In the Valley of Hope

by Richard Weirich

  “Got to get me one of these.”

  Spending time together with an old friend was just what Charlie needed. He had little contact with friends outside of his family. Farm labor was time-consuming leaving little time for a social life. The trip from Woodstock to Mt. Jackson gave the men a chance to catch up on what had happened in the eight years since they had seen one another.

  Frank was the first to tell his story.

  “Well, you already know that I left Stover School that same year you left. Then up till I was fifteen, Marie Johnson taught me and Harold at Strathmore. After she left, I went to boarding school back in Woodstock at Massanutten Academy.

  “How was that?”

  “Hated every minute of it but I suppose it did me good.”

  “Least you got some schooling and you ain't stupid like me.”

  “That's hogwash. Best I can recall you were already one of the smartest farmers in these parts when you were fourteen.”

  “So, what happened after the academy?”

  “Momma and Daddy insisted I go to college which I was none too excited about. I figured it was a waste of time since there was a good job waiting for me with the family business. They had designs on me being a lawyer.”

  “Wouldn't that be something?”

  “So off to Charlottesville I went to the University of Virginia.”

  “What was that like?”

  “It was a lot of fun. Actually, it was too much fun and my grades suffered.”

  “So, are you a lawyer now?”

  “Oh, heck no. Dropped out in my second year.”

  “I would give anything to have had a chance for schooling like that. You should have stuck it out.”

  “Yeah, probably should have...but I met this girl. Oh, my gosh was she a lovely thing. I fell head over heels and couldn't think of nothing else.”

  “You quit school because you were in love?”

  “No. I left school because she was in love with somebody else. Told me she liked me as a friend but she had designs on another fella. Never felt so bad or so sick over nothing in my whole life.”

  “Sorry that happened to you.”

  “Makes me think real hard about falling for some other girl. Anyway, we had classes together and I just couldn't bear to see her every day so I packed my bags and came back home.”

  “How'd that go over with your parents?”

  “They didn't like it one little bit but once I told them what happened they settled down and daddy gave me my old job back helping John, Jr. manage the orchard. He said that once I got over my broken heart that maybe I could go back some day.”

  “Think you'll do that?”

  “Maybe but I still haven't got over her. Figured I'd be over it by now. About a month after I left school, like a fool, I drove over to Charlottesville hoping I might see her again hoping that maybe things had changed.”

  “How'd that workout?”

  “She was gone.”

  “Did you find out where?”

  “Got married and what folks were saying was that she had to get married.”

  “Sounds to me like you got away from her while the getting was good. A girl that'll sleep with a fella before she's married to him ain't the kind of girl for you.”

  “You should have seen her, Charlie. One look at her and I was a goner. That's pretty much been my life up till now. So, what's been happening with you?”

  Charlie's part of the story was brief, to the point, and sad.

  “Been farming all day every day since you last saw me. Still living at the same place and I ain't never been nowhere. Work for my daddy and he doesn't pay me hardly nothing. Still eating my Mama's cooking cause I ain't found no wife yet. Come to think of it, except for being taller and a whole lot more handsome, ain't nothing different about me since the last time I saw you.”

  “I'll give you that,” laughed John. “You're powerful more handsome than you were when we played by the cemetery. You were so skinny back then it took two of you to make a shadow.”

  “Ever hear anything from Mable or Cilla? We had some good times together as kids.”

  “Ain't seen hide nor hair of either one of them in a coon's age. Saw Cilla Miller I reckon about five years ago in Woodstock.”

  “How was she?”

  “She's a looker and as crazy as ever. Sneaked a kiss on me.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “Yep. Puckered up and let her rip. About scared the fool out of me. Then she just ran off laughing.”

  “Sounds like she was sweet on you.”

  “Didn't take it that way. I figured she was just acting her crazy fool self, like always.”

  “How about Mable Shown. Whatever happened to her?”

  “Only saw her once and that was at Aunt Teeny's 95th birthday party. Wasn't long after daddy took me out of school so we were still just kids. But she was sweet and friendly like always. I've often thought if I could ever find the time that I would ride over to her house by Pine Church and see how she's been doing.”

  “We ought to get the old gang together. That would be a hoot.”

  “That would be fun.”

  “If you don't mind me asking, what would you think about coming to work at Strathmore? Can't pay you what you're worth but it's probably more than your daddy pays.”

  “That's a mighty kind offer. I'd have to think about it. Daddy counts on me to keep the farm going. Without me, I don't expect the family could make it.”

  “Well, at least think about it. It's there if you want it.”

  For the remainder of the trip, the men laughed and cut up. One rich, the other poor, but to see them together one would never know they came from radically different places in life. Their common bond of friendship was blind to the biases of social class and economics. Their time together was good for both of them.

  We Meet Again – September 12, 1918

  Time was running out on Mable's 30 days to find a husband. Maybe she misunderstood what the preacher meant by being specific when you pray. Dare she ask for a 30-day extension? With the deadline approaching, she had not received one glimmer of hope. Mable had not seen or even heard of an eligible bachelor anywhere to be found. “Just have faith,” she kept telling herself.

