Stephanie was off and running, “Why we can have fried chicken, there’s that basket in the garage…” she went off with her plans going into the house from the doorway that Cal and Cass had cut into the den. Cass watched her go and shook her head; it didn’t take much to make her happy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Scheimer’s Apple Cider, Scheimer’s Apple Juice, and Scheimer’s Pear Juice went over well. Stephanie had thought ahead and stored many bottles in the bottom of the well house in the ice she had gathered from their very own pond in the deep cold of the winter. She had even brought a few buckets of ice well covered to store ‘special bottles’ for a few well-placed townies. She held them until the banker, the mayor and his wife, and a few businessmen and their wives who would spread the word came and bought from her booth. The rich cold drink was a welcome treat on the hot Fourth of July. Cass realized she would have to socialize and be personable to these people and while she had worn a dress she felt uncomfortable with their compliments.
“We are going to have to get more labels,” Stephanie told her as Cass sat under the awning they had erected on their booth.
“We have plenty of labels…” Cass began but Stephanie interrupted.
“For the honey,” she whispered.
Cass looked at the bottles of honey they had brought as well. Anything they didn’t sell would be going to the stores around town, several of them had inquired and while she normally had dealt with only Hank she realized that was short-sighted of her. He had even come over and congratulated her on the popularity of her juice and cider.
“I want whatever you have left over,” he told her as he indicated the juice, the cider, and the honey. Even the wax combs in the jars were popular and Stephanie was kicking herself for not bringing her soaps and the wax candles she had made but in the hot sun the wax might have melted.
“Hank, would you be interested in other things we have made on the farm as well?” Stephanie inquired sweetly. No one had realized what an entrepreneur she was becoming. Cass was amused and pleased for her. It had been her idea to have the booth in the first place and even having the combs of honey in the jars instead just the pure honey had been a popular novelty to the townspeople.
“So you say you got two of them this spring eh?” one of the farmers was discussing the bears that Cass had shot. It was due to that story and the loss of her big male dog the previous year that her pups had sold so well. People needed good guard dogs in the big woods from the forest critters.
The children began to act up as the adults tried to socialize and Stephanie was never more grateful for good neighbors when Melanie and Ray came along with their children and they all went off to play. “I’ll put Summer down with Melody,” Melanie promised as she carried her newest addition, another girl name of all things Cleo, short for Cleopatra, in a basket. Cass had delivered her within hours of delivering their calf and couldn’t help but make an unspoken bovine comparison to the little girl who certainly did not look like a Cleopatra.
Their booth was a success and even as they took it down so they could join their children and Melanie and Ray for the fireworks that were promised over the lake, Stephanie was making plans for other town events where she could have the booth and sell Scheimer Farm Products as she was calling them. Cass smiled as she seemed to get so much enjoyment out of the fruits of their labors.
“Next year we should bring bushels of apples and pears and display them as well, maybe sell them,” she enthused and finally stopped talking about it all as she lost herself in thought much to Cass’s relief.
Cass was happy that Stephanie had met so many of the townies and the outlying farmers that Cass already knew. She was surprised not to see Marabelle and her husband but they had probably either not gone at all or gone over the hill into Wausau if they celebrated at all. She was strangely relieved that Stephanie had not met Marabelle. She hardly thought of her anymore.
“I’d say that was an unqualified success,” Stephanie told her as they got ready for bed.
Cass was happy for Stephanie but not so much at the amount of work she had in store for them. Having gotten a taste of the money that could be made off of the products from their farm she was determined to make more. Labels, jars, and bottles must be ordered as soon as possible.
“Do you think the jams and jellies we make would go over too?” Stephanie asked her as they got into bed.
“You’re talkin’ an awful lot of work,” Cass reminded her, they had put up more this last year but there had been years that there was barely enough for just Cass.
“Oh, I don’t mind hard work,” Stephanie returned.
Cass couldn’t think of another way to shut Stephanie’s enthusiasm off so she began to make love to her and her usual exuberance was redirected for a while.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Look at this, I found this place in Chicago that makes bottles shaped like a honey bear!” Stephanie showed Cass as she carefully sliced off the tops of the cells containing the liquid gold. They were in the screen house and Stephanie had gone to town for supplies taking the cart and the children. She had returned with the mail. She had been doing a lot of letter writing since their success at the Fourth of July. They now had labels for many things Cass hadn’t thought of marketing. She hadn’t known that making her juices and cider would cause such a hunger in Stephanie for their little farm.
Cass obliged unwillingly. It really didn’t matter to her if the honey went into the Mason jars she had always used or into these cute little bottles that Stephanie wanted to order for them. She just wanted to get the honey out of the hives and ready for winter. Stephanie’s enthusiasm sometimes could be a little much as she interrupted the work that Cass was doing. “Do we have enough honey though for all that?” she asked looking at the cute little bottles that she had to admit were appealing. She would never have thought of doing that with the honey.
