, he never told me. All I know is they don't want a third wheel hanging around," Gunther laughed.
"I haven't said anything yet, but just so you know, I had a recruit by the name of Andy who was here helping out with the soldiers that were staying at Billees. He left when they were released, but Headquarters is sending him back here for further training," Nathan announced.
"Do I know him?" Gunther asked.
"I believe he is an underclassman, but I also think that's what will make the two of you work well together. I'm thinking you can help him with his final studies. Do you think I can count on your help?"
"As much as possible. I'm probably only a year ahead of him, but I'll be willing to do what I can," Gunther reassured Nathan.
"Good. I'd like to find you both a row house to bunk together. I'll talk further to Bill and see what his plans are and then we can take it from there. Andy won't be arriving until October anyways, as far as I last heard," Nathan explained. "As you can see we will need help, so I'm counting on you to be my right-hand man Gunther!"
Gunther was elated to be considered as Sargent Nathan Grant's right-hand man and couldn't stop grinning all the way back to town.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 21
Bill had asked one of the ranchers to save one of the biggest pigs he had for the pig roast. After enjoying the delicious savory roasted pig from last year, the town was counting on him to provide another for the Family Fun Fest. This was a precise project, and had to be tended to slow and steady in order for the flavor to be perfect. His experience made him the expert, but he asked for help taking turns to keep an eye on basting and turning the pig.
Rosemary had gathered all the ladies together to go over all the plans. They were so pleased for Minnie that the cafe part of the remodeling was completed, allowing her to set up more tables. The extra room was needed now more than ever for more seating of customers. Hopefully, there would be enough room at Billees for the pig roast, but some folks might want to sit outside in a picnic spot or they could stop in at Minnie's Cafe. The Canfields were anxious to see their living quarters finished too, so Joseph was working with Rick getting very close to completion.
"How nice this is now!" Dee complimented Minnie as she walked in with the others. At Minnie's all the Chickadees reported what they had worked on.
"Are you going to be able to handle all the business?" Flo asked. "I know we are so grateful that Katie came back to help us. Ned hired Kevin too as we are bursting at the seams with merchandise! It's really a challenge."
"With Emily and Clara's help, we're managing, but I'm sure it won't be long before I'll need to hire someone else," Minnie answered. "Please help yourself to coffee or tea." After a pause, Minnie asked the ladies to join her in prayer for the success of the festival.
"Amen!" the chorus of ladies declared.
Rosemary cleared her throat, "All right, our first round of business, is the food table. Mary and Anne, have you a list for me as to who is bringing what side dishes? Do we have a good variety?"
Mary and Anne read their list and Rosemary approved. "Plus we should have corn on the cob donated by the Lipinski and O'Neill families."
"Great job!" Rosemary then turned to Joyce and Debbie, "How is the dessert contest coming along?"
Both of them were happy to announce a very big interest in the contest, actually more than they expected. That's when Rita spoke up and shared that she got Dr. Scholl, Ben Carmon, and Gunther to be the judges.
"In fact, Ben volunteered before I could even ask!" she laughed.
"He's a strapping young lad, he would be foolish not to!" Christine smiled.
Next Rosemary asked about the baseball game.
"All the fathers and sons have been practicing after dinner, so Gunther is really excited about this game!" Rosaleen shared.
"That'll be so fun. I wonder if Mr. Malone, the new Superintendent will come?" Elizabeth wondered out loud.
"What's he like?" Kathy asked.
Dee and Elizabeth looked at each other and shrugged. "Somewhat formal, but pleasant," Dee answered, "he seemed supportive of building a new school next spring."
"Quite the gentleman," Elizabeth added, "I think you'll like him."
Rosemary tapped her teacup, "let's keep going, shall we? Looks between the ladies with some giggles were exchanged.
Minnie surprised them letting them know that Joseph had built the dunk tank with Rick for the festival. "We're impressed!" Teresa nodded.
"I have all the "dunkees" willing to participate!" Rosaleen excitedly shared.
"Rosaleen, Maggie, and I are working on another fundraiser for the library, but we don't want to spoil the fun, so you'll just have to wait and find out!" Katie teased.
Next up was Brenda and Marge, reporting all the games they were planning. "They'll be a pie-eating contest, ring toss, 3-legged race, wheelbarrow race, egg and spoon race, and a water balloon toss!"
"Maybe we can ask for a penny to play, so we can earn more money for the library?" Margaret suggested.
"Great idea!" Connie agreed.
"Dee and Elizabeth, back to you. Are you still planning a repeat of the Noah's Ark skit?" Rosemary asked.
"Yes, if we can use the stage at Billees where the children performed earlier this summer."
"Of course. Jane, what about the Horah dance, are you planning that too still?"
"I never pass a chance to dance!" Jane laughed. "Of course!"
"So, ladies, it looks like the Family Fest will be the highlight of the summer with all your hard work! The food will be served first thing, followed by the Noah's Ark skit and dance. The baseball game will be at 2:00 followed by the dunk tank, games, and pie-eating contest. Minnie will host the dessert table contest, and finally the showing of the silent film, "Daddy Long Legs" back at Billees!
"Any questions?" As she looked around it seemed all of the Chickadees were ready to party. No work allowed. Tomorrow was the big day the town was looking forward to!