Chapter 39 "The Church Picnic"
*Author's Note: My church held their summer festival this weekend. That inspired this story.
"Alright, so the church picnic will be next Sunday," said Mrs. Botkins. "Each family that wants to attend is responsible for bringing their own food and drink. We'll eat in the fenced area behind the church and play games outside of that area. That will give us more room. Kitty, you said you were going to take care of games. Are those all set?"
It was now Kitty's turn to address the ladies church committee. "Yes, they are. I have games for kids and the men. For the kids there will be a three legged race, hoop rollin', and musical chairs. For the men, there'll be a tug of war."
"What's musical chairs?" asked Mrs. Uzzell. "I've heard of it, but I've never seen it played before."
"You put chairs in a large circle. There's one less chair compared to the number of kids playing. While the music is playing, the kids walk around the chairs. When the music stops, each child tries to sit in a chair. The child without a chair is no longer part of the game. Each time you start a new round, you take away a chair. Eventually, there's one chair and two children. The child that gets the last chair is the winner," Kitty explained.
"Oh that sounds like fun!" Bess Roniger exclaimed. "I'm sure the kids will love that."
"I'm not so sure. I think the game sounds a bit dangerous," Mrs. Botkin complained.
"Me too," agreed Mrs. Uzell.
Both Mrs. Botkin and Mrs. Uzell, whose husbands ran the bank and owned the Dodge House, were the older ladies of the committee. It wasn't surprising that they would have those feelings. To put their minds at ease, Kitty went on to further explain the rules.
"We'll set an age limit. I was thinking no older than twelve years old. Also, we'll tell the kids they are not allowed to push or shove. If they do, they will be removed from the game," said Kitty, hoping that would ease Mrs. Botkin and Mrs. Uzell's minds.
"What about the music and the chairs?" asked Bess
"I have that all taken care of," Kitty replied. "Sam said he'd play his fiddle and I can get chairs from the Long Branch. It'll be closed during the picnic."
"If you need more, my husband and I would be more than happy to let you borrow some," said Mrs. Barclay. She and her husband were the current owners of Delmonico's.
"Thank you," Kitty smiled. "Before I forget, Mr. Jonas said he'd donate the blue ribbons for the kids games and the pie contest and the bread contest for the women."
The meeting ended and the women went to their homes. They were pleased with what they had accomplished. All the ladies were looking forward to attending the church picnic with their families.
"How did the church meeting go?" asked Matt as he put a forkful of pot roast and potatoes in his mouth.
"Great," Kitty answered. "The church picnic will be this Sunday. We plan on having games for the kids, a tug of war for the men, and bread and pie contests for the women."
The part about games for the kids caught Ruby's attention. "What kind of games?"
"There's gonna be a three legged race, hoop rollin', and musical chairs," Kitty responded.
"I have a hoop," said Ruby. "Can I play that?"
"You sure can," said Matt. "Right now you need to eat before your food gets cold."
Ruby put some green beans in her mouth. "I can't do the three legged race. I only have two legs. Maybe I can play musical chairs."
Matt and Kitty couldn't help but laugh at Ruby's comment about the three legged race. "A person with three legs doesn't race. Two people race with their legs tied together. That makes it look like there are three legs." Kitty tried to explain.
Matt noticed his daughter's confused look. "You'll better understand when you see the race."
"What about music chairs?" Ruby questioned. "Can I play that?"
"Yes, you can," Kitty replied. "Now finish your supper."
Later that evening, after putting Ruby to bed, Matt and Kitty sat in the parlor. They were enjoying a cup of coffee with a shot of Brandy in it. The night was on the warm side, but that didn't matter. Coffee mixed with Brandy was almost impossible to refuse. The flavors of both compliment each other so well.
"Are you going to enter the pie or bread contests?" asked Matt, sipping his coffee.
"Matt, have you ever seen me bake a pie?" Kitty asked.
"No, but you bake a darn good loaf of bread," Matt replied.
"I'm not sure," Kitty sighed. "Are you going to enter the tug of war?"
"Probably not," Matt answered. "I'd hate to enter and then not be able to participate."
Kitty didn't respond to that. She knew exactly what Matt meant. There was a chance that Matt's marshal duties could interfere with the picnic. If something minor came up, Matt would have Newly or Festus take care of it. On the other hand, if it was major, Matt would have to take care of things. Kitty wasn't going to dwell on it. Dwelling on it wouldn't stop something from possibly happening.
Kitty yawned and Matt noticed. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go to bed." He stood up and held his hand out to her.
Kitty took his hand and stood up. "Lead the way, cowboy."
Sunday, the day of the picnic, arrived. Kitty was finishing packing the picnic basket. She packed ham sandwiches, apples, and sugar cookies. Ruby helped Kitty make the cookies the day before. Kitty picked up the basket and took it outside. Matt was outside hitching up the wagon, while Ruby was rolling her hoop. Matt noticed Kitty carrying the picnic basket and walked over to her.
"Here, Mrs. Dillon. Let me help you with that," said Matt as he took the basket from her. He placed it in the back of the wagon.
"Thank you, Marshall," said Kitty. "I have to get the lemonade and then we'll go."
"Ruby!" Matt shouted. "It's time to go."