“Well you have the new hives and next year…” Stephanie went on and on making plans.
“I only increased the hives by one this year.” Cass tried to remind her. There was honey but not enough to do what she seemed to want to do on such a large scale.
“You added two, I saw you!” she contradicted.
“Yes but I had to burn that one,” she countered. With what Stephanie was planning she had a lot of work over winter to keep her busy, making new hives and other things. She was going to have to order bees, a lot of them to get the production up in a couple of years. She didn’t mind but she hadn’t thought of making money like this. She had to admit Stephanie had a mind of her own.
Setbacks like burning the hive didn’t faze Stephanie, eternally optimistic she infected those around her with her plans, the children, visitors, and Cass. Cass didn’t mind the extra work it would entail as long as Stephanie was happy. And she was happy. She was thrilled to realize that she was contributing to the success of their farm. Although it was technically Cass and Cal’s farm, he didn’t come around enough and she thought of it as their farm, she and Cass and her children.
As they listened to the radio that evening listening to bright and cheery music before sending the children off to bed, Stephanie asked if someday they might have a phonograph so that they could play such music from their very own records. Cass saw no reason they couldn’t have one if they could afford it. They discussed the music they both seemed to like until the news came on. Increasingly the news was bad. Another war in Europe and their president was promising that America would not be drawn into it. Cass had spoken with several of her friends and some who would know said he was lying. Everyone knew politicians lied. There was no reason for them to be making armaments if they weren’t going to get involved, hell they were already involved as they shipped off supplies to their allies over there. Cass didn’t understand the politics of it and saw no reason for her way of life to change. What did a small farmer in Merrill, Wisconsin have anything to do with a war in the old country?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Cass did you
help Alma Johanssen last week?” Doc Stettin approached her where she was fixing some of the wire fencing she had around the various poultry pens. The big hole that the bear had created had created a lot of work for her to redo.
“Howdy Doc,” Cass greeted him as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her face.
“That’s a fine set of twins you delivered,” he commented as he looked around the farm seeing the lush fields, the large poultry yards. “Are those turkeys?” he asked surprised seeing her latest addition.
She nodded proudly, “Yup, they are doing fine!” she informed him. A few of the neighbors had assured her that winter would take care of them for her. Those turkeys could not and would not survive in Northern Wisconsin or they would have naturally.
“Say, you are gonna have a fine Thanksgiving!” he commented, pleased for her.
Cass sounded hurt when she answered, “Those are my seed stock, give them a chance to breed.”
“Oh, so nothing this year eh?” he nodded understandingly.
They discussed a few things; Cass realized he hadn’t really come out about Alma Johanssen’s twins but rather to just talk. Doc Stettin was a great talker.
“You see your brother lately?” he asked.
Cass shook her head, “I haven’t seen him around since early spring, might not either if he gets a notion. He went all the way across Superior last year!”
Many people admired the apparent ‘freedom’ that Cal experienced. No worries, no responsibilities. Some men thought they would enjoy that life. Some were just too scared to take off and try it.
“You should have gotten medical training Cass and become a doctor!” he admired as he watched her expertly repair her fences. It was such a waste. She had the knowledge and expertise, just not the book learning or degree. People trusted her and many times used her services instead of his own.
“I did get medical training, you met my Ma,” she told him with a wry grin and he acknowledged she was a fine midwife but even he knew that Cass was better. There were things he could discuss with her and he always felt he was talking to a colleague, an equal. She might not have the book smarts but she knew things.
Doc Stettin stayed a while and chatted while Cass worked. “Say, that housekeeper of yours around, I’d like to get some more of that honey and maybe some cider while I’m here. The missus sure enjoyed what we picked up at the picnic.”
Cass nodded, “Just knock on the farm house door, I’m sure she’s around, if not she’s around the side in the garden.”
“That’s fine, that’s mighty fine, she sure has a head for business. I heard from Stella she has new labels coming along all the time as she gets ideas. Why the Scheimer name is gonna be famous!”
Cass smiled and nodded in agreement. Stephanie was full of ideas and enthusiasm for her new business. She later saw the Doctor leaving in his new Model T truck that looked all black and shiny. It was good for these backwoods roads but nothing beat a horse she felt. She knew Stephanie would be talking about it at the dinner table.
“Doc Stettin let me sit in the driver’s seat, there isn’t much to driving a truck is there?”
Cass shrugged; she was more interested in the salad that Stephanie had prepared from the greens in their own garden.
“Why he told me had to go clean down to Milwaukee to look at one and have it shipped up here!” she informed the table. The boys stopped eating to listen, the truck, any truck was fascinating to them.
“Bet it cost a pretty penny and to ship it up here too!” Cass contributed knowing where this conversation was going.
“With everything it came to nearly a thousand dollars!” Stephanie gasped. The boys hung their mouths open as though she had said a million.
“Guess we won’t be getting one any time soon then,” Cass answered with a grin. She knew that someday, somehow, her housekeeper, her best friend, her lover would find a way to get a truck; she just didn’t want the expense. She preferred her horses who were also her friends.
