Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1884-05-29
THE FESTIVAL At WILLoWBReOK

a doubtful age,
1t had been decided that the church
needed painting, and TO this end a
peach festival was suggested and agreed
upon with great ~unanimity.
Much TO my own regret, I was absent
from the village at the time Of the fes.i.
val, so as soon as possible after my re-
turn I ran over TO see Miss Melissa,
feeling confident that / should find her
as usual, a faithful chronicler, nor was
/ disappointed. A few questions soon
brought out the whole stors.
at was too bad, as y6u say, Miss Har-
wood, that you couldn't have been here,
but law! the festival was a terrible dis
appointment after all, for we didn't
make anything to signify, ! could havt
told 'em SO beforehand, for ! knew Jest
how II would turn ont when those girls
took the management instead of lettin'
Aunt Betsy and me be at the head, as
we'd always been used 10 dom
"It's no wonder we felt kinder hurt
about it, for / don't remember q death
or a weddin' or II christenin' in the vii.
lage that we hadn't had our say about
in time past, and TO see ourselves made
Of no account in that way was enough to
provoke a saint.
"Of course ! knew it was all done for
Mr.. Aliens sake-that comes Of hayin'
a bachelor for a minister, Miss Har-
wood-though why girls should want TO
set their caps for a man old enough to
be their fathes / cant understand. II
Mr., Allen wanted q wife (and it's my
opinion that every minister does want q
wife to look after HIM he ought TO have
had a chance to choose for himself
among those that was suitable, and
goodness knows there amt many to pick
from in this village! But instid of let
tim the man alone those girls have act
ed shameful from the very first-goin'
eglar to Sunday-school and singin'
class and what not, and stoppin' every
day to ask about Miss Bruee's sick child
Jest because the minister was boardin'
there-no, / never saw sech fo~rwardness
in my life. And he linen is such fools)
took it all for pure goodnessl Didn't /
hear him a talkin' one night at Deacon
Stiles about the sympathies of young
hearts, and the sweet mission of the
fair comforters. and all the time / was
sendin' jelly and soft custard to the
house and Miss Bruce too ungrateful to
mention it again.
But this amt neither here nor there,
so ( AUST Jest get back to the peach fes-
tival. II W $ mostly settled before you
went away, Miss HARDWOOD, hat we was
to hold it in the sclloolhouse, because
some OF us thought that mebbe it wasn't
solemn enough to hold in the church,
but afterwards we had q meetin', and
agreed to take up the carpets and take
out the pew cushions, and SO have it in
the church after all.
II was held ON the last Thursday in
August, you know, and every one was
to send acake or ice cream or peaches,
accordin' to their ability, and We calki-
lated to make considerable on the sell
lin, as we should, il Aunt Betsy and me
had been let alone.
But when ! went over to the church
that Thursday mornin' to go TO work,
there was Sally Stiles, and Lyddy Hall
and the two Davis girls, and hat red
headed Mary Jones and her cousin
Mandy all there ahead of me sweepin'
and dustin and movin' things round as
if they was the head of the church
themselves. When / began to tell 'em
what to DO, Lyddy Hall jest laughs and
says, says she: You needn't trouble
yourself, Miss Melissa, we young folks
viii take charge, and let the old folks
rest a spell THAT girl thinks every
body's old but herselfD Sure enough
they wouldn't let me have a thing to
say about settin' the table, and they
each had a big rosette made to pin on
their shouldersi Great managin' they
made to be sure. However, / made EN-
know / wouldn't give up the tea and
coffee, so Lyddy says; Well then, you
can help unpack the dishes if
you like, and Aunt Betsy may
dust 'em off, That to mel
Just then Aunt Betsy comein, and /
can tell you, Miss Harwoodi il YVES all that
we could doto keep things straight, and
get the cake cut ever and the peaches
all peeled. / told Ralph hat night
when / was gettin' his supper, that /
didn't know as I'd ever done a harder
days work in nv life, but for all that |
hurried and dressed myself. and was
back to the church in time TO light the
lamps, for | knew well enough that
those girls would prink and prink, and
so they did.
We'll, by eight o'clock everybody'd
got there, and ths sellin' begun very
brisk, and rs / said before, If Aunt
Betsy and mehad been alone il would
have gone on brisk to the end, but
lawi those six creatures Just spoiled
everything.
when Mr.. Allen come in he walked
right over to where / was a pourin' tea
and ccffee, and made as though he was
goin' to set there a spell, and with that
Sally Stiles and the two Davis girls jest
crowded themselves down into the same
corner aud began to talk so fast that no
one else could gat q word in edgeways.
But when Mandy and Miry Jones and
Lyddy Hall iined in / Jest told 'em
their Don was better then their COM
pany, thinkin' they'd take the hint.
Now you'd hardly guess what
they did-they went and sot ON
the platform in front of the pulpit,
takin' the minister .-m OF course,
and there they kept up such a laughin'
and chattern' as you never saw, preten-
DIM TO wait on Mr.. Allen, bringin' him
plates of peaches and ice cream, crumb-
an mp good slices of cake and wastn"
en- until / could have slapped every
one of the six.
II got sc at last, watchiIi their
doin's, that / poured tea and coffee into
the same cup, and when our big dog,
Growler, camec reepiG'ia and pu this cold
nose into my hand, Idropped acup and
saucer and broke it into twenty pieces.
! told Grower to go out, but instid Of
mindin' me he walked over and lay down
at Mr.. Aliens feet, and in n minute that
Lyddy Hall screams ont: See there,
Mr.. Allen Miss Mix has sent Growler
to take care OF you, aren't you obliged
to herr and 1 felt my face gittin' ms
red as fire, ! was 80 mortified.
think tho minister was partly to