"Hello honey….Good morning, baby boy…." Helen whispered as she got up one morning and looked at her newborn in the little cradle they had at her parents home. She was so grateful to stay the few weeks already that she had in her parents home, but she was wanting to go home to her own little home on Rhomberg Avenue. "You and Mama get to go home in a couple of days, "Big Boy"." Helen smiled, picking up her son and layed him on the bed beside her. She had a little towel as to not soil the bed, a new cloth diaper and a cute little outfit ready so she could get her little one ready for the day. Soon she and her mother would give him his very first bath, before they would leave for her little home.
"Are you sleepy, Dale?..." Helen beamed at her nearly 3 week old newborn and giggled very softly as she saw his big eyes drowse and blink and a cute little yawn came from his little mouth. "Oh my….what a big yawn!" she smiled as he yawned yet again. She heard him let out a squawk of a cry as he was lying on the little towel, feeling the air on his skin as she was attempting to put him in a fresh, clean cloth diaper. "I know, sweetie!….I know, Mama stuck you last time." She sighed. "We'll get better at this….I promise, Big Boy." She sweetly told him and he lay in his new cloth diaper, all pinned up. Helen beamed at him as his fingers automatically curled around one of hers as she softly touched him. She bent down to kiss those cute little curled up fists! "I love you, honey…my big boy…." She smiled and helped his little arms and chubby legs into a cute little white romper with blue bottoms and light blue collar. "You are almost too big for this!" she laughed a little. "I guess I have my own little Chubby Darling now…" Helen smiled lovingly at her chubby newborn and leaned down to kiss that cute button nose! She wrapped him in a comfy little blanket and placed his newborn head carefully on her chest and rocked him, sitting in her mother's rocking chair that they had moved into Frances' bedroom, where Helen was staying in. Her heart swelled with love and emotion when she found he fell asleep just like that, curled up to her. She felt as though she could cry….again. Happy tears this time. She felt like she would go from laughing to seriousness to tears at the drop of a hat….and she had been. She loved watching him and just being near her little one. That was what kept her going.
"Look at you….." Her mother smiled at her as she came into the bedroom. "And you were scared you weren't getting the hang of this…."
"I still feel that way, Mama!" Helen brushed a tear away and breathed deeply. She didn't want to start bawling again.
"Well…you are doing just lovely. Motherhood looks good on you, dear." Frances told her and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "So sweet…." She whispered, softly running a hand over her grandson's wisps of sandy blond hair on his soft head.
"You know what to do with him better than I do…." She cried, closing her brown eyes and she felt the tears stream her cheeks. More came as she had tried to wipe a tear away.
"Helen Frances…." Frances said softly and kissed her daughter's forehead. "You are doing just fine honey, don't worry…..You'll learn, baby…..I did with Freddie….and you too. Each baby's different…You'll do just lovely, my daughter!….I know you will. You know a lot of things already, sweetheart."
"I feel like….when I get him home and we're alone, I'll …..I'll forget things and….I'll be a horrible mother!"
"Honey,….you wont….." Frances told her softly. "I'm just a call away. You can call me up anytime, baby."
"Thank you, Mama…" She whispered. Helen got up and softly laid her little son in the cradle. "He'll probably wake up next to feed before I know it…He's always hungry!" she chuckled. "Then we can give him his first bath. I'm excited, but nervous about that."
"You're learning, sweetie…" Frances said and wrapped an arm around her, smoothing her arm a little. "But for right now let's go into my kitchen and get you some good food. I'll make you a nice lunch."
"Luncheon already?! We slept that late again?!"
"Dear…that's alright. You get your sleep when you can. You were up all night last night with him!"
"Yes, I remember! We were both up….both of us crying!" she chuckled a little.
"I remember those days! I do." Frances smiled a bit and hugged her daughter. "You'll get it, Sweet Pea."
Soon her mother had such a spread laid out for her! Cheese, good bread….Fresh grapes and pears. Walnuts, a few hard boiled eggs. Fresh vegetables from the garden. And a nice tall glass of water in a long, thin metal cup! Water tasted so very good when drunk from that tall cup! Frances set down a small glass of milk too. They were trying to ration out the milk they received as best they could…but she insisted her daughter have it, while she was with them. "This looks delicious, Mama!"
"Good morning, Sunshine!" Her father smiled. "I thought you and your boy would sleep the day away!" Fred had been at the table and was finishing his lunch. "Dear, what were you thinking about for supper?...I'm tired of this rabbit food…." He said, sticking a fork into his salad greens. He had tomatoes and cucumbers mixed in, from their little garden.
"Something with chicken or tuna fish, sweetheart." Frances patted his slightly fleshy cheek.
"How's the new healthy diet coming, Papa?" Helen chuckled at her father. He had a none too thrilled look on his face and shoved in a mouthful of fresh salad.
"Alright…." Fred muttered, gulping down a swallow of cool water. He was eating from the little bowl of walnuts too. Low salt and low fat diet for him, as much as he could. It was difficult to do in these hard times. Thankfully they had good fresh produce from the garden. He was getting tired of eating it. He stuck to it so far and had already lost a couple pounds and he looked pretty good. He and Frances hoped it would help his heart condition too.
"You're not alone, Papa! I need to eat good, healthy food too." She smiled at him. He smiled a bit and reached over and patted her hand sweetly. "You have a better reason, dear….yours is for another person…mine is for myself."
"Your health is a good reason, Papa!...I feel like I've put on 90 pounds!" she chuckled a bit, changing the subject a bit. She may have been exaggerating.
"You'll get some of the weight off eventually, dear." Her mother told her. "And even if you don't…you're not alone. My mother was bigger as a young woman…..and I put pounds on after having my babies too." Frances smiled sweetly at her daughter. "So you're not alone dear…..just don't beat yourself up over it.."
"I don't mean to be unkind sweetheart, but you've always been on the chubbier side." Fred told his daughter and put an arm around her tenderly. " I remember one time, you were going to do some play….and you came to me about it, do you remember?"
"No, Papa!" she chuckled. "We'll, perhaps a bit. Tell me about it again!"
~Flashback~
Fred was sitting in his big favorite armchair one evening after supper and he was reading the newspaper and soon he saw his little almost 10 year old daughter standing in front of him with tears streaming her rosy cheeks.
"Well, hello Little Girl!" He smiled a little and set his newspaper down a moment. "Why are you crying?! What's the matter with my little April Sweet Pea?" He called her that because she was his little Sweet Pea, born April 30th, 1914.
Helen just stood there with tears streaming and she was sniffling and hiccupping. She thought she was too old of a girl to cry so she tried to breathe deep breaths and calm herself on her own, but she couldn't help it.
