Four years had passed. The year was 1892, and of course everyone had grown older. Fred, George Jr. and Melania were all 32, and Frances was the young age of 24. Of course the children had grown! Paul was a strapping young man of 18, Mary Jane was 16, and young James was 14. Little Freddy was 6 years old and was just about to start his first day of school!
"Freddy, do you have your slate and slate pencil? And your new McGuffey reader?"
"Yeah Mama!" The 6 year old beamed up at his mother.
"Fred George." She laughed. "What do you have on your shirt?" Frances put her hands on her hips.
Freddy looked at the front of his tan plaid shirt. "Ummm….breakfast!"
"What do we need to do?"
"Oh, it looks okay, Mama!" He said, starting to go to the front door to join Paul, Mary Jane, and James who were waiting for him to walk him to school.
"Stop it right there, mister….let's go to your room and change your shirt."
"But Mama!" He whined.
"No sir…do we whine?" Frances asked.
"No Mama…." Freddy said softly.
"C'mon, let's go change your shirt, and then you can be off with your cousins." She said, guiding her son off into the parlor room, in the little room next to the front door. That was Freddy's room now….Helen's was the room next to the stairwell.
"Fred George!" Frances exclaimed, walking into the six year old's room. It was like a tornado had hit! There were clothes and shoes all over his room! Long-johns on the floor and draped on his dresser….shirts and trousers scattered here and there…and everywhere! A shoe lying under the bed, and one on the floor by his dresser. "Should we keep our bedroom a mess like this?"
"No Mama…" Freddy said quietly. He grabbed a clean red shirt from his dresser and his mother helped him button it.
"When you get home from school, I want you to pick up everything and straighten it. Any dirty clothes, give them to me and I'll wash them….."
"But you did the wash yesterday! Wash on Monday!" He said, matter-of-factly.
"Yes, but I can make time since it's just your clothes, hm…."
"Yes Mama…"
"Freddy…" Frances said, her hands on his shoulders. "I don't want you keeping your room like this. We keep our room clean and tidy…that way if we're in a rush and we need to find something, it's right there!"
Freddy smiled a little. "Okay Mama…" He said, and hugged his mother. "I know what happens if I disobey you, Mama! I get a spankin' from you!...I don't want that!"
"Well, let's try not to get that…." She chuckled. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah Mama!" Freddy grinned.
"Get going then!" She smiled, giving her son a kiss on the cheek.
"Love you!" He said and started to go through the front door.
"Freddy, I wanna go to school wif you too!" Helen said. She was always very determined.
"You can't!" He whined at his little sister. "You're too little!"
"I am not!" She said, crossing her little arms.
"Helen….sweetheart…" Frances said, crouching down beside her daughter. "When you're six, you can go to school, all right?"
"No! I go today!" She said, bringing her fists down at her sides. Her dark eyes staring back at Frances.
"No ma'am you don't…." Frances said. "You go when you're six…like Freddy. You get to help Mama today, okay?" Helen stood there, and after a few moments, she shook her head yes.
"Mama…I gotta get goin'!" Freddy exclaimed.
"Go then!" Frances laughed, and saw him run out the door and down the road with his cousins.
"So Freddy, are you excited for your first day of school?"
"Yeah Paul!"
"Are you a little scared Freddy?" Mary Jane asked, laying a hand on his little shoulder.
Freddy thought a little. "Nah!" He said shaking his head.
"Good…" She smiled.
"Can we go huntin' again sometime James? I like goin' huntin' with you!"
"Sure Freddy, maybe Saturday…." James smiled.
"Mary Jane!" A young man's voice called out, the children turned around and saw a 16 year old boy running towards them.
"Here comes that Zust boy, Mary Jane…." James grinned.
"Mary Jane, can I carry your books for you?" He asked, panting as he was a little out of breath.
Mary Jane smiled at him.
"Well, is it all right?" The light brown-haired boy smiled. "Can I?"
"Sure Sam…" Mary Jane smiled.
"Mary Jane's got a boyfriend!" James whispered as he, Paul and Freddy walked ahead of them.
"Oh shut your face, James!" She laughed, and then looked at Sam and they smiled at each other. "Did you hear what he said?"
"Depends if I heard right." Sam laughed. "I heard the word 'boyfriend'."
"You heard right…" She smiled a little. "Would you?"
"Depends….on what your Pa says."
"You won't know unless you ask him, Sam…" Mary Jane smiled.
"I'm surprised he just doesn't see it!" Sam chuckled. "I really like you….and you like me."
"You didn't say really…"
"Wasn't sure, exactly….if you…"
"Sam…I do really like you." Mary Jane smiled at him.
"Now I know…" He grinned at her. "C'mon! Let's get going or we'll be late!" Sam said, taking her hand and they ran the rest of the way to the East Stone Hill School.
….
"Helen, come on, let's get you dressed. Can't spend all day in your nightclothes, baby."
"I not a baby!" Helen said.
