by Jim Cox
“I see you have the supplies. How about the ten men we need?” Douglas asked.
“The sheriff helped me out. We hung help wanted posters in five businesses, and by the time I got to Jenny’s for breakfast this morning, there were seventeen men waiting for me. I hired ten that I knew were good workers. They’ll be here by daybreak tomorrow.” After the scythes and barb wire were unloaded, Scar fetched Mrs. Douglas’ order from the wagon and headed for the house.
»»•««
It’s been said time passes fast when you’re busy. Such was the case at the Double D during the summer of 1878. By the first of September, huge mounds of hay had been hauled to the cow’s nine hideout locations with a barb wire fence surrounding them. All of the stock had been driven from the Ross pastures back to the Double D grasslands, except for the heifers kept for breeding and an allotted number of mature bulls. The herd was in fair condition and immediately took to the succulent Double D grass.
But the most exciting events that took place during the summer were the startup of Betty’s dress shop and Jake’s newspaper. A week before the construction was completed, Jake returned home from his Denver training with all sorts of study guides and ideas about the newspaper business. He couldn’t wait to begin. By the time the freight wagon brought the press and sewing machine, large signs over the front doors read, BETTY’S DRESS SHOP and THE FLAT PEAKS’ PAPER.
As soon as the carpenters had left, Betty and Liz started decorating both living quarters. They painted the rooms, made curtains, purchased furniture, and stocked the units with basic food items.
After the living quarters were finalized, the young women started on the dress shop. They brought the carpenters back to build display racks and shelving, along with a few other odd jobs. A four-by-six-foot table for cutting out material was constructed next to the sewing machine. Smaller tables were built to hold bolts of dress material and other articles they had ordered. A hat rack was constructed along a side wall. When the carpenters left, the women made dresses of various styles for the display stands in the front windows.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The following Monday morning, after Liz and Betty had finished setting up the dress shop, Scar drove the team of drafts pulling a large wagon in front of the ranch porch. It was ready to be filled with Jake and Betty’s possessions. They were moving to their new homes and businesses in Flat Peaks. The clan worked hard loading the wagon. Occasionally, things were rearranged so additional items could be loaded, and even then, a few things had to be left for a future trip.
Finally, the wagon traces tightened, and the drafts stepped into the pull. It was a bittersweet departure for the clan. Bitter because Jake and Betty would no longer be an active part of the Double D. But sweet, because they were each entering into a business they enjoyed and the beginning of an independent lifestyle allowing each to earn their own livelihood. The loaded wagon crossed the homestead creek with Thomas and Jake in the driver’s seat. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, Liz, and Betty followed in their double-seated buggy. Scar was off to the side on Maude.
The trip was longer than normal due to rest stops. By the time they arrived it was noon, and to their surprise, town folks were milling in front of both shops, ready to help the town’s new residents move in. They even had a spread of food on tables in front of Betty’s shop. Three hours later, goodbyes had been said, and the Double D folks were on their way home.
Jake had printed GRAND OPENING posters for his newspaper and Betty’s dress shop and hung them around town. The posters invited people to the Grand Openings on Saturday, September 23, 1878. Food would be served, tours of both facilities would be available, and demonstrations would be conducted on how the sewing machine and printing press worked.
The day was a big success. Liz and Mrs. Douglas helped Betty at the dress shop. Scar and Douglas stayed with Jake. The women at Jenny’s Café stayed busy all day cooking and carrying food to the event. Horses and buggies from the outlying ranches lined the hitching rails, and nearly everyone in Flat Peaks turned out. Men and women alike gathered around the printing press in amazement as they watched the printed pages come from the machine with each turn of the crank. The main attraction for the ladies was the sewing machine in the dress shop. They were mesmerized watching the material slither under the rapid up-and-down movement of the needle as Betty worked the treadle.
Borrowed church benches were placed in front of both shops where folks sat eating the café’s delicious food, topped off with pie. Finally, by late afternoon the benches started to empty as folks left to do their evening chores.