"Come here…." He said softly and helped her up on his lap and she snuggled against him. "Oh….double digits soon! You're getting a little too big of a girl to be on Papa's lap, young lady.." He said, and tried to comfort her as she kept crying and was still hiccupping and sniffling. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked her and she nodded her head of sandy blond hair.
"I'm sorry….What's wrong? Somebody at school bothering you?" He held her chubby little form and listened to her explain.
"I don't want to be in the play tomorrow, Papa….I have to play "May, a Fat Little Girl"…."
"You're not fat, Helen." Fred told her softly and brushed his daughter's arm with his loving hand. He was so kind to his children….especially his daughter. She was quite a Papa's girl. "You're not exactly skinny….but you're not fat, sweetheart. Just a bit chubby."
"I'm not fat?" little Helen looked up at her daddy.
"No dear. You're just cute and chubby."
"Papa…." She cried, with the crocodile tears streaming.
"What Sweet Pea?"
"The girls at school think I'm fat. One girl said my character name should be Helen instead of May! They make fun of my friend Sabina Bloch too. She can't help it she feels ill at school a lot and is so tired a lot!" Unknown to them at this moment, but, Helen's little school friend Sabina would pass away just two years later in 1926.
"Well…then. That one girl has a problem doesn't she? To pick on you little girls…...And you know what, Sweet Pea?"
"What Papa?" she asked him and dried her tears with his shirt, to which he chuckled a little.
"I love little chubby girls…..especially ones named Helen Frances."
"You do?" Helen looked up at him with loving, soft brown eyes.
Fred nodded and hugged her again. "And you know who else is on the big side?" He asked.
"You?" she chuckled at him and patted his bit of a belly..
"No dear." He chuckled. "That's cause of the homemade beer and wine I drink. That don't count." Fred teased.
"Who then, Papa?" she chuckled at him.
"Your Grandpa Gruber. That's why he's called Big George!"
"Because he's BIG and TALL." Helen grinned.
"That's right…..Your Grandma is too. The Gruber side are all big."
"Mama says she's been getting pudgy too." Helen whispered in her daddy's ear and giggled.
"Let's not tell her that we know…." Fred chuckled and winked at his little girl. "And you know what? No matter what, I think your Mama is beautiful…."
Helen smiled at her daddy and lay her head down on his chest and he hugged her. She played with the hair on his arms and noticed the scars etched in them. They were faint, but if you looked close….They were there.
"Papa…." She whispered, and turned her sandy blonde head of wavy hair and looked up at him..
"Yes Sweet Pea…." He whispered, patting her little back. He knew she wouldn't be that chubby, cuddly little girl for long.
"Why do you have lines on your skin?" she asked in a little whisper, smoothing her hand on his arm.
Fred looked down at her and he felt her brush a little tear from his eye away. "I had someone….back in Germany…..who was not very kind to your Papa. This person was supposed to love and care for me….but they hurt me very much instead….."
"Does it still hurt?" The little girl questioned and softly brought her hands off his arm, not wanting to hurt her Papa.
"No…Sweet Pea." He chuckled at her thinking. " Sometimes….in here… it does though." Fred nodded and patted his chest where his heart was.
"I'm sorry, Papa…" she whispered and hugged him carefully.
"Danke….Sweet Pea." He whispered. "In a way, I'm glad it happened how it did though."
"Why Papa?! They hurt you!" she said, and the little girl had a bit of a sassy, angry attitude. She didn't understand.
"If they didn't hurt me….I would still be in Germany."
"We would've lived in Germany then!" Helen exclaimed.
"No Sweet Pea. " Fred chuckled. "If they had not hurt me like they did….I would never have come to America….and I would never have met a very strikingly beautiful woman…." Fred smiled as he looked up and his lovely wife was in the threshold of the French doors. She leaned in the doorway and smiled at him.
"And we never would have had a little baby boy named Frederick George in 1912….and a cute chubby little April Sweet Pea named Helen Frances in 1914…." He smiled at his daughter who grinned up at him. "…they taught me how to love you…..I never want to do anything to ever hurt the three of you….like I was hurt…."
"I love you, Papa…." Helen hugged him and her little head settled on his chest. "You're the BEST Papa…"
"Thank you, honey….Are you going to act in your little play tomorrow night?" Her father asked her, hoping she would. She nodded a little, though a bit hesitant.
"Good! Show them how funny your little character is! I know you'll do a good job. I'll even help you go through your lines!"
Helen nodded sweetly and hugged her daddy again. "Papa?"
"Yes, my April Sweet Pea?" Fred looked at her and patted her little back.
"Freddie makes fun of me too! And HE'S chubby too! And short!"
Fred laughed a little and hugged her. "That's not very nice…..I will have a talk with your big brother…."
~End of Flashback~
"Oh Papa!" Helen smiled sweetly at her father who had tears in his grey eyes. "I remember now…"
"Feels like just yesterday you were my chubby little girl…."
Helen sweetly laid her hand over her father's and she giggled a little and in turn, Fred laughed a bit too.
"Look at you, married with a baby. It all happened so fast…." Fred sighed but smiled a little. He was right proud of his daughter for the woman she became. "I love you, my little April Sweet Pea…"
Helen got up and gave her dad a tender kiss on the forehead. "Love you too, Papa….Thanks for the sweet memory…." Her head turned towards her mother's bedroom door. "Oh…my baby needs me…." She smiled and excused herself from the kitchen and went to her crying newborn.
Fred sighed, looking at a photograph he had received in the mail.
"What is it dear?" Frances questioned him.
"Maybe we Americans are just….bigger. Well fed." He chuckled and showed her the photo of a man a bit older than Fred. He was photographed in front of some building. He was not exactly tall but not short either. He looked also quite lanky and thin. "My brother….Leonard. He'd probably get one look at me and think his little brother is fat!" Fred chuckled a little.
"I do hope they're ok over there…." Frances said softly. Glancing at the photo.
"I do too…..Hitler's rising in power. Dear, I don't know what it is….but I do not like this Adolph Hitler. I do not have a very good feeling." Fred said solemnly.
"They're German too, dear…." Frances said about Fred's brother and his family back in Germany. And his older sister, Mrs. Barbara Gass, also living out her days in Germany. Fred was the fortunate one, to be able to come to the United States. To live in America.
"I know…." Fred said, thinking. "I just don't wish any harm to come to them…."
A few months passed on for Paul and Gilbertha as well. They tried to get things back to normal. Feeling like things were in order and back to normal. Bert knew Paul needed help with the cattle ranch and so she pitched in and lent a hand. She cooked for her husband and the men for breakfast and lunch as she always had done, trying her best to stretch meals to feed those hungry men. Then Paul would have supper with just her….where they could be close, and talk about the events on the day. And after, she would help him put the cattle out to pasture and then would help herd the group back to the barn for the night. And to bed they would go. A pleasant ending to their day. Bert was feeling better emotionally as time drifted on….but then November came. It was quite hard for Bert to handle. She felt blue….but Paul was always there to be her support.
