D
own they went again, down the old Black Canyon hills where the road was steep and
curvy. It became daylight and Artie and Lillie would have to get out and follow the car up a hill
so that if he had to stop to let the motor cool off, they could put a rock behind the back wheels to
prevent the car from rolling back down. At the top of the hill, they would climb back on and
Lillie would cover her head because she did not want to know wehn they crashed over the side
and she died. Artie thought she was silly but she would not look when they were going downhill.
Again Aunt Hattie and Uncle George came to thier rescue. Her mother's sister that they
had lived with in Phoenix after leaving Florence lived in an old mine, which was being worked
and was called either the Union Mine or the Old White Mine. Lillie could not remember which.
Uncle George had gotten daddy a job there and a house to live in. Uncle George worked at the
mine and Aunt Hattie cooked for the men.
When they arrived, they were taken to the house and told they could live there. They
immediately began unloading the car. It wasn't as good a house as they had but it had a roof and
a floor and doors, and that was all that mattered. It contained a big iron cook stove and a long
table with benches. And an entire outdoors to explore although the children were warned to
watch for old mine shafts, of which there were many. Also rattlesnakes and dry washes, which
could become raging torrents in case of rain in the mountains. Lillie could remember a raging
river and wanted no part of them during rainy season.
There was only one neighbor, an old man who was paralyzed, his legs being crossed at the
knees. He said he had been that way for years. But he could walk in a shuffling way, using a cane.
His name was Mr Guise. Lillie had never seen so many newpapers as she saw in his house. Every
time he got a paper he read it and read it, then rolled it in a tight roll and tied a string around it.
He then hung it from a nail in his ceiling to prevent mice from eating it. His ceiling was covered
with rollup papers.
On pay day, the whole family would go into Phoenix to shop for supplies for the next
week. They traded at a small store where daddy had an account and when he paid up once a
month, each of the children were allowed to reach through a hole in a box and get a grab-bag.
They never knew what would be in it but there was always candy and some kind of goody.
Each time they went to town, Artie, Johnny, Lillie and Georgie would be given a quarter
each to buy watever they wanted. They would go into the ten cent store, either J J Newberry, or
Kress or Woolworths, and come out with several things each. The girls, of course, would get
things like manicure kits to make their fingernails pretty or maybe a bottle of perfume which they
would have to hide from Mamma. The boys would get cast iron trucks, or tops, always
something to play with. It was fun living at the mine
The kids would take some biscuits and whatever else they had, and a bottle of water and go
up the dry wash and have a picnic. It got them all out of Mamma's way and they enjoyed it.
Except when Artie got too bossy and would spank or hit them. Then if they told Mamma, Artie
would punish them again next time.
But, as had happened before, Daddy and Uncle Geoge got into a fight and this time
Uncle George and aunt Hattie moved away. That left Mamma with the job of cooking for the
men. It kept her busy doing that and also taking care of her family.
Finally the job ran out or at least that was what the children were told and, again, another
move. But this time they moved back to the house where they lived when David and Ellen were
born. It was just like going back home after a long visit someplace else. Back to a school they
knew and the same old walking a mile to get there. But it was the same teacher and the same
kids. There was some new kids but not strangers to the children. A family that had lived near the
stage station where Matt had worked for his uncle herding goats had moved into the area and they
felt like old friends. They remained friends for life.
Daddy knew he had to find work so he went to Phoenix, found a job and the family moved
there. By this time, Georgie was old enough to go to school and they were enrolled in a school
near their house. The house was small but nice. Mamma took in washing and ironing to help
make ends meet. The kids would take a gunny sack and go to a wood lot near home and get a
sack of wood for a nickel. Mamma used it in the woodstove. They would also go to a bakery and
get a sack of day-old bread for a quater. Sometimes there would be a few donuts or cinnamon
rolls in the sack and mamma would divide them.
They finished the school term and were looking forward to a summer at home with
nothing to do but play. But for Lillie, it did not turn out that way.
There was a small grocery store on the corner and one day Artie and Lillie went after a
few things for Mamma. In a glass case was dark brown Mexican candy, and oh, how Lillie
wanted a block of it. She was holding a can of Maricopa evaporated milk and Artie held the other
things. When the owner went into the back of the store for something, it was also her living
quarters, Lillie saw what she considered a good chance. She took one of the squares and put it
inside the elastic band at the bottom of her bloomer leg. Not the best place to hid candy but the
quickest. She began reading the label on the milk can as the lady came back in. Artie said, "Let's
go." and as Lillie turned to go with her sister, the elastic broke. She had to put her knees together
tightly to keep the candy from falling out. She didn't dare try to walk, the candy would fall, so
she said she would come as soon as she read everything on the can. She stalled as long as
possible but finally could stall no longer and was forced to start walking. But the candy fell to the
floor. The old lady went to Lillie and did a complete body search, then put the candy back in the
case. She then wanted her to never come back into the store again. For some reason, the lady
never mentioned it to Lillie's mother, but Lillie did. Many years later she was to meet her mother
at an attorneys office. As she walked up to the door she heard Mr Hash, the attorney roar with
laughter. She knocked on the door, and walked in, and the first thing he said to her was, "have you
hidden any candy lately?" Mamma was good at telling stories out of school and sometimes it
could be a bit embarrassing.
The house they rented had an outhouse which was shared by the lady that owned the
store. There was a door on each side with a hook on each door for privacy. The old lady would
hook their side and refuse to let them in. She told Lillie if she ever caught her in the outhouse she
would throw black pepper in her eyes. From then on she would make Mamma go with her.
