Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-05-07

band ahead. next the orator OF b day
and the preachers Of the town in car
riages, then the flower wagon, with the
little girls dressed In red, white and
blue; next the Grand Army post, We
mans Relief corps, followed by citi-
zens in carriages and on foot.
l hustled along home, and when git
tin near the house l thought l would
steal In and see what Aunt Martha
was dom and mebbe l would find out
why she don't ever go to Memorial
day. The doors was all open. I slipped
into the sittin' room and found the
things as ma said. Then I went into
tened and watched.
/ heard Aunt Martha comm down
stairs. Instead of bein' dressed in
white, as usual, she had on a dress as
black as night and wore Aunt Pa
tience's bonnet and veil that she got
when Uncle Wall was killed on the
log slide up Kittle creek.
The band was marchin' along the
road to the graveyard. I could hear
the dirge. and Aunt Martha walked
with slow step. keepin' time to the sad
music. around the house, out to the
pump, where hung the scythe that
Henry Peters hitched up there before
he went to war. There Aunt Martha
stopped. She had a book In her hand,
and | heard her read somethin' from
1t. 1t is somebody's grafton; can't re-
0oap.Aor +ha oVnaf monde hut a. %
something like this: 1--WE cannot con-
centrate; we cannot dessicate this hol-
lowed ground" It's a noble piece. I
have heard 1t read on many a Memo
rial day by some lawyer at the Forks
durin' the exercise. 1t winds up, "a
government from the people, with the
people. to the people, shall not perish
from off this ere EARTH"
After this l heard Aunt Martha say
in, I'VE will now percede to decorate
the graves of our fallen heroes" And
she stepped up and hung a wreath of
e~verlastin' flowers on that old scythe
snath. Then she dropped on her knees,
bowed her head, clasped her hands as
If she was maxim a prayer to God. I
could look no longer and took my
sneak. l felt mean to think I spied on
her. but now l knew why Aunt Mar
tina never went to Memorial day.
went back to the cemetery, and ma
was glad to get her wrap. After driv-
In all around through the graveyard
and lookin' at the decorations we went
to the ball game and saw the Catlin
Hollow Daisy Cutters NOW down the
Stony Fork Giants by q score of "a to
20.
We got awful cold goin' home, but
when we all piled out there vas a
big fire In the elevated oven kitchen
stove. the table was spread with a
white cloth and a dandy supper ready.
thanks to Aunt Martha-eggs boiled
just three and one-half minutes in the
shell and sure the waters boilin',"
says she; potatoes cut up fine; cooked
In ham grease and then can poured
over them, which she knows so well
how to fix; fresh apple sauce. warm
biscuit. honey. spiced peaches and a
n egg cake as light as a feather.
Aunt Martha In her white dress,
warmin' US all with her smile. bus
tin Observation-Disclosures with
our things and givin' US several help
ms Of our favorlte dishes.
After supper | teased ma to walk
out to the pasture with me and see
some new lambs that had come while
we were gone to Memorial day, and
then while waikiki back l told her
what ! saw about Aunt Martha. She
Just broke down and cried and said
she had never knew such love and de-