Early Monday morning after Saturday’s grand opening, Betty and Jake each hung an OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign on their front doors. They were ready to begin their new endeavors.
During the grand opening, Betty had five women pick out material for new dresses, and two of the ladies bought enough material for three dresses. The women planned to come back to the shop a few days later to pick out the pattern and get measured.
Jake was eager to start working on his first newspaper, which was due out Friday. He had started setting type an hour before opening the shop and continued his work until well after dark. The days were long, but by Friday noon he had placed several copies on the counters of every business in town with a small poster, FLAT PEAKS NEWSPAPER—5 cents.
The eight-page newspaper contained several stories about current happenings. There was a story about last Saturday’s grand openings, an article concerning the high cow prices being received, and another about favorable ranch conditions due to timely summer rains. A progress report about the approaching Union Pacific railroad covered a half page. However, the lengthiest article was about the town council’s successful negotiations with the Union Pacific, whereby the railroad would pay for the construction of pens and animal loading facilities beside their tracks, one mile east of town. Construction to start come spring.
The article pointed out the coming of the railroad would end the need for the long cattle drives the local ranchers knew so well.
By mid-October, the Double D men were busy with the annual job of cutting the ranch’s winter firewood. Scar and Tony trimmed branches from dead fallen trees in the wooded area east of the homestead and dragged them to the sawing area by the barn with two draft horses. Mr. Douglas and Thomas pulled the two-man crosscut saw across the logs, cutting them into two-foot lengths, causing sawdust to accumulate in a sizable pile. Every so often the sawdust had to be hauled away. Mr. Douglas was reminded of the time he and Bart had made a punching bag by filling a burlap bag with sawdust and hanging it from a beam in the barn. It was still there. He remembered the endless hours Bart spent punching the bag and the training he passed along to the boy from what he had learned from his father many years ago in Ireland.
The men had taken a break and were sitting on a log when Mr. Douglas asked, “Thomas, you’ve been quiet all day. In fact, you haven’t been yourself for a week or two. I can tell you have something on your mind. What is it?”
Thomas shrugged. “I’m okay, Herb. I guess the thought of another long cold winter must have me a little depressed.” But Douglas knew something else was at the core of the matter. His friend had been through many harsh Colorado winters without complaining.
Mr. Douglas had picked up his end of the two-man saw, but Thomas hung back. “I wasn’t honest with you, Herb,” he said with a downcast expression. “It’s not because of the upcoming winter that I’m down in the dumps. It’s because I’m all alone. I have the Double D folks, who are like family to me and would do anything I asked of them, but I don’t have a special person to share my life with, a person to love and who loves me. There’s no one to share my innermost thoughts with. There’s…”
Mr. Douglas cut him short. “You don’t have a wife and are lonely. Is that what you’re trying to say, Thomas?”
“I guess so,” he answered. “You have Mrs. Douglas, Bart has Liz. Tony has Morning Sun or soon will have her, and I believe Jake and Betty will get
together someday.” Thomas paused, looking at the ground. Mr. Douglas waited for him to finish saying his thoughts. “I don’t have anyone anymore, Herb. It’s not right for a man to live by himself…not to have a wife and children. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I’m jealous of your love for Mrs. Douglas and the love other couples at the Double D have. Every time I see couples holding hands or a look of affection pass between them, I cringe. I know it’s not right to feel this way, but I can’t seem to control myself. I don’t know what to do, Herb. I can’t get these bitter thoughts out of my mind.”
“Do you remember married life, Thomas? Do you remember what it was like to have a wife by your side, who shared the good times and bad?” Thomas nodded. “Can’t you love again? Can’t you find another woman to share your life with, Thomas?”
“I still love my wife, Herb. I guess I always will. I don’t think another woman could ever take Virginia’s place,” he said and then paused. “I think about her and the children several times every day.”
“Where do they live, Thomas? Has she remarried?”