"I nearly forgot….It would've been his due date….today." She cried, and she felt Paul's arms around her frame that seemed to just melt into his own.
"I know….I know, Sweetheart." Paul whispered solemnly. He felt he could cry, as she was. This particular day was hard for him too. "Its okay, honey…." He whispered, holding her in his arms and Paul softly rubbed her back with both hands at once. "He's with the Lord….we'll see him again someday…."
"I know…" she breathed back sobs and gathered strength from his loving arms. She cried for about 20 minutes or so, then stopped. "I'm okay!" Bert took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm alright…." She whispered.
"Honey…Its alright to cry…." He sighed softly, letting out a breath and soothed her with his gentle touch. His fingers brushed her arms and he brought them down to caress her waist.
"I'm fine…" she said. Trying to believe it. She swallowed hard and looked up at him with tears filling her eyes. "I'll be fine….We need to get things back to normal again. I need to be the rancher's wife I promised I would be…."
"Sweetheart…." Paul whispered roughly and he got just a tad choked up. "I'm not forcing you to be here. If you want….we'll move back to Waukon….or Dubuque….You don't want the ranch life, then say it and we'll go as soon as possible…..I want you to be happy… I….I was foolish to think you wanted this….to think….to think this would be a good place to raise children on….What was I thinking?..." Paul tenderly rubbed the back of her neck and tousled her wavy hair, blacker than midnight. "I should have never drug you here…."
"You didn't, dear…." Bert whispered. "I want to be with you. I'm staying with you….and….This would be a great place to raise our children on….you said….it'll happen, if God's in it…."
"Yes,….I did…"
"I have faith too…." Bert looked up at him. "but….I want to wait a year or so….and I'm going back to the doctor…before we start trying again…."
"I agree. That's a good idea. I want you healthy. I want to make sure you're okay…..I love you." He said, with tears streaming his cheeks and he kissed the top of her black hair. "I don't want to lose you though…..I would die."
"I love you too, Paul Ivor…." Bert wanted to say she would be just fine….but she didn't. She didn't know what would come in the future. Good or bad.
The calendar days were passing in little old Dubuque too. It was now May of 1936. Baby Dale grew like a weed and was now a chubby, cuddly curly-haired 10 month old. Helen was floored at how fast the time went. "My baby boy is getting so big! I can hardly believe it, Ma!" she exclaimed and then giggled at her baby, he was sitting in the yard at his Grandma and Grandpa Lay's home, in a little silver galvanized wash tub. With his little shirt off, and wearing only a itty bitty cloth diaper, you could see his cute fat rolls upon fat rolls! Dale was such an adorable, squishy baby!….He was having quite a fun time, splashing away, drenching himself and his sandy blond curls! Eddie wanted the boy's hair cut….but Helen wanted to keep those cute little blond curls as long as possible. "Are you having fun at Boop Boo's?" Helen giggled to see him splashing and having fun outside in the little tub.
Frances giggled so that her brown eyes twinkled. "Oh he is adorable, dear!…Having a fun time, Boopsie?"
"Oooo!" Baby Dale shouted and splashed in the water. He giggled and squealed. He babbled and then waved at his "Boop Boo". His Grandma.
"Hi Boopsie!" Frances giggled and waved at him.
"Dale, can you clap your hands?! Show Boop Boo how you clap!"
Baby Dale grinned and laughed and clapped his chubby hands and went back to splashing in the water. His mother got him out later, changed him into some dry clothes and he began to crawl his way around the yard underneath the big pine tree. Frances chuckled at him and grabbed his chubby hands and she helped him walk around the yard, stopping by Frances' flower beds. "See the pretty flowers, Boopsie?!"
"Ooooh!" He squealed and babbled, pointing at a pretty, red flower. His attention was caught by a little white butterfly and he giggled and babbled, pointed at it. He loved to stare at it. "That's an angel butterfly…." Frances whispered, smiling at her little grandson. "Do you like the angel butterfly, my little Boopsie?" she picked the chunky baby up and they watched the little white butterfly as it fluttered past them both. "You think that's great fun, huh?" Frances giggled as he laughed and clapped his chubby hands and tried to grab the little white butterfly. He became mesmerized as a monarch butterfly fluttered near him. "Ah!...ah!...ah!...Ooohhhhwwwooo!...Aaa!" He squealed and tried to grab that butterfly. He loved to watch it and he stared at it.
"You sure like the monarch butterflies, don't you, Boopsie?" Frances grinned. "That one must be your favorite." She smiled as she saw him intently stare at the monarch butterfly. "Bah!" He squealed. His chocolate brown eyes were shining bright!
"Well look here!" Fred exclaimed, coming from around the corner. "Pretty lady with her handsome little grandson!" Fred wanted to try out his new camera and so he snapped a little photograph of them, with the scruffy, little dog Mickey Mouse in the foreground. Eddie and Helen had given the little dog to her parents, so that he or she had lots of grass to run around in!
"Frederick John! I wasn't ready for that!"
"Dear, you look beautiful!" He told his wife.
"Honey, put that contraption away!...Fred, no one wants to see short little me and my bare, pudgy feet!" she chuckled.
"I should get you your own camera for your birthday next week." Fred teased. Her birthday was May 23 and Frances would turn 42.
"Such a pretty….young grandmother…." Fred smiled at his lovely wife. Such a sweet lady with a cute vibrant personality. "You're lovely, dear…"
"And you're getting old…." She teased him, with a cute little giggle. Fred had turned 50 a few months back, on September 30th. "I love you, dear."
"Ich liebe dich, mein schöne Frau…." He told her in German. Which is to say, "I love you, my beautiful wife."
Autumn turned into Winter and many homes grew cold in the icy cold Dubuque winter weather. The only way to heat their homes was by wood or coal…and most poor folks had no money for coal. So 50 or so men went down by the railroad tracks to pick up spilled coal so they could heat their homes. The only problem? It was illegal to be on the railroad property. The railroad cops, or Dicks as they called them in those days of the 1930s would show up. The men would grab their sacks of spilled coal and make a run for it…..and most of the time, a policeman would gain on them. They would beat up the thief and also arrest him, if they caught him.