“Oh you!” Stephanie threw her napkin at Cass in exasperation. There was a gleam in her eye though. Maybe not a new truck, but someday, Scheimer farms would mean something. The thought of having that written on the side of a truck appealed to her with all her grandiose plans. She was a little sad that she wasn’t a Scheimer as she was planning on making it a household name in this part of the state and beyond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I want to go to church,” she announced that night in bed.
Cass was reading some periodicals they had gotten in their mail. They didn’t go to town but once a week and the newspaper they got and the few magazines didn’t come in that often. Reading was one of the few pleasures that Cass indulged in after a hard day’s work. “To church?” she repeated warily. She hadn’t been to church in years, since her mother was alive. It was one of the few things she had given up gladly.
Stephanie nodded, “Yes, while the weather is pleasant we should really get the boys involved in the church and Sunday school, Timmy will be going to school next year and we should really get to know other people.”
Cass waited, she knew there was more to this than met the eye. Not religious but more ‘spiritual,’ she wasn’t sure there wasn’t a hidden agenda here rather a desire to find God.
“It will also give me a chance to talk with the other ladies and find out other opportunities for the business.”
Ah, there it was, a desire to exchange recipes, meet other women, and chat. Women knew just as much as the men and sometimes more. She knew that Stephanie had had an ulterior motive. But Church? It meant giving up a at least half a day of work around the farm. They would have to get up early and take the wagon into town to one of the many churches whose spires towered over the little town. Cass wasn’t sure she wanted to go. She looked at Stephanie’s earnest face though and knew she would be going to church come Sunday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cass didn’t mind giving up her Sunday. She did mind having to put on a dress once a week. Once in a blue moon hadn’t been too bad but every week was a little much. She also realized her Sunday-go-meeting dress was horribly out of date. She didn’t care about that as most of the women didn’t talk to her anyway, they talked to Stephanie. It was accepted that she was the Scheimer ‘housekeeper,’ and no one suspected there was more. Her new enterprise of selling cider, juices, honey, and other products of the farm was thought to be a fantastic idea. There wasn’t a lot of money around in these Depression filled times but the woman had ideas and shared them eagerly with Stephanie whose enthusiasm was contagious.
Cass found herself chatting with the husbands as they all waited after church for the Sunday School to let out. She was kidded about wearing a dress when she was normally in her overalls but the camaraderie she felt with the farmers and not their wives was a blessing. She felt the snubs of the wives who didn’t understand a woman’s desire to run a farm when she had a perfectly able brother who could do it for her. Cal’s desire to roam was thought of as slothful and selfish. Cass understood him more than they could ever hope to.
Cass was alarmed at the war talk that the men were fond of sharing. They all had their opinions and while Cass’s was solicited she just shrugged and didn’t contribute. She didn’t understand it all and what little she gleaned she felt it was foolish to get involved in another country’s politics. It was far away from Merrill, Wisconsin and she didn’t understand it.
“I heard Mueller’s boy went and joined up,” one of the farmer’s was stating. His cob corn pipe was clutched perilously in his lip as he talked around it.
“Ya, I heard he went all the way to Canada so he could go over there and fight!” another contributed.
They seemed to admire his fighting spirit but Cass thought the whole thing was silly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Stephanie was always thrilled and exhilarated after church. She enjoyed the socializing and the women seemed to like her as one of their own. Not like Cass who they looked at warily a
nd almost shunned. If their husbands didn’t like talking to her so much or they hadn’t needed her medical services occasionally they would have totally ostracized her. Cass didn’t care; she hadn’t in the past gone into town so much. She did it for Stephanie and for her she would have walked on hot coals.
As the season changed they were thankful for the scarves and mittens that Stephanie provided. It was a cold ride into town on Sunday morning and the children weren’t happy to get up for the ride. Their crankiness tended to anger Stephanie and Cass managed to calm them with promises of a possible piece of candy at the general store if they behaved. Sometimes no matter how hard they tried they just couldn’t succeed and that longed for piece of candy would have to wait for another week. Cass wasn’t willing to bend the rules.
The long hours in the fields paid off this year. The corn, despite the constant wet was abundant even in the swampy area they had planted. The new field in the meadow that Cass had worked so hard to incorporate into the farm turned out to be not as fertile as she would have liked and the incursions from deer and other varmints meant the time and work that had gone into it were a waste. Still it had been a successful season all around and they put up jar after jar of fruits, vegetables, jams, and jellies. Cass realized now that Stephanie planned on twice as much as they normally would have put up with the intent of selling it in town. The amount of jars and bottles they now bought had encouraged her to order them from farther afield to get quantity discounts from the manufacturers instead of dealing with the town merchants and paying full price.
“We are going to need to get another pressure cooker, I think I’m wearing this one out!” she complained good naturedly as she carefully removed the hot jars contained within.
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