  She was reminded of something else she had heard the preacher say. “God helps those who help themselves.” So when her daddy announced that he was headed to town that morning Mable immediately requested to tag along.

  When Moses Shown went to Mt. Jackson it would take him the better part of the day to make his rounds. It's not that he had so much to do. Moses just liked to talk. “Good day, sir,” or “Howdy, mam,” most often turned into a lengthy conversation. Armed with that knowledge Mable concluded that she would have ample time to find the man he had created just for her.

  Mary Shown packed food for the journey so they wouldn't “throw away money eating in a fancy restaurant.” Meanwhile, Mable went to her bedroom and made a cash withdrawal from an envelope where she kept, as she called it, her “mad money.”

  “A dollar seventy-five,” she reasoned would be enough to get her through the day.

  As usual Moses did most of the talking while they traveled by wagon to Mt. Jackson.

  “Been riding these roads for many a year. Did I ever tell you about the time I come upon some moonshiners whose wagon had broken down? Happened up around that bend by the Zirkle farm.”

  “Yes, daddy. I've heard you tell it at least a dozen times.”

  “Well, there's parts of that story you ain't heard yet. See, they said they would trade me their two mules for my horse and wagon. Told them I didn't believe in drinking and they'd have to find somebody else. Then one of them ornery fellers started cussing up a storm and pointed a shotgun at me. Right then and there I thought I was getting ready to meet my maker.” So, I says...”

  “Tell me again how you and Mama met.”

  “Huh? Oh, you'd rather hear that story. Well, sure. How about getting hold of a couple of ha
m sandwiches from that picnic basket?”

  Moses took a few bites from his sandwich and drank cold sweet tea from a jug. “I thank the good Lord every day that your mama's a good cook.”

  “I made the tea,” said Mable.

  “You did good. You're gonna be just like her. Now about that time when me and Mary first met. See, I was working on the railroad over around Warrenton and staying in a boarding house there. A carnival came to town and I was bored on a Friday night so I put on my best suit, which was my only suit, and decided to go have me some fun. Got with one of my buddies from the railroad and we went over there together. Lo and behold we saw these two pretty young things trying to throw pennies in a jar. They weren't having much luck so we offered to help them out.

  “How'd you do that?

  “We showed them how it's done.”

  “There's a secret to throwing pennies?”

  “If you want to get them in the jar, there is. Have to hold them just right. Look here.”

  Moses reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny. “Don't work when you hold the coin between your fingers. Have to keep your hand flat and lay the penny on top of your outstretched fingers. Then you just slowly and carefully toss the penny.”

  “All sounds the same to me.”

  “You lose control of the coin when it's tween your fingers. So anyway, after we helped them win some knick-knacks we bought them some cotton candy then walked around together the rest of the night. Even took them to the freak show.”

  “What's that?”

  “We went in to see the Great Cyclops, the One-Eyed Wonder.”

  “Was it scary?”

  “Wasn't nothing to it. A big man with one eye in the middle of his head but you could tell it wasn't real.”

  “How so?”

  “Had a bandage around his head with a marble in the middle and somebody had glued an eyebrow over it. Paid a lot of money for nothing. The only thing real we saw was a two-headed calf. Funniest thing that happened though was when we saw a sign that said, ‘Beware of the Baby Rattler. Are you brave enough to touch it?’ Well, I put my hand in there, petted the rattler, and showed everybody my arm didn't have a single bite on it. So then I dared your mama to pet the rattler.”

  “Did she do it?”

  “Stuck her hand right smack down in the middle of that old box.”

  “Did she scream?”

  “Don't expect she did. Ain't never seen nobody who's been scared by a baby rattle. She held it up proudly and then shook it real hard. We all about died laughing.”

  “Prim and proper mama did that?”

  “Just because your mother's a lady doesn't mean she doesn't know how to have fun.”

  “So you all started courting after that?”

  “When the evening was over, I asked her if she would like to get together again and she shook her head 'yes.' She kept me a secret from her family for a long time because they're kind of uppity. Then we ran over to the next county and got hitched. Thought her daddy was gonna kill me. Took him awhile but he finally came around.”

  “You've told me that mama was the one that God chose for you.”

  “That's right, she is.”

  “How did you know? Was there like a voice from heaven, or a feeling, or a sign, or something.”

  “Well, that’s just one of those things you know when the right one comes along. You just know that you know that you know. Didn't hear no voices, though. It's like when the sun comes up, the rooster crows, and you smell bacon frying in the kitchen. You just know it’s morning. Nobody has to tell you. You just know.”

  “So what about now. Do you think you got it right?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “But you all fuss a lot.”

  “Just because we fuss don't mean we don't love each other. We made a vow to each other when we got married that we would never go to bed mad at each other. Every day's a brand new day. Whatever mistakes you made the day before are behind you and God has given you a new chance at getting it right. Got to forgive, forget, and move on. Ain't nobody perfect and two people are always gonna have their differences. Hold out your hand and point over to that tree.”

  “Well, alright.”

  “Take a good look at your hand. How man fingers are pointing at the tree?”