Eddie was out with several men on such a night. The railroad tracks were right down the road from his in-laws. They lived in the rural area, just outside the city. He didn't dare borrow any wood or coal from them. He wanted to do this on his own, and provide for his little family. So there he was, picking up spilled coal along the railroad tracks with other men. He had his gunny sack half full when one of the men called a warning, "The Dick's a comin'!" And that man ran off. Others followed, leaving their sacks of spilled coal behind them. Eddie swung his half filled sack of coal over his shoulder and saw a full sack of coal on the ground by the tracks. He quickly grabbed that too and hoisted it up on his shoulder and ran and ran and ran like Hell. Eddie ran so fast, he ran like a deer, leaving the other men in the dust! He thought the police were gaining on him and he didn't dare look back….he just ran. Even with 75 pounds of coal on his shoulder, he was faster than them all. He heard the policemen capture one of the men and you could hear the beatings the man received. Eddie picked up speed and ran and ran! Triumphantly, he ran all those blocks to Rhomberg Avenue and at last, he made it home to the little brick house on Rhomberg. He ran in and slammed the front door behind him. Eddie set the bags of coal down and leaned back on the door. He rested a minute. His broad chest heaved up and down as he breathed hard and got air back into his lungs.
"Eddie….."
"Don't worry how I got it, Babe….but I got it." He showed her the sacks of coal.
"Oh Eddie!" Helen exclaimed, placing a loving hand on his chest. She had been so worried on what they were going to do in these hard times. Things were getting worse, it seemed.
"I got it…." Eddie said breathlessly. "I got it, Babe…Our house will always be warm. Promise you that." He gave her a peck on the lips. "What do you got for supper for me? I'm walking to work tonight."
"A lard sandwich..."
"I'll have one now. Save the rest for you and Dale. How are were on bacon and eggs?"
"We've got a few eggs left…..one slice of bacon for tomorrow. I'm sorry, Bunnie!" she said, tearing up. "I'm trying, honey!…"
"Babe….it's alright…" he whispered. Eddie hugged her and held her awhile. "We'll be alright….." Eddie took a seat at the kitchen table. "We get any more bacon our next ration, you save that bacon grease,….alright? I'll go hunting or ice fishing when I get off work…we'll still eat good, don't worry Babe. "
"You can have my portion, Sweetheart…" Helen told him and she took a seat across from him at the table.
"Hell no…" he said sternly, biting into the lard sandwich. "Damn it….Eat….." He muttered. "I'll be fine, Babe…" She had her own lard sandwich too. And so they each ate their little sandwiches together at their little kitchen table, with their little one warm and cozy, sleeping in the bedroom. It was these little moments that made things seem not so bad. They were together and that was all that mattered.
"We'll be just fine, Babe….I'm sure of it."
"You know honey, we're actually not missing much…..They eat lard sandwiches in Germany, you know."
"Yeah…." He muttered with a swallow. "We got any pickles?!"
"Mama gave me a few jars she made….."
"Crack one open….and we'll eat like Kings, Babe! Just like in Germany!" He grinned. She grabbed a jar and opened it, and sliced into one little dill pickle and gave him half, and herself the other…..saving away the rest of them.
"Schmalzbrot…." Eddie said, grinning, although butchering the German's pronunciation on purpose, to make her laugh. It never failed. Schmalzbrot was what lard sandwiches are called in Germany.
"Love ya, Babe…." Eddie grinned and took another bite of his lard sandwich. The little pickle made it taste so much better! He glanced at the clock later on and saw what time it was. "I'll be late if I don't hurry…." He said, getting up quickly. She followed him to the door as he put on his big fur coat his Aunt Kate gave him, and his hat. She tucked a wrapped lard sandwich in his coat pocket. "For later…" Helen smiled at him and wrapped her arms around her husband so she could see him off. She expected just a tiny peck on the lips, but he lingered awhile. "Love ya, Babe….Always." He breathed roughly.
"Always and all ways." She quoted from their letters they wrote each other when they were apart when they were dating, and Eddie was in the C.C.C.
"Goodnight…." She smiled. "Have a good night at work…"
"Stay warm, Babe…"
She gave him one last kiss and sent him out the door, as a big snowfall began….and she worried if he was warm enough. But Eddie had a couple pairs of clothes on, long johns and his big fur coat. He would be fine.
1936 had passed on slowly with its troubles, it seemed. Things were getting harder for the people in Dubuque and even for Paul and Bert in Colorado. It was their hardest year yet. The summer weather was hot, dry and dusty. Dust settled everywhere. Dust storms blew up constantly and settled on everything, so that the cattle would not and could not eat. Their herd grew weak…..and they lost about half of their cattle through malnutrition and later death.
"When will the dust storms stop?" Paul thought. He often opened up the front door and stood there. Praying for rain and watching the weather and the dust storms. Paul looked up at the sky as he saw the blackest of black clouds form. "Looks like we'll finally get some rain, Sweet….." He said, as she came up by him.
"I'll have to take out my broom again…." She sighed. Dust settled everywhere. Every single little creavace and crack. It settled in big drifts by their fences and the house. It came into the house too. It was in their hair, on their skin, on their clothing. Bert was frustrated with everything being dusty and dirty, as she was always very particular and meticulous about her home and her own appearance. Yet she never complained. Well, she tried her hardest not to. She just dealt with it as best she could.
Paul left the house and stared out at their flat Colorado land. All bare and brown and dusty. "Looks like a ghost town out there….." the land was bare and brown. Nothing grew. He kept what was left of the cattle in the barn….away from the dust storms. There was no grass to graze and no cattle feed. Hungry grasshoppers has gotten to about half of it. Paul saw it out the window during their supper meal and ran out to his field that evening. "God….if you're gonna help us out….Help us now." He breathed a silent word of prayer. "We need that feed! We need the cattle." He thought out loud. Miraculously, he saw the grasshoppers spread out and leave the other patch of then growing cattle feed untouched, as only the hand of God can. He planned to pick it as soon as it was possible to save it.
He soon found Bert right at his side. "Will we lose the ranch? " She whispered worriedly and smoothed his arm and shoulder to comfort him. Without the cattle, they knew they had nothing. Who knows how they would make the money to pay their bills and everything else?
"I don't know…." He whispered roughly. "Come on inside, Sweet…..here comes another dust storm. I was hoping for rain….." He grumbled.
"Are we going to lose the ranch?" she asked again, and looked at Paul intently. She began sweeping the floor for the umpteenth time. Bert looked at him again. "I'll get a job in town….I'll do whatever to help you, Paul…" She told him determinedly. She was bold and slightly independent and could do the work if she had to.
"Honey….you won't have to….I promise…" he whispered, wrapping her up in his arms. "If anything, we'll move back to Waukon…..or Dubuque if you'd want to be near your family."