Ruby grabbed her hoop and ran to her daddy. Matt took her hoop and put in the back of the wagon next to the picnic basket. When Kitty came out, Matt took the container of lemonade and helped Kitty onto the wagon. He gave the lemonade back to Kitty, lifted Ruby up onto the seat, and then climbed up himself. Once everyone was situated, Matt drove his family to the church picnic.
After enjoying the food Kitty packed, Matt and Kitty relaxed on the blanket. Ruby noticed other kids practicing their hoop rolling and wanted to join them. She wanted to make sure she had as much practice as they did.
"Momma, can I take my hoop over there?" she asked, pointing to the other kids.
"I guess that'll be alright," said Kitty.
"You need to be over there or over here. Don't leave this area," Matt instructed his daughter.
"Okay," said Ruby as she ran off with her hoop.
Ruby had been rolling her hoop for several minutes, when three boys, ages ten to fourteen years old, came up to her. They grabbed her hoop and started rolling it. She tried to get it back, but wasn't succeeding. When one of the boys threw it over the fence, tears started to pool in her eyes.
"Oops," said the oldest boy. "It looks like you lost your hoop."
"I'm telling," said Ruby as she ran to get her daddy.
"Where's your hoop?" asked Kitty. She noticed Ruby had returned without it.
"Some boys took it and threw it over the fence," Ruby cried, rubbing the tears from her eyes.
Hating to see his little girl cry, Matt stood up. "Come on, honey. You show me who these boys are."
"Matt," Kitty warned. She wanted to make sure he kept control of his temper.
"Don't worry, Kitty," Matt assured her. He knew what his wife was thinking.
Ruby took Matt over to the boys who were guilty of throwing her hoop over the fence. They saw Ruby return with Matt. When they saw that she had returned with the Marshal, they were in disbelief. They couldn't believe she brought back the Marshal. They were new in town and had no idea the Marshal was her daddy.
"Marshal, I'm sorry she brought ya here. I'm sure you have more important things to do. Girls can be such babies," the oldest boy nervously said. You could hear the quivering in his voice.
"She didn't bring the Marshal. She brought her daddy," said Matt in a low, stern voice. "And she's one of the most important things in my life. Now, I don't know who threw her hoop over the fence, but one of you is going ta go and get it."
"Yes, sir," all three boys said as they ran to get the hoop. They returned a few minutes later and gave Ruby her hoop back.
"I don't want ta hear about any more trouble from you boys," said Matt. They shook their heads in agreement.
"Daddy, can I push charges against them?" asked Ruby as they walked back to join Kitty.
"Sorry, little gemstone. You can't press charges," Matt apologized. "I see Grandpa Doc and Uncle Festus by your momma. I bet they want ta watch you do the hoop rollin' and musical chairs.
"Grandpa Doc! Uncle Festus!" Ruby exclaimed. "Are ya gonna watch me roll my hoop."
"We sure are darlin'," Doc answered.
"Golly bill! That's why we're here," Festus also answered.
"Kitty was telling us that some boys were bothering Ruby," stated Doc.
Matt was about to explain the situation, but Ruby beat him to it. "Some boys threw my hoop over the fence, and daddy said I can't push charges."
"Why those good for nothin'" said Festus angrily. "Ain't nobody gonna mess with..."
"Whoa, easy there Festus," Matt interrupted. "Everything's fine. Ruby has her hoop back, and I told the boys they better not cause anymore trouble." Matt knew how much the hill man standing in front of him loved Ruby, but thought it was best to calm him down.
It didn't take long for the games to start. Ruby watched the three legged race and understood how it worked. The hoop rolling contest followed the three legged race. Ruby didn't win, but that didn't matter to her. She had fun participating and enjoyed hearing her parents, Grandpa Doc, and Uncle Festus cheering her on.
The last game was musical chairs. The rules were explained and the game started. Sam played his fiddle while they went through multiple rounds of the game. The game eventually came down to one chair and two children. One of the children was Ruby. The other child was nine year old Pete Dolemier.
While Sam played his fiddle, Ruby and Pete walked around the remaining chair. Not wanting to stop playing his fiddle when Ruby was in front of the chair and be accused of helping Ruby win just because he worked for her momma, Sam decided to stop playing while Pete was more in front of the chair.
Nobody was quite sure how it happened. But somehow Ruby managed to leap forward and land with her stomach flat on the chair. And when Pete tried to sit down, he realized Ruby was already there. The entire crowd erupted in cheers and applause. They thought for sure Pete had the game won. Even Pete applauded. He, like everyone else, was impressed by the little redhead's musical chair move.
"The winner of musical chairs is Ruby Dillon," announced Mr. Jonas as he pinned the blue ribbon on a very proud little girl.
The pie and bread contests came next. Bess won the blue ribbon for her peach pie and Ma Smalley won for her homemade bread. The final event was the tug of war. Before it started, the teams were made, with numbers and strength as even as possible on both sides. Those winners didn't get a blue ribbon, but the men didn't care.
That night Ruby insisted on going to bed with her blue ribbon. Matt and Kitty decided they couldn't deny her. They were still impressed with the move she made to win it. Not wanting her to accidentally poke herself with it during the night, Kitty attached it to the upper corner of Ruby's pillow. She figured it would be safe there. Kitty instructed Ruby not to touch the ribbon. Ruby complied and fell asleep with happy memories she made at the church picnic.
The End