  “One?”

  “Right. And how many fingers are pointing at you?”

  “Three.”

  “You got it. Instead of pointing to the faults of others look at the error of your own ways. It works in all relationships but especially in marriage. Instead of trying to fix the other person, fix yourself first.”

  Satisfied that Mable's questions were sufficiently answered Moses quickly segued into one of his favorite stories. “That pond over there reminds me of the time I was fishing over in the Shenandoah River and me and Tinker Neff hauled in a 150-pound carp.”

  Having heard the story countless times before Mable turned her thoughts to a strategy for putting herself in the right place to be found by a future husband. Where was the one place where a respectable eligible bachelor might go and where could she stay in wait without appearing obvious in her intentions?

  She determined that all the young men of her day were fond of ice cream and fountain coke. Luckily for her, Mt. Jackson had two establishments that fit her requirements and both were drugstores. She would spend part of her day at Smoots and the remainder at Peoples Drugs and Such.

  With a plan in the works, there was just one more thing to do. While Moses continued rambling with a medley of stories Mable turned her attention to silent prayer. “Lord, please let this be the day and may there be no disappointment for your servant. Please reveal the man you have chosen for me.”

  There was no sense in setting a meeting time since there was no telling when Moses would be finished with his rounds so he agreed that he would find her at one of the drugstores.

  Mable started her vidual on a stool at Smoots soda fountain.

  “What can I get for you today?”

  “Gonna need some time to make up my mind. I'll let you know when I'm ready.”

  “Be here when you need me.”

  Thirty minutes later Mable had yet to make up her mind.

  “Did you need some help reading the menu?”

  “Oh, goodness no. Didn't want to disturb you. I'll have a dip of chocolate.”

  The clerk was more than a little amused that it took her so long to decide she wanted a single scoop of ice cream.

  “Sure have been looking out that window a lot. Waiting for somebody?”

  “No one in particular. Thought maybe I might see a friend pass by.”

  “Must be a fella. That's what most girls come in here for. There will be one to come along soon looking for a girl.”

  Mable could have crawled under the counter from embarrassment. “Oh, no. Nothing like that. Waiting for my daddy. He's a talker and I never know when he'll finally show up.”

  The store clerk was undeterred in his assessment of the situation. “Expect it's been harder than ever to find a good man with the war going on and all.”

  An elderly couple sat down at the counter.

  “I hate sitting on these fool stools. Why don't you all get some tables and chairs?” grumbled the man.

  “Now, Henry, they just take some getting used to,” said the old man's wife and then she turned her attention to Mable. “Honey, did I hear you're having trouble finding a husband. Pretty girl like you shouldn't be having no trouble. Me and Henry have been married since we was fifteen. You don't want to wait too long.”

  Mable couldn't take it anymore. She thanked the lady for her advice, paid for her ice cream, and hurried out the door for her second destination.

  Fearing a reprisal of that humiliating experience Mable chose to browse awhile at People's Drugs and Such. She passed the time by reading the entertaining advertisements for the wonder drugs of the day. One product seemed particularly appropriate for helping her sister Pearl, who had been suff
ering from a cold. From a flyer on the drug counter she read, A cold is much more easily cured when the bowels are open. Kennedy's Laxative Honey and Tar opens the bowels and drives the cold out of the system in young or old. Makes sense. Pearl needs a good cleaning out, thought Mable as she made a mental note to buy a bottle of the elixir prior to her departure.

  Suddenly the quiet in the store was interrupted by a car horn and the frantic barking of a dog. By 1918, the annoying sound of a car horn was not unfamiliar but it was rare since there were few automobiles in Mt. Jackson. The obtrusive noise was unpopular because it frightened horses and mules, the more common mode of transportation of the day.

  Mable joined other store patrons at the window to see the reason for the commotion. A large straggly dog had taken exception to the passing automobile and was trying to take a bite out of the right front tire. The scene, although disturbing, did result in considerable laughter from the crowd that was gathering on the sidewalk.

  The driver was now out of the car and yelling at the dog to “git. Git out of the way, you mutt.” Then a young man opened the passenger door and walked toward the angry animal.

  “He'll bite you, mister,” called someone from the crowd.

  Slowly the man continued his approach and with each step the dog's barking became less frantic and then it just stopped. The man squatted by the dog, hugged the animal, whispered something in its ear, and then the dog calmly trotted off.

  Mable suddenly had a flashback to her childhood recalling a similar scene at Granny Teeny's 95th birthday party.

  “Thanks for the ride, Frank.”

  “Great to see you again, Charlie.”

  It is him, thought Mable excitedly as Charlie Polk headed toward the drugstore stopping briefly to wave goodbye to his friend.

  Her heart raced as she considered that God just might be answering her prayer. Not wanting to appear too enthusiastic about the meeting Mable hurried to the soda fountain and pretended to be studying the menu board.

  “Help you, mam?”

  “I'll need a minute.”

  “Got some good Tutti Fruiti.”

  “That sounds good. One scoop please.”

  Call it fate, an answer to prayer, or just luck, Charlie Polk sat down next to Mable.