"We will not!" She said boldly. "We're staying here. Paul…I may have been apprehensive at first….but I love it here now. I love helping you run our ranch…..I love…being your wife." She smiled at him sweetly. "Nothing's going to take these things from me…..Not this Dust Bowl. Not anything. We've been through an awful lot so far…..but it's made us stronger. And we'll come out of this stronger than before."
"I have some money saved away." Paul told her. He brushed the dust off of her cute, button, German nose. "We'll be just fine living off that….if needed. I've been saving it for a stormy day...I just didn't picture it would be a dust storm..." Paul roughly sighed. He felt a tear run down his cheek as he kissed her, backed up softly against the wall. "I love you….I'm sorry I dragged you here…."
Gilbertha gave him such a daring, loving, long-lasting kiss. She smoothed his strong shoulders and rubbed his arms with gentle hands and embraced him. Nose to nose, she softly Eskimo kissed him. "I love you….You didn't make me come here. I'm your wife. Where you go, I go. End of story,…Mr. Bardrick." She brazenly and boldly replied.
So they stayed and weathered the storms. Finally, there was rain again! Grass grew again. The cattle were able to graze again and were healthy. They were doing alright, as long as the cattle were doing fine. Bert had made a humble breakfast and sent the men out to the barn, one lovely Spring morning in 1937. One man had grown too weak to work and so he had to quit and try to find work he could do elsewhere….so they were trying to find a replacement. Bert would help where she could, besides cooking for the men. On this delightful Spring morning, Paul was in the barn with a ranch hand and heard a loud thump on the side of the big red barn. "Thump!...THUMP!...Thump….Thump!" It went again….Mixed with certain scuffling on the crushed limestone gravel, a young boy's laughter and Paul recognized his wife's laugh and voice.
"Willard…that's cheating now! Willie…" she laughed. "Willie!...Come on now!...Oh, you best be glad I'm a bit out of practice, little one!" she laughed. Paul hooked his hands in his pockets and came out of the barn and turned the corner to see his wife with the neighbor boy, Willard Quinn, a young boy about 10, wrestling with a basketball and either he or Bert would throw it as high as they could against the barn wall.
"What are you doing, honey?" Paul chuckled at them.
"I found my old basketball! Yours Truly brought the Dubuque Lumber Girls to victory with this here ball! I shot the winning basket! We won with this one….then the next year, we lost one." She shrugged. Bert was quite the athlete in her high school days, being on the basketball team but also she acted in plays and danced and was in the Glee club in her school days.
"And I get to win this time!" Willard grinned, grabbing the ball from her and ended up laughing so hard he fell over! "Are you alright, Willard?" she asked. She saw that the limestone gravel scraped up one knee and an arm and one of his elbows. "Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. B.!" He was all boy!
"Willard….I've got some iodine to put on those scrapes! Come in and I'll get you fixed up." Bert gave him that bold "Mothering" look and had him come inside. Soon he followed Bert and Paul into their little ranch home. Bert set him up on her kitchen counter by the old 1930s kitchen sink. "Did you have fun with our little basketball game, Willard?" she smiled, cleaning his wounds with warm water and a soapy rag.
"I don't even care you ain't got a hoop, Mrs. Bardrick! This was fun! Thanks for playing with me!"
"Oh, no problem, Willie! You come over anytime and we'll play." Bert smiled at the boy and ruffled his bright red hair. Bert saw the boy's shiny brown eyes and cute freckles and she loved his little crooked grin. "What a lovely little boy…." She thought. Bert gazed at him, hoping she could have a sweet little boy like him someday. She and Paul let the idea of children rest a while, plus they were so busy on the ranch. They had recently started trying again though and she hoped something would come of it soon…..but she braced herself for whatever was to happen.
"Good…Cause I ain't got no basketball." He grinned at her. Paul smiled on, watching his sweet wife tend to the little boy. "….This'll sting an awful lot. Can you be a brave soldier?" Bert grinned. She giggled as the little boy saluted her. "Here….hold this on here, my little Private First Class!" Bert joked with Willard and they laughed together. Paul smiled and saw how she acted with the child. "She'll make a great mother one of these days." Seeing her with a child made Paul fall even more in love with her. He thought that was almost impossible. He wished to God they had their own son….or daughter. He didn't care. Paul daydreamed….of a little boy or girl that looked mostly like Bert, but with his eyes….her nose….her dimples….her beautiful black hair. He didn't know it,...but they both dreamed of what their child would be like. They saw a bit of Paul Jr…..who looked more like Paul, so they had an idea of it. He snapped out of his dreaming and watched his wife with the young neighbor boy. She had bandaged his wounds and was talking a mile a minute with him. They were both chatterboxes!
"I think my little soldier deserves some fresh milk and my peanut butter cookies!" She smiled and got him off of the kitchen counter after they were done and set him at their little kitchen table. She reached in her cookie jar and grabbed a few peanut butter cookies, criss-crossed on top with the tines of a fork. Bert gave him a tall glass of milk. "Straight from the cow!"
"Which one?!" Willard grinned.
"Daisy…." Bert giggled and winked at the boy, mentioning one of the Bardrick's four female cows. There was Daisy, Myrtle, Bertie and Lovey. And it wasn't Lovey, for she was pregnant and not yet producing milk at this time.
"Thanks Mrs. B. This was great….Mr. B. You're a lucky guy!"
"Yes I am…" Paul chuckled. He then grinned and reached an arm around his wife and pulled her close to him. Bert blushed and smiled at her husband, gazing at his lips and then back into his eyes.
Soon it was time for Willard to go home. "See ya, Mrs. B.!" He said, and waved at her as he ran off down the little gravel road. He lived on a little ranch his parents and grandparents owned and all lived there, a few miles down the road from the Bardrick's.
Bert sighed and smiled at her husband as Paul wrapped an arm around her and they walked to the barn again. "How is Lovey doing?" she asked her husband about one of their cattle. Said cow was ready to calf and Bert hope she would be able to help her husband. Bert knew just about as much as he did now, thanks to Paul for teaching her.
"Same….but I'll let you know as it gets closer, Sweet." Paul smiled at her and held her hand and leaned to kiss her. "Keep working with me and you'll steal my job!" He chuckled. "You know just about as much as I do if not more…."
Bert kissed him and stared daringly at her husband. "I highly doubt that…..you've been at it a lot longer than me, dear. ….How does my One Pot Meal sound?" She asked him about their supper meal. She would use some of the beef they slaughtered, carrots, celery, potatoes and other produce from the garden. They had an over abundance of potatoes so she was in the process of making a potato bread. "I have to go check on my bread."
"Meal sounds great, honey…I'll be hungry!"
"Good! Because that's what I'm making, like it or lump it." She said boldly and they both laughed.
Bert gave him a peck on the lips before heading back to their little ranch house. "I just hope I have enough."
