by Dani Larsen
"No, this is my first, but I was there when my sister gave birth back in Tipton, so I knew what to do. Are you feeling better now, Anna?"
"Oh yes, I'm feeling much better. Don't know how I'll feel in a few days chasing four little ones around. I just hope we can get home in the snow."
"It won't hurt for all of you to stay here for a couple of days. I think it has already quit snowing. You'll be fine with the children, as it is not as hard as you think it will be. You just do what you have to. The older children will be a big help, and they will have each other to entertain. I will miss you all so much when you move to Keating!"
"It's not that far away. You could drive over in half a day, especially now that Frank has that beautiful new car. What a lovely drive that would be."
"Yes, as long as we have enough gas. There must be a place in Baker City that sells gas."
"Oh, I'm sure there is."
Mrs. Olsen said everything was just fine, and she took her leave. Caroline walked her out and came back in with George.
"I'm so glad you are okay, Anna." Grinning proudly, he kissed his wife on the cheek. Can I see our new daughter?"
"Of course you can. She has quite a voice on her and beautiful big eyes."
George took the baby from her arms and smiled at the big brown eyes that peered out from inside the blanket.
"Yes, she does have big eyes. Just like your da."
"I believe you're right, George. They do look like my da's eyes. I will tell them that when I write to Mama. I guess we better stay here a couple of days before we head back to the cabin, especially if there is snow on the ground. Poor Sylvester is out of his room again."
"He'll be all right. He was kind of excited that the baby was born in his bed."
"Really? Well, he certainly is a nice young man."
There was a lot of noise at the door, and in came the baby's three older siblings. Helen held little Joe's hand, as usual, and John ran in and jumped on the bed.
"Can I see her? Can I see her?" John pushed his curly dark hair out of his eyes so he could see the baby better.
George held the baby down below John's face, and he squealed with delight. Then he squatted down on the floor, holding the tiny bundle carefully, and showed her to Helen and Joe.
"I have a baby sister, Grandpa!" Helen hollered to Frank who was standing in the doorway, smiling. "I'm so happy!" She grinned from ear to ear. Little Joe reached out to touch the tiny baby, but all the noise scared her, and she started crying, so George took her back to Anna.
They went back to their cabin a few days later, and Anna began to adjust to the addition of one more child. George had made a second cradle, so the two smaller children slept in Anna and George's room, and John and Helen shared a room. Anna told Helen that when they moved to the new house that the two girls would have a room of their own and the two boys would share a room also.
"Oh, goodie! Do I get to take care of the baby?"
"You can help me with her, Helen, but you can't pick her up yet. She needs to grow much bigger before you can pick her up. Okay?"
"Okay, Mama."
When it was time for the big move, they realized that they needed help getting everything to Keating. They had a buckboard to take the furniture, but they also had the black buggy and their four children,
Jude offered to drive the buckboard over, and George accepted his offer. Frank and Caroline would drive the car, and they would take the three older children. George and Anna would drive the buggy with little Mary. Jude attached his horse to the back of the wagon so he would have a way home. Frank gave him extra pay for his help. Anna wasn't happy about him coming along, as she didn't want him knowing where they were going to be living, but she was glad that they would be rid of him, once and for all.
It was a long way from the ranch to Keating, so they stopped at the Troy Ranch in Pleasant Valley on the way. Mary and John were expecting them, and had an afternoon meal ready for the hungry movers.
"Come on in. Supper is ready. Ye will all feel better with something in yer stomachs while ye are unpacking."
While they were eating, Anna's father told Jude he could go ahead and go on home, as he and Steve would drive the buckboard to Keating and help them unload it from there. Anna was relieved.
"Thank you, Da, that would be real nice."
"Well, as we were up there and moved some things around, I thought it might be best if we went up to show ye what we did when we were up there."
"What about Mama's saddle? Did you take that up there yet?" Asked little John.
Mary smiled. "No, John, not yet, I think it should stay here until ye are a bit older. It is too big for ye right now, and I don't think yer mama wants to use it."
"No, Mama, I don't want it right now." Anna tried to change the subject. "Are you going with us, Mama?"
"I would love to come, if I wouldn't be in the way? The girls can take care of cleaning up after supper."
"Of course not, Mama, it will give you a little time with your new granddaughter. And Frank and Caroline can head on home before it gets dark. I know they have to get gas in Baker City on the way home."
"Jude, do you want to see the saddle? It's real pretty! Grandma got it from the Sheriff when ..."
"That is enough, John. That is not something yer mama wants to talk about right now, and Jude has to get back to the ranch before dark." Margaret interrupted her nephew. She didn't like Jude, ever since the day of the wedding, and she didn't want him knowing her family's business. Margaret and her husband, Rob Becker, had come over to help and to see her sister.
Frank got up from the table, thanked Mary and John for their hospitality and said, "I guess it's time for the three of us to head on back. Sure appreciate your taking over from here, John."
"No problem, Frank, I'm happy to do it. It's our turn to help the young folks out. Ye all have a safe trip home now."