After the pepper episode, Lillie went into the house to get a drink of water. They did not
have a sink in the house but did have a faucet in the kitchen, which was about three feet from the
floor with a bucket sitting underneath it to catch the drips. Lillie took a glass and held it under
the faucet and turned on the water. But she could not hold the glass still, it kept wobbling so that
no water went into it. Mamma told her to turn the water off but she only giggled harder. Then
she began to fall and Mamma caught her and carried her into the bed. On calling a doctor she
found the child with a raging fever, and was told she had measles. She spent several weeks in bed
and finally when able to be up, was allowed to walk to Sunday School with Johnny and Georgie.
On the way, they walked along an irrigation ditch. At one house was a large dog, behind a fence.
Lillie was always afraid of dogs, she did not know and, on passing this house, was not watching
the dog. He ran against the fence, barking fiercely and Lillie jumped back, falling into the ditch.
On getting out, the children went back home and again Lillie went to bed, this time with typhoid
fever. In those days, very few people survived the disease. She was sick a long time and part of
the time did not know what was going on. She had terrible dreams and knew awful things were
happening. She was so sick Matt was sent for. He was herding goats for their uncle and was told
he could not leave. But he put his clothes in a bundle and walking to the highway caught a ride
home to see his little sister. At first she did not realize he was home but from the time she knew
he was, she began to get better. All she could have to eat was tomato soup or some kind of soft
foods because typhoid seems to weaken or destroy tissues in the stomach and rough foods can
cause problems. Mamma had a way of fixing hamburger with eggs and bread crumbs which Lillie
liked but of course could not eat it. So Johnny and Georgie saved a bit of theirs and tried to
sneak it to her to eat but they were caught so she had to stick to her soup.
By the time school started she was able to go, and started with the boys. Artie had to go
to a different school because she was older. It was a cross the street from a church and she liked
to listen to the singing from the church.
They didn't go to the same school very long because they moved to a new place which
meant starting to a new school. Longfellow was the name of it and one of the teachers was
named Miss Samuels. She liked her a lot and wanted to keep her for a friend. She could talk to
her.
They lived alongside the railroad tracks, what the hobos called the jungle. They all lived
there and the hobos cooked over a camp fire. They would get vegetables maybe from someone's
garden or from a store that was throwing out the not-so-fresh produce, and make delicious soup.
Lillie loved soup and never tired of it. So anytime she and the boys went to the camps they were
given a bowl of soup. They had many friends among the hobos. But they had to leave their
friends of the jungle because another move was being planned.
This time they moved to a lot that was in the same school district so they could attend the
same school. Another shelter was built, again starting with a tent for sleeping quarters, and a
separate place to do the cooking. Later as the father was able to find material with which to build
another room was added on. It was built of Coca Cola signs and any other tin he could find at the
city dump. He would gather any lumber he could find, and though it was not of the best it at least
protected them from the rain and wind. It was a house of advertising. There were Whistle Soda
signs, Delaware Punch and many other soft drink signs. The kitchen was moved in there and the
parents' bed. The twins slept with Mamma and daddy had his own bed.
It must have really bothered the father to have to build, using such junky lumber to build
with. He was a carpenter by trade and known for the fine work he did. At the last place they lived,
they had the hobos for friends and there were many days the family would not have eaten had it
not been for the hobos. Some of them were always bringing something for the family, maybe a
sack of onions or day old bread. But here, there were no hobos so lots of days the meals were
very scanty. Leftovers was not heard of in their house. When Jesus said "Thou shalt not live by
bread alone." He was not thinking of the jungle friends.
The father got a job hauling garbage for one dollar a month, per customer. He got an
old international truck, probably by beating someone out of it. He was a slick horse trader and
got many things. Many of them were stolen but he always was able to palm them off on someone
else before he was caught with them.
He would put all the vegetables and such in a barrel or special box, to bring home and
Mamma would always be able to salvage enough from them for a good meal. Many of the clothes
were gotten that way. Mamma had an old Singer treadle sewing machine and could keep the kids
in shirts and dresses by making over old clothes. Sometimes people on the route would give him
boxes of clothes for the family.
Hamburger for ten cents a pound and eggs nine cents a dozen so by adding things, a little
of this and lot of that, Mamma could get a pretty good meal together.
Daddy was always bringing Lillie a doll that someone had thrown out. He brought her
one for Christmas that looked like a baby. Lillie was so proud of that doll, even with it's pock-
marked face. Some child had left it out in the rain and spots had come all over it's face. She was
so proud of it she took it to school after Christmas to show the kids what she got for Christmas.
They laughed at the marks on it until one of the teachers said it was a poor little baby that had
small pox and was left disfigured. Now the kids knew what small pox was and how it could scar
so no one laughed anymore.
One day, Lillie got up with a bad sore throat. By night time it was so bad she couldn't
sleep. Mamma was sitting up, waiting for Daddy to come home and Lillie went into the kitchen
part of the house and asked if she could have some hot coffee to help her throat. So Mama fixed
her a cup although she never allowed the children to drink coffee. It did ease her throat and she
was able to sleep. Next day, her teacher looked at her throat and said to tell her Mamma to take
her to the doctor. They didn't have any money for doctors so she did not go. Artie was working
for a lady as live-in-housekeeper and helper with the children. She came home that afternoon and
looking at Lillie's throat, she knew at once it was diptheria. She went back to her job and called
the county health authorities. She did not give her name because she knew the family would be
quarantined and she couldn't afford to do that. The doctor visited the house and gave each of the
kids a shot. The boys were mad at Lillie because had she not been sick, they would not have been
given a shot. The quarantine did not stop daddy from working but it did put a stop to school for
a while. Mamma, Georgie and Johnny all ended up with it. The twins did not get sick which
made everyone happy.
To be continued.
Last Update 2nd November 2001
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