"Sweet, you're a master in the kitchen….I don't know how you can make things stretch so far."
"I don't know how I do it either!" she grinned, confidently sighing and chuckled as she felt his embrace. "Especially when I have to feed the men too."
They stayed like that a few minutes. "Oh, I love you, honey….but my bread will burn if you don't let go of me soon!" She laughed and smiled up at him. "I don't think you would enjoy burnt potato bread, now would you?"
Paul stopped and gave her such a long kiss it took her breath away. "Ok, you twisted my arm,…Lovely…..Beautiful….." He called her as if it was her name and then gave her one more peck on the lips. "You're not an easy woman to say goodbye to, ya know….."
"You'll see me inside, honey!" she laughed at their joking back and forth and headed back to the little ranch house. She brought her potato bread out of the oven when their little telephone rang and so Bert went to answer it. "Hello?...Oh hi Mom!" Bert smiled and found it was her mother in law on the other end of the line. "Hi!…..Oh, yeah, I'm just in the middle of making supper. No, Mom, you're fine!….I can chat awhile. How have you been? Good! Good, good, good….And Dad? Oh..….Well, we'll pray for him." Bert smiled….."Oh, same old, same old. Yes, Mom we're both fine…Just…busy with the ranch..….Uh-huh…..Yes,…uh-huh…..yes, I thought I told you, I had two of them. I know, I'm an oddity!" Bert chuckled. "Well, I don't know, Mom….but I hope so. No,…..no, not yet." She sighed and listened to her mother-in-law speak. "…Well, of course we do…..more than anything! We just..,want to be careful. Yes, Mom. Yes, don't worry, I'll take much better care of myself this time. Cross my heart!...Yes, I promise, don't worry. I have a doctors appointment next week. Tuesday afternoon. Thank you, I could use your prayers…..yes. I'll let you know…. ….Uh-huh. Yes, it was good to talk with you too…..Uh-huh, you and Dad are welcome anytime….." Bert switched the phone around to her other ear and laughed a little bit. "A visit every five years….Mom, you're just too cute. Seriously though, come out and visit anytime! I'm serious! Yes, of course Veda too…..Anytime. Bye Mom. Talk to you later!" Bert smiled and went to her little cookstove and stirred her one pot meal with the big hearty pieces of beef in it. She realized she missed her mother-in-law an awful lot. Cora was a nice person to be around and so calming but also a bubbly ray of sunshine. Bert hoped they would come out this way for a visit soon. Bert busied herself dishing up supper and setting the table till Paul came in from the barn. She was setting the last of their little meal on the table and swiftly welcomed his lips as she kissed him. "Supper's all ready….you just need to sit down and eat."
"After I change my clothes." Paul said and went into their bedroom.
"I have you well trained, Mr. Handsome…." She giggled.
Bert heard him laugh a little bit from the bedroom and soon he came out and sat at the table, with her sitting by him. Paul grinned as he wrapped her up in a tender kiss and a hug. "Supper looks amazing as usual….."
"Hopefully it tastes amazing as well." She smiled and placed her gentle hand over his rough one.
"Mmm. Always does, Sweet." He said, while digging his spoon in and taking a bite. He grabbed for the potato bread too.
"Your mother called…." Bert smiled at him after taking a bite of her supper.
"Oh yeah?" He muttered, taking a bite of the potato bread. "What did you say this was?"
"Potato bread,….what do you think? I had to use them up somehow."
"Not bad…." Paul nodded and sopped up the little stew with the potato bread. "Mm…." He grunted as he hungrily ate. "So…What did Momma have to say?"
"…Your Dad is doing ok. Been sick a little bit but is doing better….Her, I think she's a bit restless. She wants to come visit. Dad if hes able and Veda too."
"That'd be great…..Haven't seen my sister since…..well, she was real little last time I saw her."
Bert smiled softly. "Your Momma said she just turned 11."
"Boy, time flies…." Paul muttered and took another big bite of his supper. "You tell her about your doctor's appointment next Friday?"
"Next Tuesday, sweetie!...Yes. She asked about any baby news…" Bert sighed a little and placed her face in her hands.
Paul gently rubbed her back and shoulder. "Momma means well, sweetheart. She would never mean to hurt you. It would crush her."
"I know….I just wish I had new news to tell her. Good news."
"I know, Sweet." Paul whispered, and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss on the forehead and then kissed her lips. "….Any chance you could be pregnant?" He softly asked her.
"I don't know…" Bert sighed tearfully. "I'll have a physical exam, they'll test for pregnancy…..and…..we won't hear anything back for a week or so…..Here we go all over again." She sighed.
Paul sat there and rubbed her back and the back of her neck lovingly. "It'll be different this time….I don't know when…..but it will be….I love you, Sweetheart." He whispered.
"I hope so too..." she whispered, with her brown eyes closed and her lips pressed against his tan hand, made rough and calloused from his work on the cattle ranch. He was a strong man….yet soft when he needed to be. When it came to her especially. "I love you….We'll be okay. No matter what happens. Even if it ends up just being, you and me together."
"I love you, honey….." Bert sighed and buried her face in his shoulder and he brought his hand up to rub her back. "Maybe I just want a baby too much…..I just want a baby. What can't I have that?!...You want one too, don't you sweetheart?!" she whispered.
"I do…..I do, honey….But I also want you safe and healthy."
"I am…." Bert whispered and smiled at him. She took a deep breath and let it out. " I want it too much. Been trying too hard. " she nodded.
"We'll still try….if you want..." Paul chuckled slightly, mischievously grinned at her and lovingly rubbed the back of her neck. "You're sure you feel better than last time? I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." He brought her into his arms and felt like he could cry. "I'm serious, Bert…" Paul was torn. He wanted a baby just as much as she did….but he couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
The days passed and soon it was the day of her doctor's appointment in Kit Carson. Bert woke early and cooked fried potatoes and steak and eggs for breakfast for her husband and the men. She was glad they raised cattle, or she didn't know how they would eat. She prayed the ranch would keep doing well and that they would be successful.
"Look at you all dressed up…" Paul smiled and put his arms around her. She was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes in a new Spring tweed dress and wore an apron covering it. "My Beautiful wife." He smiled and held her. Kissing her cheek and down her neck. He grinned and his brown eyes lit up as he heard her cute laugh and she squirmed a bit with the way he was acting with her. "Mr. Cattle Rancher…..you have work to do…." She spied at him daringly and grinned. "And I have my appointment…..does this look alright to go to town into?"
Paul gently loosened her apron strings and lightly pinned her against the kitchen counter in a lingering, loving kiss. "Just wish I could come with you….Beautiful woman like you should bring a ball bat with you when I'm not there!"
