The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-12-05
Summer
Partie

|
| ties.
When first settled down a
Cumagen Woods l thought had ;
breathing space ahead Of me. Ever.
woman and girl there said things like
| this: Isn't it perfectly heavenly t
get out Of doors and be close to ma
ture and drop all the rush and worry
and social dongs that one has to suf
fer in town. Then some one would
answer: Perfectly grand! l an
5000 tired of it all.
"'Aha! l said to myself. Y have
found the place have long been seek
Ing And l was innocent enough tC
believe that had.
Then in about a week | observed
that Mrs. Fink next door was moody
and restless. Finally she burst out
with her troubles. She said she had
decided that she ought to give a
party because she hadn't done SO for
two seasons. and was indebted to all
the cd residents. She said it was
such hot weather that she just dread
ed it. but it. had to be done and she
might as we'll get it over.
so she walked two miles up and
down the lake front inviting people,
and it was so hot that when she got
home the family had to put her to
bed and keep ice on her head all
night apd the Doctors bill w"s about
ten dollars. Mrs. Fink then used up
two days in driving about cajoling
farmers into promising to deliver let
tuce and parsley and chickens and
things for her salad and another
whole day in making the salad.
She nearly had nervous prostration
over the lettuce because. as she said,
the farmers didn't care whether they
did as they said they would. They
regarded the desire for lettuce
merely as one of the silly vagaries
Of the summer residents and she
knew If the lettuce farmer took it
into his head to 90 on a picnic or
drive to town that day he'd do it.
forty women coming?
I'VE were all so worried over Mrs.
Fink's lettuce that we distractedly
walked the porch the morning Of the
party, and when We saw the lettuce
farmer really drive up We just cheered
out loud in our relief! He didn't
bring the nice, crimpy. curly kind
that she had ordered.
ut was about 40 degrees in the
shade that afternoon, and If you
walked by any house in the place you
could hear mutterings and grumblings
from the unhappy women within who
were trying to curl their hair and get
into their party clothes. All of them
were wondering what Mrs. Fink want.
ed to give a party for, anyway, and
wasn't it horrid having to go? The
perspiration rolled off Mrs. Fink's
face as she told her guests how glad
she was to see them and then every
body sat and crocheted and mopped
than was digestible and said what
beautiful time she had had and then
rushed home to get into kimono and
to feel thankful that it was over.
Then Sally Casey arrived one day
ard asked me to an afternoon bridge
party. The weather was perfectly
ideal, the kind that makes you want
to run hareheaded through the woods
and shout because you're alive. But
we sat all that glorious afternoon in
doors quarreling over cards and l
was sick two days from the stuff I
ate, and a woman who didn't get the
prize said that the woman who did
cheated.
by that time every woman in the
place caught the entertaining fever
There were invitations out for nearly
every afternoon and evening. because
every one was afraid that if she didn't
give party she wouldn't be asked
to the others, and, of course, no mat
ter how much you hate to go you
nearly die If you don't get the chance
to CO. Nobody had any time to do
anything but whitewash her shoes
and press out her dress-up dresses
and shampoo her hair
There were sewing parties and
card parties and luncheon parties and
corn roasts and watermelon parties
and teas, and people got thin and hag-
gard and dyspeptic and cross and
quarresome, and above it all rose the
wall at each party: why did she
take it into her head to give a party
and make me climb out Of the ham,
mock and get into tight clothes and
sacrifice myself Yet we were all
scared to death for fear there would
be a party that we would not be
asked to.
But a great and bitter rebellion
was seething within me and one day
I found a soul who could understand.
Catherine Smith and I fairly wept
as we both talked at once and con-
fessed how we hated summer parties
when we wanted to rest from the ef-
fects of the winter. parties.
"As we were discussing possible
methods of escape Catherine grabbed
me with a shrek. I have it!' she
cried. I know how we can escane all