Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Uncle Harry and Aunt Helen



Uncle Harry fancied himself a ladies man. He liked pretty women and tried to keep as many as he could close to him. I have pictures of him in his World War I uniform surrounded by lovely nurses. He had been injured in a mustard gas attack.

Uncle Harry was Grandpa's younger brother. He is the only one of Grandpa's siblings that I knew.

Aunt Helen was one of three sisters. All had first names that began with the letter H.

Aunt Helen was pretty with red hair that she enhanced a bit with a henna rinse. She also had the redhead complexion. That meant she burned easily. She also hated freckles. I remember her working in the garden with a huge hat to protect her skin from the sun.

Aunt Helen was a school teacher. She loved children. Uncle Harry did not much care for work. He did not want to be a father.

When they decided to marry Uncle Harry told Aunt Helen that she would have to be the breadwinner. The school she taught was in another town quite a distance away. At that time teachers were not allowed to be married so she had to keep that a secret.

Uncle Harry was not without resources. When my great-grandfather died he left a farm and a business in town to each of his sons. Uncle Harry sold the grocery store he owned. He kept the farm. They had a house in town too.

I spent a lot of time with them. When I would spend the night Aunt Helen would tuck me in on the couch. Then she would carefully line chairs in front of me so I would not fall off in my sleep.

Because they had no children they had what I thought of as fancy food. I remember them having cantaloupe for breakfast one morning. Cantaloupe was not that fancy. We often had it in season. But Aunt Helen and Uncle Harry ate it with salt and pepper on it. Fancy.

Aunt Helen loved strawberry preserves. Me too. But we usually only had jelly. It was cheaper to make I guess. So I liked having toast and strawberry preserves with her.

Sometimes during the school year Uncle Harry would come and take me to a movie. That was fun. He even got popcorn.

What was the most interesting thing for me was to go to the farm when they cut hay.

Uncle Harry hired Indians (as they were called then) to help. Once the hay was cut and dried he did not bale it. He made haystacks.

Of course I was not very old so I could not help. I just sat on a wagon or back of a truck and watched. I found it fascinating to watch the men fork hay up into a huge pile. It may sound boring but I enjoyed it. During lunch break I would listen to them speaking their native language. I know it was some Sioux dialect but I do not know which tribe.

On a trip a few years ago I saw the house in town. It looks exactly as I remember it. I wish I could have gone inside.

14 comments:

  1. I am fascinated he learned the native language.

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    1. I was not clear. Uncle Harry knew English only. It was the workers who spoke to each other.

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  2. Did you take a photo of the house?

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  3. I wish you could have gone inside the house, too. I was able to see the inside of my maternal grandparents house many years after they both passed away. My aunt (their daughter) made the arrangement with the owners, and it was fascinating to see all the loving changes made since I had been there last. New life for an old house. Of course, the old house still lives in my memories.

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    1. I am certain that the memories are sweeter than the changes new owners have made.

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  4. Is the door of the house big enough for you?
    Or maybe you need to shrink yourself first. Go find a mushroom, take a bite of its right, or left?
    I lost memory of that formula.
    Maybe you can ask Alice.

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    1. I will have to ask Alice when I see her. I can never remember.

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  5. My mum and her two sisters all had names that started with "o". :-)

    Greetings from London.

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    1. I did not plan it but my oldest and youngest son have names beginning with "R" and my middle son and my daughter who is the youngest of the four have names beginning with "S". I wonder how families who decide to have the same first initial for all their children manage when they have 19 or 20 children.

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  6. Beautiful story dear Emma!

    All of My family members name dtart with A.

    You painted their lifestyle so nicely.

    How great that he inherited farm and didn't do any other job

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    1. All of my great-grandfather's sons inherited a farm and a business in town. My grandfather remained a farmer and eventually sold his business. My other uncles sold their farms and businesses and moved on to other things.

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  7. A nice portrait of your aunt and uncle and you obviously enjoyed spending time with them, Emma.

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    1. I did enjoy my time with them. Theyw ere wonderful people.

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