In the fall of 1976, I finished the potato digging season and landed the steady/part time job at the Joseph City library...Monday thur Friday 12pm to 4pm, not a bad schedule for a working Mom...Although I lacked education in library science, I loved books and quickly learned cataloging, shelving and buying, but our budget was very small, so I couldn't buy very many books...I was basically my own boss and found that I wasn't very good at that...I enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know the old timers who were regular customers...I had a good recall for names and what different people liked to read...But shelving books was not high on my list, so the check-in desk was always piled high and as I locked up each day, feeling guilty and thinking, first thing tomorrow, I will get them on the shelf.
I had applied for a full time job at the school cafeteria but it went to another person with more experience...The good news though was that I moved up on the sub list and got regular calls to fill in for the rest of the school year...I liked this job and loved cooking...It was fast paced, I had to adhere to a schedule and the time flew by...The staff was fun and friendly and the boss, seemed patient and kind, but I was a little nervous about her being a redhead...The size of the pots and pans was a big concern and the copious amount of food that had to be cooked was beyond my comprehension.
I had a call from Clada in May, to work cutting potatoes for the spring planting, but had to tell her that I was working afternoons...I ask if it would help if I took over her cooking chores in the morning, prepping and cooking what needed to be done for lunch...She readily agreed to this and I could handle 2 part time jobs, for a few weeks...I remember the last day there, with a deep sadness in my heart.
The day started, crew all arrived ready to work...I stopped at the cellar briefly to say hi, before going to the kitchen...Cliff and Clada were there, Clada in work clothes but Cliff was dressed to go to Union County, to contact potential buyers for the fall potato crop...He took a fair amount of kidding that morning about leaving us to do the dirty work while he was off playing...He took it all in stride and with a twinkle in his eye, reminded us that someone had to sell the potatoes or we would all be out of a job.
On the menu that day was beef stew...I put the stew meat on to brown, before measuring out flour to make a batch of bread...Nothing like fresh bread, alongside a bowl of stew...I worked steady, chopping, slicing and dicing...I hurried the dough/bread along, pulled 4 loaves out of the oven before leaving and thought, there will be enough for supper tonight.
After dark that night Clada heard the car pull in the driveway, breathed a sigh of relief, Cliff was later than usual... She walked toward the door...An abrupt knocking sounded, confused, Clada opened the door to find a policeman.
Sometime in the late afternoon, Cliff had died in a car/train collision...OWAV:)
Can't mark a reaction this morning. That was a very sad day. Keep up the good writing. It's fun to go "back in time".
ReplyDeletethanks Babe, that was a hard one to write, such a senseless death.
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