"Well, okay, Miss Lady!" Frances chuckled. "Come on, let's pick out your dress."
"Dis one!" Helen said, pointing at a dress from the few Frances had laid out for her to choose.
"The light purple one?" Frances smiled. "Pretty, Helen!"
"Dank you, Mama…."
Frances smiled. "You're welcome…now, let's get your clothes on. Let's take off your undershirt and put a new one on…" She said, helping her.
"I do it myself, Mama!" Helen said, and pulled off the little cream-colored camisole…she was dressed now in a little pair of bloomers and went running outside on that late August morning.
"Helen Frances! Come back here!" Frances laughed and went outside and chased her giggling, bubbly four year old around the little yard. Helen hid behind the locust tree and peeked and saw her mother and ran to the purple lilac bush. It was there that Frances caught her!
"You silly girl!" Frances laughed. "C'mon! Let's go back inside and get the rest of you dressed!" She said, bringing her little girl back inside the house. Frances let her daughter dress herself in the little purple dress, helping with the buttons of course, and got her dressed in some little brown shoes. "Let's brush your hair…." Frances grabbed Helen's little hairbrush, sat her on her lap, and brushed out her short blonde hair. It flipped outwards by itself and was just so cute.
"Look at my two pretty ladies!" Fred smiled, giving little Helen a kiss on the cheek and his wife a peck on the lips.
"I swear she looks more and more like her Papa everyday…" Frances smiled at her husband.
"Ha…yeah." He grinned. "Looks better on her."
"Fred John…."
"What?" He laughed.
"You better not be putting down on yourself." She said, her hands on her hips.
"Oh, I'm not…I'm not." He smiled.
"Good…" She smiled, giving him a kiss. "Because you're wonderful."
"Yeah…" He laughed. "All 180 pounds of wonderful…"
"Fred….it's just more of you to love." Frances laughed.
"I like that idea…" He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. Fred gave her a few kisses and moved his way down her neck.
"I think you need to get off to work, don't you…." She whispered.
"It's my day off….and I found something much better to work on….." He whispered as he kept reaching his hand lower on her body.
"Well…I'm sorry…but you're not getting lucky." Frances chuckled, breaking free from his grasp. "I have an errand to run. Just down to the mercantile…." She said, picking Helen up.
"Down!" Helen whined.
"What do you say?"
"Pease….down pease…."
With that, Frances set her down on the floor again….The three of them headed to the mercantile. Frances went to look at a few bolts of fabric, and Fred kept Helen occupied by showing her different things around the store.
"Look here, Helen….All the pretty dresses and hats…." Fred smiled, and took a ladies hat off of the shelf and put it on the four year old's little head.
"Oh Mr. Lay, your daughter is the cutest little thing!" One of the old widows exclaimed, when she saw the toddler with the oversized hat on her head, blond locks peeking out from under it.
"What do you say to Mrs. Cassel?" Fred said quietly. "Huh Helen? What do you say?"
"Dank you soooo much!" She grinned, stretching her arms out.
"Oh she's so adorable! And so well-mannered for her age!" The widow smiled. "What is she? Three or four?"
"She's four, Mrs. Cassel."
"Adorable! That's all I can say!" The widow said, walking off to another part of the mercantile.
"Well, I think that's enough with the hat, Helen…" Fred smiled, taking the hat off of her and placing it back on the shelf.
….
"Welcome back to school, children!" The school-teacher smiled, standing up at her desk in front of the children. "I hope to have another good year this year…." She smiled. "Well, let's meet our new students we have, shall we?" Freddy, and a few other students stood up and walked to the front of the room…
The school mistress introduced some other children and came to Freddy. "This is Fred Lay Jr. but he likes to be called Freddy…..and I believe you're the Gruber kids' cousin, right?" She smiled at him, and Freddy nodded. "It's his very first day at school so be sure to make him welcome!...Freddy if there's anything you need, come up to my desk and ask me, all right?"
"Yes ma'am…." He said quietly.
"You can take your seat now, Freddy…" The school teacher said, and Freddy walked to the front row and sat down. The students got started on their lessons, and the teacher asked Freddy if he knew his alphabet. He said he did, and so his first lesson was to write the alphabet on his little slate, so he began.
James, though he was 14 years old, was put in the 6th grade. When he was first enrolled in the East Stone Hill School, his parents told the school board of his problems with learning and they agreed for him to be put in that grade…yet, things were still a little hard for him. He opened his McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader, and tried to read one of the lessons silently to himself…..
"The White Kitten." He read. "My little white kitten's aslee…is that a d or a p?...asleed? No, that's not right….a-s-l-e-e-p…asleep….asleep on my knee; As white as the sno.…is that a m or a w? Snom? As white as the snom? But that, that's not a word! So it's w? Ugh! This is so confusing!...Okay, James, just try it again." He told himself…."S-n-o-w, snow…As white as the snow or the lilies is she; She wakes up with a…. p or a d? Dur? Pur? Must be pur!...She wakes up with a pur; When I stroke her soft fur: Was there ever another white kitten like her?...I did it! I think I read it!...I hope I can read the whole thing!" He thought, and slowly, he tried his best to read each word over again. The story went on and he turned the page and tried to read more.