“I don’t know if she’s remarried, and I’m not sure where she lives. We lived in Baltimore, Maryland before we moved to Flat Peaks in fifty-five. I’ve always thought she moved back there, but I’m not certain.”
“Why don’t you find out, Thomas? Find out where they live…find out if she remarried. You’ll never have peace of mind until you do.”
With watery eyes, Thomas told of his separation from his wife. Douglas had heard the story before but never with the emotion and feelings that Thomas was now delivering. “I treated her terrible the last two years we lived together. I came home drunk every day. I gambled away the ranch we both had worked so hard to get. I didn’t give her any money for her needs or the children’s.” Thomas wiped his eyes. “I totally neglected her and the children.” Thomas had to pause again. “The last time I heard from her was in a letter, Herb. She said she and the kids were going back east and she never wanted to see me again.” Thomas turned and went back to the saw. The sawdust piled higher as the men worked through the rest of the morning.
Thomas and Mr. Douglas were unusually quiet during the noon meal. The other folks at the table could tell something serious was occupying their minds, so the table talk was on subjects not pertaining to them. After eating, the four firewood men returned to their jobs.
Thomas and Mr. Douglas went back to their sawing, but after a few minutes, when three logs had been cut, Douglas straightened up and released his end of the saw. “Thomas,” he said, “we need to continue our conversation concerning your wife and children. I can’t get your situation out of my mind. Why don’t we sit and talk for a spell?” Thomas laid the saw down and followed Mr. Douglas to a nearby log.
Mr. Douglas wanted to get Thomas talking. He wanted the whole story, so he started with a simple question. “I know your wife’s name is Virginia, Thomas, but what are your children’s names?”
Thomas was eyeing the ground. “My daughter’s name is Mary. My son was named after me, but he’s called Tommy, at least that’s what we called him.”
“How old are they, Thomas?”
“Virginia is five years younger than me. She was twenty-nine when we moved to Flat Peaks in fifty-five. That was twenty-three years ago. We’d been married for twelve years when we moved. We didn’t think we’d ever be able to have children but five years after we got here, Virginia became pregnant with Mary. We were beside ourselves. After seventeen years of marriage, we were going to have a baby. Two years after Mary was born, Tommy came along.” Thomas paused for several seconds. “Virginia has been gone for fifteen years, so Mary’s seventeen and Tommy’s fifteen.”
“Have you heard anything at all from them, Thomas?”
He shook his head. “A few months after Mrs. Douglas got me sober, I wrote to Virginia’s folks in Baltimore, hoping they were still alive and would give me advice on her whereabouts, but the letter was returned.”
“Would you like for me to go with you to find her, Thomas? I’d be happy to help out.”
“We both can’t be gone from the ranch, Herb, especially since we bought the Ross place.” The men were silent as they sat deep in thought. Finally, Thomas asked, “Do you really think I should go, Herb?”
“Not before tomorrow morning,” he answered. When the men’s eyes met, they both were wearing big grins.
Four days later Thomas went to Denver by stagecoach and then boarded a train for St. Louis—the first of his stops on his way to Baltimore.
Chapter Twenty-Six
As October ended, the trees in the foothills around the Double D were losing their fall colors and the weather was getting colder, especially during the evenings and nights. The frigid winter months would soon be upon the clan, but they were ready. The loft was full of hay, firewood was piled high, and the cave was stocked full of food. Hundreds of jars of garden items lined its shelves. Five hogs had been slaughtered, the fat rendered into cooking lard; the meat had been salted down, and four beef halves were hanging.
The ranch duties were considerably less at this time of the year, so Scar and Liz made it a practice to go to town a couple of times each week to help Betty and Jake. The shops had been opened for six weeks, and both businesses were doing well.
For the last three weeks, Betty had accomplished her goal of making and selling three dresses a week. Some were custom-made from material and drawings women had brought in, and some sales came from dresses on display. In either case, Betty made a dollar fifty on each dress after all expenses. At that rate, she was able to save close to twenty dollars a month, since she didn’t owe anything on the building or sewing machine. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas had given both to her as a gift.