"Oh Paul…I'll be fine!" Bert smoothed her green and tan tweed dress with the green circle belt buckle and looked down at her brown oxford heels. "You're sure this looks fine?"
He nodded and kissed her again. She gave him one last peck on the lips before she left. "There's leftover stew from last night you and the men can have if I'm not back in time for lunch….Love you, honey." She smiled and watched him trudge out the back door after he told her, "I-L-Y and I-S-Y-L…" I love you and I'll see you later. It was never Goodbye with them, just I'll see you later.
She started up her little car her husband bought her and drove the miles to the little clinic in Kit Carson. They had given her a physical exam and began the test for pregnancy. The doctor told her she was perfectly healthy. Like day and night from the last time. "I hope the next time you come will be to confirm a pregnancy…but….don't be discouraged if not." The doctor told her and patted her shoulder.
"I've been through it all before, doctor…..I'll be fine." Bert nodded. She thanked him, payed him and got back into her little car and drove back home to find a car in their driveway! Besides Paul's, of course. So she pulled up next to them and saw who it was. "Dad! Mom?!" Bert smiled widely from ear to ear and got out of the drivers seat and came around to the drivers side of the other car where her father-in-law was. "Dad!" She gave her father-in-law a kiss on the forehead. "Mom!" Bert smiled and saw her mother-in-law come out of the passengers side and went right to her and hugged her. "I didn't know you were coming this soon!...My house is a mess!"
"Oh dearie, I'm sure it's not that bad!" Cora chuckled and hugged her daughter-in-law. She loved Bert like she was another daughter. …"Veda!" Bert went to her little sister-in-law and hugged her. "Such a pretty little girl!" She wore a pretty mustard yellow plaid dress with little white buckled shoes and yellow stockings that matched the dress. Her light brown hair was down but partly pulled back on the crown with a mustard yellow ribbon. Her mother had done her hair in rag curls the night before so her hair was in long ringlet curls.
"Momma…who is that?!" the young girl asked. She was much too young to remember her the last time she had seen them. "Why is she hugging me?"
"Honey, this is your brother Paul's wife! You were a little baby the last time you saw them!"
"You were the cutest little doll baby, Veda Coraline!" Bert smiled and hugged her little sister-in-law.
"And she knows my middle name?!" Veda exclaimed. "Oh good grief!" Veda didn't like her middle name very much.
Bert chuckled a bit. " And, I'm Bert…sweetie."
"AND you have a man's name?!...Oh good grief again!"
Bert let out a laugh and hugged her again. "Oh, I know sweetie!"
"At least you don't have a funny name like Coraline!"
"Honey, I feel your pain…my real name is Gilbertha…." Bert chuckled.
"Get outta town!" the little girl exclaimed. "That's even worse!"
"Veda! You apologize! At once…" Her mother demanded. "Shame on you!"
"Mom, she's just fine!" Bert laughed. "Oh, does Paul know you're here?!...Come on inside! I'll fix up the guest bedroom real quick!" She invited them all into their little living room and went to the barn to get her husband.
"Paul?!..."
"Hey Sweetheart! Lovey and Angus are doing great! Just look at them!" Paul was referring to the newest Mama cow and her newborn, a midnight black male calf. Angus was just born a few days ago. Bert had helped deliver the sweet baby cow, and so she got to name him. Angus walked right over to Bert and she petted the little darling. "Hello little darlin'!" the calf nudged her again and she petted his soft, blackest black fur. Bert chuckled and kept petting the calf and looked up at her husband.
"Anyway, Paul!...Come back to the house! "
"What is it honey?"
"You'll see!" Bert smiled from ear to ear and her brown eyes shined and sparkled.
"How was your appointment?!" Paul grinned at her excitement.
"I told you not ask me, dear!….I won't know the results for two weeks."
"You're healthy, though?" He asked, with his arm around her as they walked back to their little ranch house.
"Perfect bill of health! Don't worry, honey!"
Bert smiled as she brought him back to the house and there he saw his parents and little sister. "Bert! You didn't tell me they were coming this soon!" Paul laughed. And hugged his dad and his mother. "Momma….how are ya?!" he kissed his mother on the cheek and hugged her again and went to his little sister. "Veda….Hi, "Coco"!" Paul grinned, hugging his little sis, calling her the cute little nickname for her middle name. She may have hated her middle name, Coraline, but she liked her big brother calling her Coco. She thought that was at least cute! "Hi Paul!" She said excitedly. "I wanted to come the last time Momma and Poppa visited….but Poppa made me go to Summer school. I stayed with Aunt Ada and Grandma Bardrick…..and Grandma made me go to Methodist Sunday School every Sunday morning! " Veda groaned.
"Yeah Coco, Grandma Bardrick made me go too, whenever we were with her. I'm glad she did. Without God, and Grandma's prayers, I wouldn't be the man I am today. " Paul told his little sister. Their dad's mother, Mary Elizabeth (Huffman) Bardrick was without a doubt, one of the pillars in her little Methodist Episcopal church. She organized Sunday School. Faithfully attended church whenever the doors were open. She worshiped God on such a spiritual and personal level, and she wished all her children and grandchildren would come to Christ and know His love and worship the Saviour as she did. She, a praying woman, never closed her eyes at night without a silent word of prayer. She often had said, "The greatest witness to my faith in Christ is the Master Himself….He knows me better than I know myself…" The Godly woman was growing older and was asked by her daughter Ada May to live with her in Indianola, Iowa. The same place she was born and raised in.
"Bert, honey….you didn't tell me they were going to be here so soon!" Paul grinned at his wife.
"I didn't know either, honey!" She laughed. They found themselves in the little living room, catching up. Veda gravitated to Bert right away and the little, thin, short girl even sat on her sister-in-law's lap.
"Coco, you should be proud of your little middle name! Its quite pretty and unique and in a way, you're named after your sweet Momma." Bert told the little girl and glanced at her mother-in-law with a smile.
"Coco..." Cora Bardrick smiled. "Reminds me of Coco Chanel."
"Oh, I love her suits and her perfume!" Bert exclaimed.
"Chanel no. 5!" Bert and Cora both said at once.
"Bert...you're so classy!" Cora smiled at her daughter-in-law. "I used to wear it myself."
"I thought that was familiar!" Paul chuckled.
"Paul just loves it when I wear it." Bert smiled and glanced at her little sister-in-law. She gave her a little squeeze. "Here we are rambling about your middle name. Coraline is actually a pretty name I think." Bert smiled at the little girl who sat on her lap.
"I'm sorry you have a name like Gilbertha!…." The bold little girl whispered, but hugged her sister in law.
Bert laughed. "Oh….Me too, Veda! Me too!"