"My little white kitten no….m or w? n-o-m? nom? n-o-w…now…now wants to go out…..And frolic, with on or no? on one to watch her about? That doesn't make sense…so its…no one to watch her about ;…."Little kitten," I say,…."Just an ho…is that u or the letter n? Why is this so hard for me?" His thoughts seemed to scream. " Just an ho…h-o-n-r…honr? No, that's not it...h-o-u-r hour…Just an hour you may stay….. And d or b? de? be? Its be….be careful in choosing your….is that q or a p? qlaces? places? I thinkits places, because qlaces isn't a word …... places to play."
"Lunchtime, children…." The school teacher announced.
"It took me two hours to read two stinkin' pages?" James whined.
"Is something wrong, James?"
"Ummm…no Miss Baines."
"All right, go outside with the other children and have lunch then…." Miss Baines said, and James did as he was told. He sat down on the school steps with his brother and cousin Freddy, and enjoyed his bacon sandwich, apple and hard-boiled egg. He went to the well and got a drink and came back and continued to enjoy his lunch.
A boy came up to the three boys…the boy was near Paul's age. He was one of the new kids. "Well, lookie here….we got an Injun in our midst!" The boy kept calling him names and made fun of him.
"Hey! Leave my brother alone!" James hollered at the boy.
"James, just ignore him…." Paul said. "Don't pay him no mind."
"Ha ha….'Cause the kid knows he's an Injun!" The boy mocked.
"Leave them alone!" Freddy piped up.
"Shut up, kid…" The boy laughed, pushing Freddy down on his little behind.
"You guys are meanies!"
"Awww, ain't that cute….he called us a name…." The boy laughed mockingly to one of his friends.
"Hey, we got an Injun….and a retard!" One of the boys said.
"James isn't a retard!" Freddy said. "You are for saying that!"
"Oh yeah….James just can't read!" The boy got in Freddy's face. "You think that hurts me? Shut up, kid." And the boy pushed him….and again Freddy fell down.
"Hey, leave them alone!" Mary Jane said, picking Freddy up. "They never did anything to you!"
"And if we don't?" The other boy laughed. "You're a girl, what could you do?"
The other boy came up behind Mary Jane and held her by the arms . "You're kinda perty….you got a boyfriend?"
"Leave me alone…" She said.
"Hey Carl, haven't you ever heard the term, 'It is good for a man not to touch a woman'?"
Carl sneered. "You believe that Bible junk, Sam?"
"Yeah, I do…And it ain't junk….now get your hands off her." Sam Zust told the boy. "And you and Danny better leave these guys alone."
"Yeah, like you'll do anything, Zust." Danny laughed.
"You wanna bet?"
"Yeah, you'll probably just tell Baines about it…."
"Not that…." Sam said, glaring at them, fists clenching.
"Oh, he thinks he's tough, eh?" Danny laughed. "You can't fight worth crap, I bet!" He said, pushing Sam a little.
"See, little Zusty Wusty can't defend himself!" Carl laughed.
"Shut it, Carl."
"What'cha gonna do about it?" He asked and punched Sam in the mouth, giving him a fat lip.
"This!" Sam said, and punched Carl right in the nose and sent him to the ground!
Carl sat there on the ground. "Ah….Aww….Oh!...You broke my nose!...He broke my nose!" He sat there holding his broken, bleeding nose.
"You want the same, Danny?" Sam threatened.
"Na. Nah-uh!" He muttered, and backed away and started running to the other side of the schoolyard. Carl managed to get up and walk himself to Doc Clark's to get his nose examined and fixed up.
"Thank you, Sam…" Mary Jane smiled at him. "You not only stood up for the boys, but for yourself."
"And for you…when he touched you like that…well,…made me mad, it did."
"Well, thank you, Sam." She smiled.
James started whispering in his sister's ear. "Mary Jane and Sam…sittin' in a tree….K-I-S-S-"
"Finish that and I will hurt you, James!" Mary Jane whispered back. Her little brother was really embarrassing her! She knew very well that she couldn't stop blushing!
A/N: In real life, the year would've been 1918.
Description of the McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader, which James used! "Develops thinking skills and the richer vocabulary of grades six through eight. Famous authors like Addison, Irving, and Byron. Readings on questions such as how we know the Bible is from God; character building topics such as work versus idleness; and topics of science and nature. This book is an education and not merely a Reader. After mastering this, the student is reading better than most high school students."
I remember using a McGuffey Reader in the 5th, 6th grade… Possibly the one which I used the sample of! Lol. Of course, I went to a Christian school. They don't use books like this in public schools anymore.
And of course, Carl, Danny, Mrs. Cassel, and Miss Baines are my own characters. Lol.
