The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-11-23
4 Thanksgiving SEWING Circle.

The week before Thanksgiving the sew
Ing circle in our village met 1T Mrs. Ma
than fuckers and there was Il full meet
ing. though everybody was very busy
cooking for Thanksgiving.
The Tucker house was rcdo!ent with
spice, bvilcd cider and mincemeat. Mrs.
Tucker had told several, conhdentialy,
that she did not know how to have the
circle. The members were most OF
them late, with the exception OF Kcbpc-
ca Todd. She is Il widow and lives alone
and has nobody to cook for. except her
self, and besides she was invited to spend
Thanksgiving with her brother
keEccca I odd is very fast sewer,
and she had Il missionary apron almost
finished by the time the others arrived
she had talked every minute, too. Mrs
Todd is noted for her conversational
powers: She politely gave an inkling OF
conner, took up the threads, us it We're,
for her inspection, then proceeded.
livery body, with the exception of Maria
Hopkins, listened respectfully. Mrs
Todd is considered Il very smart woman,
and besides she is we'll to do, has the
finest house in town and the best furni-
ture: Maria Hopkins, who has he: own
.
once in II while she shifted, in Il way she
has, and she screwed her forehead very
tight over her sewing. She has never
liked Rebecca Todd since they were girls
together. Mrs. Todd talked. and talked
scarcely any one else said word. When
the last conner. Mrs. Stephen pender-
grass. entered she had just begun to re-
late il Thanksgiving experience of hers.
which she considered remarkable. az.
Maria whispered. she considered most ex-
pericnces Of her own, Il should think she
Wculd be astonished because they never
put the day she was born into the alma
nae. to calculate the weather FROM
Wh'sprrcd Maria, and the minister's wife,
VINO sat next her and is considered too
yonng and giddy. by some folks for ii
minister s wife. gis@letl. and then wuS SO
scared because she had that she turned
pale.
Il WAS just SAYING said Mrs. Todd
very politely tc Mrs. Stephen Pender-
grass, who is tall and meek and slides
worthy to sit anywhere, that everybody
has had Thanksgivings, but I thought
that not everybody had had Thanksgiv-
ings that seemed to stand out-specal
Ihanksgivings, as it were.'
Mrs. Pendergrass, who is always afraid
TO- speak before more than two, bowed
Solclnnly and colored up and looked as it
she had done something awful every
,nIhanksgiving day OF her life, and Mrs.
Todd went on sewing all the time as fast
as She could drive her needle.
Eyes, said she, IL have had as good
IhankSSivings as anybody; always tur-
key :nnd everything to 80 with it, and
ltlnS my relations. but l don't remember
more than one special Thanksgiving that
seems to sort of stand cut as it were.
That was the first one when T ever
cooked the whole dinner myself without
any hclp.'
II suppose that was the first Thanks
GIVING after you were married." said Mrs.
Henry NlNter who is Il very gentceI.
soft-spOken woman: she admircs Mrs.
Todd very much and tries to be intimate
with her.
NO, it was no." Mrs. Todd said with
an important nod the like Of which l
never saw in anybody else NO, it was
not; it was before l was married. and |
cooked the dinner for fifteen and had it
home from meeting, besides pu; rlng thu
house in apple-pie order. Mother. WASH
very strong, and ny sister Lizy's little
Sammy was only & months old. | washed
and dressed little Sammy that morning,
too, and l washed and dressed brother
Henry's twins-his wife wasn't able to do
much, she had a run-around on her
luuHD-dlQ cuilcu llttlc NluefEi ) nalr
in two rows Of curls. | dressed five chill.
dren that morning, besides all the rest
Did that Gmonth-old baby go to meet
ing?' said Maria. with one OF her shifts
and Mrs. Todd glarcd at her.
NO. said she, "he didn't My sister
began early with her children, training
them to go to meeting, but she wasn't a
fool. l had that baby to take care OF
besides all the rest, and he was tecthing
and terrible fractious l had to keep
jogging his cradle between whites. Then
| had to put on fathers collar and craya,
for him, and do up mothers hair, and
heat the soapstones for their feet; they
had to go three miles in sleighs, and it
was pretty cold. After they We're all
gone, tell you l just flew. There was
the turkey to cook. and it had to be
wouldn't look at Il turkey that wasn't
bastcd every fifteen minutes; didn't think
it was tit to eat-and there were all the
vegetables to be got ready and the chick.
ell pies to be baked-lnother didn't think
a chicken pie that was baked the day be-
fore it was eaten was fit to be looked al
and there was the pudding and tho
to lay. Then there were seven beds tc
be made Up and everything to be busted
mother was dreadful particular Their
had the hens to feed and the eggs te
get and fresh Spongecake to make, be
cause mother didn't think it was goo(
unless it was baked the day it was eat
and then. to cap the climax, I had tc
make some butter. Mother mad a lttl,
cream, just right to cburn. and I knew
she hated to have it wasted, and SO
made pound and half of butter, be-
sides all the rest. Then, in the midst o.
it all, Sophy Briggs that was-she liyec
next door, and her folks had gone tt
meeting and she stayed at home on ac
count of having a cold-came running il
| with her finger cut to the hone, and !
had to do that up in cobwebs. and sht
hadn't more'n gone before / burnt nv
own finger, lifting out the turkey t.
haste, 50 I've, got the scar of it now
Well, / lived through it, and that Dime,
was all on the table at ~ O'Clock, whe1
| they got home from meeting, and me If
my best all ready to help them out an1
! take off the children's things. Well. a:
was saying, that Thanksgiving has al
ways seemed to be a special one, anl
kind of stands out: as it WERE"