Cousins Story 6
Gerald was born 03/12/37
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When I was 3½, Ruby 2½ and Rudy almost 5, my Mom was expecting a baby. Her due date was near so Uncle Fred came to get me to stay with them for several weeks.
Getting me to go with him was a bit of a trial. I didn't want to. Mom coaxed and wheedled, Uncle Fred used humor, Dad got disgusted (read 'angry') with me but I wasn't going anywhere. There was just no picking me up and carrying me either because I was under my crib in the far corner of the room.
Finally my Dad got down on his hands and knees and pulled me out, kicking and screaming. "No, no, no!" What an ignoble situation for a proper Mennonite father whose children were supposed to always obey instantly! I still remember the look on his face!
When I got to the Duecks, I don't remember being homesick even once. We had so much fun. It was early spring and Easter time. I am still awed by Aunt Nettie's efforts to make it a happy time for three very little people. We all dyed eggs together - imagine the mess! and the clean-up with no running water and no washing machines!
There were unusual baskets and I've never forgotten how she made them. It was the year 1937; money and craft materials were largely non-existent. She cut the ends of the baskets and the handles from a cereal box (I think it was Corn Flakes). She cut out straws of equal lengths and thicknesses, and dyed them in the egg dyes (made from onion skins, crepe paper, the lead from indelible pencils and other "found" colouring agents). she punched holes around the edge of the cardboard ends and pushed the straws through, then attached the handles.
The baskets held our hard-boiled coloured eggs. I do not remember if they had straw or grass or anything else in the bottom.
On Easter morning, someone, probably Uncle Fred, had hidden coloured eggs outside -- on the feed stack and many other places around the farm. We 3 kids were privileged to go outside and find them. Rudy, being the eldest, found the most, of course.
I no longer remember how long I was at Aunt Nettie and Uncle Fred's. I do remember how much fun it was. When Uncle Fred took me home, my new baby brother, Gerald, was definitely an anticlimax. I was never into babies, as I said before. I liked little kids who could play and talk.
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When I was 3½, Ruby 2½ and Rudy almost 5, my Mom was expecting a baby. Her due date was near so Uncle Fred came to get me to stay with them for several weeks.
Getting me to go with him was a bit of a trial. I didn't want to. Mom coaxed and wheedled, Uncle Fred used humor, Dad got disgusted (read 'angry') with me but I wasn't going anywhere. There was just no picking me up and carrying me either because I was under my crib in the far corner of the room.
Finally my Dad got down on his hands and knees and pulled me out, kicking and screaming. "No, no, no!" What an ignoble situation for a proper Mennonite father whose children were supposed to always obey instantly! I still remember the look on his face!
When I got to the Duecks, I don't remember being homesick even once. We had so much fun. It was early spring and Easter time. I am still awed by Aunt Nettie's efforts to make it a happy time for three very little people. We all dyed eggs together - imagine the mess! and the clean-up with no running water and no washing machines!
There were unusual baskets and I've never forgotten how she made them. It was the year 1937; money and craft materials were largely non-existent. She cut the ends of the baskets and the handles from a cereal box (I think it was Corn Flakes). She cut out straws of equal lengths and thicknesses, and dyed them in the egg dyes (made from onion skins, crepe paper, the lead from indelible pencils and other "found" colouring agents). she punched holes around the edge of the cardboard ends and pushed the straws through, then attached the handles.
The baskets held our hard-boiled coloured eggs. I do not remember if they had straw or grass or anything else in the bottom.
On Easter morning, someone, probably Uncle Fred, had hidden coloured eggs outside -- on the feed stack and many other places around the farm. We 3 kids were privileged to go outside and find them. Rudy, being the eldest, found the most, of course.
I no longer remember how long I was at Aunt Nettie and Uncle Fred's. I do remember how much fun it was. When Uncle Fred took me home, my new baby brother, Gerald, was definitely an anticlimax. I was never into babies, as I said before. I liked little kids who could play and talk.
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