"Veda..." Cora warned her and gave her that "mom" look. Bert assured her it was ok. She thought it was funny. " Did your appointment go well, sweetie?" Her mother-in-law asked Bert later on after supper.
"Yes Mom. As well as it could. No news yet of course….but I will let you know."
"...I'm trying to prepare myself for whatever the outcome…..I want a baby, Mom…I really do. But I'm tending to think it'll be negative instead of positive. It's happened before….and with me losing babies…. I don't want to get my hopes up…." Bert said quietly while she and her mother-in-law were washing and rinsing dishes after supper, and young Veda was helping to dry them and was putting them away. Paul and his father were out on the pasture working with the cattle. "I feel like it is my fault, Mom….." Bert was saying.
"We'll you don't know that….it could be with my Paul too." Cora told her and patted her shoulder sweetly. "I did have three boys, dear…." She chuckled, making a little, lighthearted joke. "…Maybe it's a combination too…Don't blame yourself honey. You're healthy now. God's giving you more chances. He does work in the most mysterious of ways."
"Indeed He does!" Bert giggled about her situation. She never knew a woman could have two wombs. She prayed with having the one taken out, it wouldn't make things worse…..but was preparing for anything. She knew her mother-in-law's words were correct though, she was healthier now. "Paul says if God is in it, it'll happen…."
"What he says is the truth….I am so proud of my baby boy and how he is with you. How you both have handled what life has thrown at you. You two are strong people…."
"Momma! I'm the baby of the family, you said!" Veda exclaimed.
"Yes dear, I just meant your brother is the youngest of the boys…..I didn't forget you, sweetheart. You were my surprise baby." Cora smiled at her youngest. She then hugged her daughter-in-law and whispered, " I just know Paul Jr. and your other babies are getting together in Heaven, picking out the sweetest little baby for their Mama and Papa."
"Oh Mom…." Bert teared up and was still in her mother-in-law's embrace….."That was beautiful…..It helps to think of it that way…"
"It'll happen for you, dearie…..don't lose faith in our God." The Bardrick family was Methodist…yet, Bert was Catholic…..no matter what religion, Cora hoped they still believed in the same God…..as some people often think.
"For one short moment, I did, Mom. I didn't understand what He was doing. I still don't. Maybe we're not ready for it…I don't know. Maybe we are and it's just a 'yes….and wait'. I don't know. Maybe it is a 'No'. Paul keeps saying he doesn't mind if it's just him and I for the rest of our lives. He such a sweet and romantic man…..I melted inside when he told me that….but…I love him so much….and I just want to have his baby….One baby that lives…Is that so wrong?!" She sighed.
"No, dearie….." Cora hugged her again. "And…You're right…..God only answers three ways. Yes,… no….and not yet. So you wait. Keep waiting. You'll be overjoyed when it finally happens!"
"I just hope Paul and I won't have to wait any longer…."
"Yes, you say that now. One of these days, when it finally happens, you'll look back and think it wasn't so long….All the pain you're enduring and the tears you've cried, cannot compare to the joy that's coming."
"You talk like you know it's going to happen, Mom…..what if it doesn't? " Bert softly asked her dear mother-in-law.
"Oh sweetie…" Cora softly rubbed her daughter-in-law's upper arms and hugged her again. "You and Paul will make it through….and you'll learn to accept it…You yourself said just a bit ago you're preparing for whatever happens. If that's the Lord's will for you, then that's the best place you can be….no matter the outcome….it will work out for good."
Cora smiled at her daughter-in-law and patted her hand. "I've been praying day and night for you. I know you two want that baby, more than anything in this world….and….I'd like a grandchild too!"
"Paul and I would just love to give you one…..but what if we don't? "
"Then you don't…..and God just didn't allow it to happen….but you know what? I believe He will. God wouldn't have given you the desire for a child if He didn't want you to have one."
Author's Notes:
My Walbrun Grandparents, Dale and Dolores had tall, metal cups. They were usually just Grandpa's cups, but sometimes Grandma let us grandkids have water in them to drink…..and it tasted so good when drunk from that tall, skinny metal cup! It was so cold and delicious! I still remember it.
The story of the men by the railroad tracks were true. My great grandpa Eddie would sometimes have just a half sack of coal…..so he'd pick up a full one and run for home. He ran so fast, like a deer or Native American Indian. So their little home was always warm.
Grandpa wrote that they ate lard sandwiches and ox tails and brains during the Depression. He hated them and couldn't ever look at the tail of a cow ever again. They also ate from the Victory garden they had in those days during WW2….and great grandpa Eddie was a hunter and fisherman. So they ate a lot of fish and game.
I used pictures for inspiration too. The one where my Grandpa Dale was 10 months old, in a metal tub outside by the garage at his Grandma and Grandpa Lay's home. Also the one of Frances holding him, in her dress, apron, and bare feet! Lol. Too cute.
The characters in this chapter and their facts mentioned about them are true…all except for Willard Quinn. He's my made up character!
Paul and Bert were not in Colorado during the Dust Bowl in 1936. He was probably in Knoxville with his family. She was living in Dubuque. They were most likely engaged as they were married on November 3rd, 1937 in Dubuque….in the rectory of the church of the Nativity with only Paul's mother….and Bert's aunt Kate in attendance with Milton Sweeney as the Best Man and Rosa Walbrun, Bert's sister as the Bridesmaid. According to Paul's Grandma Bardrick's obituary, the Bardrick's were Methodist….and Bert was Catholic. So that's why her parents didn't go….and why they were married in the rectory of the church. The rectory is where the priest lived. Paul and Bert lived in Waukon when they first got married, moved to Dubuque in the 1940s and after the war, they set up the cattle ranch in First View, Colorado in the 1950s.
I found a 1940 census for a 14 year old Veda C. Bardrick and it said that her parents were J.E. and Cora Bardrick. Herbert Bardrick was living with them too at this time, though reason unknown. He was in his early 30s. As for Veda, I do not know what her real middle name was. Her mother's name was Cora, so I thought of Coraline. It was my idea for the nickname Coco. The Bardrick children were in order, Lucy May, Herbert Franklin, Byron Oliver, Paul Ivor and apparently Veda C. Bardrick…..Veda is not listed on the Bardrick's Find A Grave site though. Just on census lists online.
The flashback with Fred and Helen? I took inspiration for that from an article that said my great grandma Helen, around 9 or 10 years old had to play "May, A Fat Little Girl " So I used my imagination. I don't even know if he called her his little April Sweet Pea but I thought it was a cute idea. Sweet pea flowers are an April flower...and she was born April 30th, 1914.
It is unknown what Sabina Bloch died from. My great grandma Helen was one of her pallbearers.