"C'mon, Jude, let's get out of their way, so they can all get back here before dark." They all kissed each other goodbye, and they went outside to see them off. Jude wanted to go see where they were moving to, but since Frank and Caroline were leaving he had no excuse to go with the younger family.
After they left, John got their own rig ready to go, and he and Mary took the three older children with them, while Steve drove the buckboard. An hour and a half later, after the slow ride on the rough road, they arrived at their new place. The children were so excited that they ran around the house, inside and out, while the family unloaded the wagon and put everything in its place. Anna carried little Mary around in her homemade sling and told the men where to put things. She tried to keep an eye on the other three children while she worked. They had found the old rope swing that was hanging on the oak tree, in the back of the house, and were taking turns swinging each other.
Anna put kindling in the stove, started the fire, and brewed some tea for the hard working movers. Mary came in and helped her look for the flour and pans, so they could make some biscuits to go with the tea. When the men were finished, they came in and sat down at the table and benches and enjoyed their biscuits and tea. Anna placed little Mary in her cradle, rounded up her other three children, and sat them at the table with their grandparents and uncle to enjoy their break too.
"Anna, these are delicious. They are even better than usual." George slathered some butter and jam on a second biscuit."
"Mama made them this time, George, and they are her recipe, so I guess that is why they taste better."
"Yours are good too, Anna. I'm just hungrier than usual after all that work."
They all laughed, as George tried to take back his words and not offend his wife.
It was starting to get dark when the Troys piled in their rig and headed down the road to their ranch. It wouldn't take that long now that they weren't following the heavy buckboard.
"We will all come up to check on ye next weekend. So glad to have ye finally living close. Ye know where we are, if ye need anything in the meantime."
> Anna kissed her family goodbye, and they waved as they pulled out of the ranch.
"C'mon, children, it's time to get ready for bed in your new home. It's been a long day, and it's later than your usual bedtime."
"Okay, Mama." They said, almost in unison. They were all excited to go to bed in their new rooms. George put his arm around his wife, as they walked inside.
"Well, Anna, what do you think? Are we going to be happy here? We finally have a small ranch of our own."
"Yes, George, I'm very happy. I'm hoping this will work out for us, and that farming will work out for you here. I'm just so happy to be fairly close to my family. Thank you! You truly are a great husband. I'm so lucky to have found you."
"No, Anna, I'm the lucky one." He kissed his wife as they walked in the door, then closed it behind them, and put the board across the door to secure it safely.
The next morning, George went to the Feed Store in Keating, and purchased enough alfalfa seed to plant in an acre, then he drove into Baker City to purchase a couple of hens and a rooster. He kept them in cages until he got their chicken coop fixed. His father had given him enough wood to repair the old chicken coop and smoke house that came with the property. They had tied the lumber to one side of the buckboard.
On his way back from town, he stopped at the Troy ranch to get some of the stock he was purchasing from the Troys. He was buying four cows and three calves from them, to get his small cattle and alfalfa ranch going. He planned on selling milk, cheese, eggs, and butter at the market in Baker City on the weekends. Keating would have been a better choice, but the town was so small that there didn't seem to be enough business. It was a lot further into Baker City, but they needed to bring in some money to purchase all that they would need for the coming year.
There would be a lot of snow on the ground in the winter, which would make it hard to get into town every weekend. Maybe, he thought, I can build up a business with the neighbors, and deliver to them over the winter. It would be better than nothing.
George planned to milk the cows as Anna couldn't leave the children yet, for her to do that, but she planned on churning the butter, gathering the eggs, and making the cheese. George would tend to the crops and hoped they had a good harvest by fall. He would take the alfalfa into Baker City to sell it. Perhaps, I can get some orders from people ahead of time, and then I can just deliver what they want.
The weather was lovely for most of the spring and everything was going well. The children were growing and were happy and healthy. As John was almost old enough for school, Anna spent a lot of time teaching him his numbers and letters, and Helen wanted to join in too, so their mother held a small class for them every day. She also taught them their catechism as her mother had taught her. That included teaching them one of her mother's famous Irish blessings every day, which meant she often had to explain the deeper meaning in those words.
They tried to make the trip into Baker City every Sunday for church, as there was not a Catholic Church in Keating. They would drive to the Troy Ranch first, and the two families would follow each other to the Cathedral for Sunday mass. It was really helpful to have the children's aunts and uncle there to help with them during the service. It was just Fan and Zee now, as Margaret and Rob Becker had moved permanently to La Grande. Then they would stop at the Troy Ranch again for supper. It was a very enjoyable time for the growing Hempe family, although their small ranch was barely making it.
The Troys came up often, to see if there was anything they could do to help them out and they often did. They would bring apples and pears from their orchard and meat when they had slaughtered a steer. George took care of the crops all by himself, sometimes with the help of little John, at the boy's insistence. Helen and little Joey helped their mother gather eggs, churn the butter, and milk the cows, when baby Mary was old enough to be carried in the sling.
Frank and Caroline came over once a month, to see their grandchildren, and always brought some food for the family, as they remembered how hard it was for them when their family had been young and growing up back in Illinois.
