The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1894-03-10
PLUMVILLE CHANGE.

Plumville "'foh de wah" was an unin
teresting little village lying in Il remote
valley Of New England agricultural dis
(trict. If the soil was thin the rocks were
.hick-so thick, indeed, that it was grim
Joke that n shotgun was needed to get the
seed corn into the first and between the
second. Owing to this bedrock the drain
age was poor, and what the drouth spared
sudden showers swept away.
4All the young men went west, the old
: shoemaker had moveticaway, and even the
minister had departed. leaving a monu
mental pair of crossed poles to bar the en-
trance to the meetin house And yet these
natives-New England men and women
were not lacking in shrewdness and COM
mon sense. They were simply discouraged
With all their hard labor they never got
beyond the bare necessities of life. They
had no amusements, no expectations, no
hope. The women never had time to sit
down, but spent their time cooking and
I washing in the Kitchens The front room
was always closely shattered, the front
steps were overgrown with coarse weeds,
and the front gate refused to open. Every
body came and went by the back door.
z
ers were cultivated, and few varieties of
vegetables. News was old when it reached
iPlumville, and excited little more interest
than archaeological stories.
" Few books were bought. and those few
If kind in which no rational being could
eel IN interest. Games of cards were ta
p0ed. There could he no social life in so
parsely settled region. 1t was custom
Dr. the farmer who had ''arrants" in the
}(fillage to bring the occasional newspaper
u or rare letter for the inhabitants on his
route. So if Brown saw Smith jogging
along toward 1.-The Center" he (Brown)
knew that on Smiths return an honr or
two later he would find anything the mail
\ had brought him in his yard. tossed there
Iby the obliging Smith.
Once a year, perhaps. there would he a
Wedding, for IN Plumville xll widowers
speedily replaced their first" On these
occasions it was usual to borrow white
lids from the doctor, who had sentimen-
lly or economically (for he had himself
IN them ut two separate ceremOnies)
served his with care
II the spring of 1880 old Mr.. Elkins fell
\, 81. His wife had just died, and he had
children. 1t was an added burden to
weary neighbors, who felt they must
!" for the old man. At the best it was
;mentary service, and the invalid was
many hours out of every twenty
The relief was great, therefore,
somehow or. other nephew's widow,
ga Cousins daughter, appeared as nurse
and housekeeper. She brought niece
with her-a slip of a. freckled cir! about
sixteen years old, whose name was Milly
Wrench. Milly assumed the care of the
chickens, MIXED the COW, fed Towser, and
- abe came and went about these duties
the neighb ors wondered to hear her sing
ing like happy bird. She threw open the
front blinds and let the sunlight sacri-
! .egiouxly stream through the windows: she
even set the sacred front door ajar, and sat
ON the dOOrsteps on pleasant afternoons
with her knitting work. If the sunset
were very gorgeous she was seen with idle
hands The spindling grass was sheared
of 80 that the gate would swing back
easily.
Its enough to make Mis- Elkins turn in
her grave" said Neighbor Flint
As the summer advanced, all unc0n-
scious of Plumville etiquette and conven-
tiona!ity, Milly wandered in the fields
hunting for orchids or tOok long walks to
Bacon's woods, fetching her basket full
Of plants, which she industriously trans
planted in the virgin soil of the Elkins
front yard.
"Well, / never!" said Mrs. Flint, rs she
pceked through nh opportune crevice of
!. her side window What won't she do
= nexts"
But Milly watered her hOneysuckles
propped up her daisies, put rich loan into
nd 1x,I
multitudes of blossoms. When the hens
scratched up her treasures she contrived
nm Enclosure of palings that circumscribed
their operations. by and by she added a
trellis for Il wild rose bush, and n long
tent of Irvine for her fluffy wood clematis
Little by little the small house, unpaint-
ed. but tinted Il soft, silvery, weather beat
en- gray, began to outline its windows in
bright green, and to throw woodbine gar
lands all over The homely porch. Season
after season went by. Milly now had seeds
and cuttings to give away. She carried
bouquets to the sick, potted a root for q
friend, brought a jar Of mignonette from
lincoln or received package of seeds
from a florist. 1t thus came to pass that
every house in Plumville soon boosted Il
dover bed, and in winter every kitchen
Rad at least one window full of petunias
or peraniums, the steam Of cooking or
washing causing them to grow wonderful
IL Cold frames for pansies were manu-
featured: even strawberries and asparagus
were attempted. And that these iDaps ov,-
ments might not fail, the land about the
house was drained, low branches Topped
of. the sink nozzle extended to safe dis
lance. till light and air and dryness came
to these denizens OF the kitchen.
You would not have known Plumyille.