Liz enjoyed helping Betty. She liked the design and cutting part, but what she liked best was operating the sewing machine. At first, the machine was a challenge, but with Betty’s help and time spent at its helm, she became proficient with its operation. However, Liz always made a special effort to display an attitude of being subordinate to Betty when she was in the shop.
One afternoon a young mother carrying a baby entered the shop. Liz knew it would be difficult for the young woman to examine dresses while holding her baby, so she rose from the sewing machine and with a smile asked, “May I hold your baby while you look around?”
“I’d like that,” the young mother said, handing Liz the baby.
“How old is your baby?” Liz asked as she cuddled it in her left arm while tucking in the light blanket.
“Shirley will be two months old next week.”
Liz was happy to learn the baby’s name and that it was a girl. It’s an awkward question to ask a mother, she thought. Mothers are disappointed if their baby girl is referred to as a boy. She pulled the blanket away from Shirley’s face for a peek. Her sparkly, blue eyes were wide open. She seemed to be smiling at Liz. Minutes went by as she tickled Shirley’s chin and cheeks, causing her to smile wide. Liz was mesmerized with the baby. It’s one of God’s greatest miracles, she thought, looking at the tiny features. Wonder what this great big world holds for her?
“It’s time I’m leaving,” the baby’s mother said after examining every dress on display and studying Betty’s drawings of dresses. “If my husband says we can afford it, I’ll be back to get the pink dress with the blue flowers.” She reached for her baby.
Liz felt a little reluctant to give her up so soon. “Your baby girl is beautiful. Bring her back anytime.” Liz went to the window and watched them walk to their buggy before turning for the sewing machine.
“Better watch out, Liz,” Betty said with a smile. Liz stood next to the sewing machine. “Baby fever might get hold of you. I saw the twinkle in your eye while you were holding baby Shirley.”
Liz smiled. “They are precious, aren’t they, Betty, especially when they’re tiny like Shirley.”
Betty didn’t respond, and Liz saw that her friend’s eyes were teary. “I’m sorry, Betty. I wasn’t thinking. I shou
ldn’t have brought up hurtful memories,” Liz said reaching for Betty’s hand.
“That’s okay. Sometimes I get depressed when I think about my son and husband’s deaths, but I’m getting better. It doesn’t hurt like it used to.”
Liz held Betty’s hand for a minute or two longer and then turned for the sewing machine. As she was settling herself in its chair, Betty asked in an inquisitive sort of way, “How long have you been married, Liz?”
“A little over two years,” she answered with a raised eyebrow, suspecting what Betty was getting at.
“Two years is quite a spell without expecting,” Betty said in a friendly sympathetic tone. “Most women would be carrying a baby by now.”
“I imagine you’re right, Betty.”
“You do know how babies are made, don’t you?” Liz rolled her eyes at Betty with a That was a stupid question look. Minutes passed as the two went back to dressmaking.
Out of the blue, Betty started again. “Are you feeling all right, Liz? Are you craving certain kinds of foods?” She paused, waiting for Liz’s answer, but none came. A few minutes later, she asked, “Do you have a sour stomach when you wake up in the morning?”
Liz pushed her chair back and stood with hands on her hips. “I’m not pregnant, Betty. I should be, but I’m not. Not yet anyway. Let’s talk about something else.” Betty nodded. They both put on forced smiles. Liz sat back down.
Just short of noon, Betty looked out the window and saw Mr. Douglas tying his team to the rail in front of the store. “Your ma and pa just drove up, Liz. Wonder why they came to town?” Liz finished the last few stitches on the dress hem, pushed the material aside, and hurried outside.
“What brings you two to town?” Liz asked as her father helped her mother down.
“Things are quiet around the house, and the weather’s so nice we thought we’d make the day of it in Flat Peaks,” her mother said. “Besides, there are a few items I need from the mercantile.”