The weather was beautiful that spring, but got quite warm in the summer. George harvested the alfalfa and got it all sold before the weather turned cold in the fall, but the money fell short of what he was expecting, so the family had to work hard selling their dairy products during the next couple of seasons to make it through to the next year.
~~~
The Frank Hempes were having a good year in Union, until things took a strange turn. Frank was taking more trips into town with his new car, and driving the family around the countryside often just to see the sights. He had to gas up at least once a week, and there was only one place in La Grande for him to do that. Saturday was usually the day to go into town, and he would always stop by to see Anton and take him for a spin. But one week he waited until Sunday after he took the family to church. There was a lot of commotion by Anton's place, so he drove the family home and decided to come back to see Anton that afternoon when things calmed down,
When he drove up to the ranch he heard some yelling.
"Leave me alone, Gus! Just get out of my face!" Jude was yelling at the other ranch hand.
"You son of a bitch! I know it was you who did it!" Gus hollered back.
Frank got out of the car, and told the family to get in the house.
"What is going on here, boys?"
"Nothing, Mr. Hempe, it was just a little disagreement over a poker game. Right, Gus?"
"Right, Mr. Hempe." Gus glared at Jude as he spoke.
Jude took Gus by the arm and led him to the barn.
"We're going to go groom the horses, sir."
"Okay, let me know if there is something I can help with."
Frank went in the house to eat supper, before he took his trip back to town. But the argument between the two men was still on his mind.
Chapter Fourteen
"Turmoil at Anton's Place"
The Hempe ranch hands had ridden together into town the night before. It was a Saturday night and they had all shared a bottle of whiskey before they left the ranch. Jude really liked being in control of them. It was easy to dole out the hard jobs to the other hands, which left the easier jobs for him. He didn't like Gus, so he always gave him the hardest jobs. Then he would stand there and berate him for every little thing. The other two guys were fairly new so they would just be happy to do what he said, even if he was on them all the time.
They had played a few hands of poker, while they drank the whiskey, and Jude was the one who lost a bunch on the last hand. He was angry and started complaining about everything, as the men rode into town. The other hands knew better than to cross him when he was in that kind of mood. Behind his back, they talked about how much better things had been when George had been the foreman.
When they got to town they all got into another poker game, Jude got lucky for a while and had a stack of money in front of him. Two of the ranch hands lost more than they wanted and decided to head on back to the ranch. Only Gus and Jude were still playing with two guys that were passing through town. Dolly was hanging around one of the men, who was buying her drinks and flirting with her. She was standing behind him massaging his back, which irritated Jude who kept acting like he was a big shot. Molly was flirting with Gus who was losing too. Gus finally had enough. It wasn't that he was losing that much, but he just couldn't stand listening to Jude brag anymore, so he cashed out and took Molly to another table. He bought her a drink, and they were quietly talking when loud voices disturbed their conversation.
"God damn it! You knew I had the best hand! How did you catch that other ace on the last card?" Jude's loud voice blared over the other sounds in the saloon.
"It happens, Jude. Your straight gets beat by my full house. Sorry, buddy."
Jude looked at him, white in the face. "Don't call me that!" He swallowed and added, "I'm not your buddy. I'm getting out of this game. I'm not sure you two aren't cheating."
The m
an across from him stood up with his hand on his holster, Jude was happy to see that it was empty, because Anton made everyone check their guns behind the bar.
"Are you calling me a cheater?" The man towered over Jude when he stood up. Anton suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Okay, boys. Let's stop this before it starts. Jude, do you have something more to say?"
"No, Mr. Hempe. Guess I just got bad cards. I'm done here." He threw his cards on the table, picked up the little money he had left, and went over to sit at an empty table, seething. "Could you bring me another drink, Mr. Hempe?"
Anton saw the other man sit down, so he went and poured another beer for Jude.
"This will be the last one tonight, Jude. I think you've had plenty."
Jude scowled at him, but didn't dare say anything, as this was his boss's brother, and he didn't want him telling Frank about this.
He sat there sipping his beer, seething. Dolly had been talking to the same fellow, who was now sitting at the bar. She excused herself and went over and sat down at Jude's table.
"Are you okay, Jude?" She asked.
"What do you want, you tramp?" He barked at her. "Get out of here, before anyone sees us together." He hissed in a softer voice. "Meet me at your place in ten minutes."
Dolly stood up and left the table and went back to talk to the guy at the bar. Gus sat at the table with Molly, watching the whole thing. He was close enough to hear their conversation and wondered what was up. Molly was talking to some guys at the next table and didn't hear the conversation.
Jude drank his beer, got his gun from Anton, and left through the swinging saloon door. About ten minutes later, Dolly went out the back door.
Jude was waiting behind the boarding house when she arrived.
"What do you want, Jude?"
"Let's go to your room."
"Okay."
He made her nervous when he was drinking, because she knew he had a terrible temper. When he was a little boy, he had broken things when he got mad. She went upstairs and opened her door and waited for him.