Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-05-22
Great Grandma's
Sunday Shoes

~AAA 49, -
What funny little block of wood!
The top of it's all prickly with little
points,
Eric turned it over and over In his
hand, curiously.
And see what funny little sofa
this is, Eric Bunce!"
Sofa! It's just a bench, made out
o. nothing but pine wood"
We'll, it's got q cunning, deep down
seat in one end, with leather over it.
II guess the other ends a table. It's
queer"
"Everythings queer up in this old at
tic. Let's go and ask great grandma.
She knows everything"
AN maybe she'll say, 1T reminds
me- An that'll be splendid. do
think great grandma's reminds are
just as nice, Eric Bunce!"
$50 do I, Annis Emily! Come on!"
And away the children scampered to
great grandmas sunny room.
"A bench, dearie? = bench? -
bench? Why that must be fathers old
shoemaker's bench, that old Uncle Ne
henri Marlin used to sit on when he
came round shoemaking. Oh, yes; and
that's the old block Of shoe pegs you've
got in your hand, Eric. Bring 1t here
dearie. See, he used to cut off slice
and then break of the pegs like
matches. That's the way shoe-pega
were made when was little girl. The
shoemaker came round once year,
and stayed long enough to make uu
shoes for the whole family
"Oh, my! How funny" laughed An
mis- Emily Just the way mothers
dressmaker does! Did he make your
boots, too, great grandma"
"Everybody's. The men-folks had
heavy cowhide boots, and we girls had
calfskin ones that we thought were
nice enough for anybody. Uncle Ne
henri made them very daintily, we
thought
Great grandma's tone had a hint in
It, Annis Emily = she was named for
greatgrandma - tucked her feet under
her petticoats hurriedly, and wished
she hadn't complained because her
new boots were SO homely.
Tell some more, please d." she
said hastily. Tell bout how they but
toned EN- or laced EN-
Laced always. Uncle Nehemi' used
to make his own lacings out of leath.
er. He cut off thin strips, and then
rolled them hard between boards to
make them round. We children always
used to be standing round, watching
him do everything. 1t was a great
treat. And that reminds me-
"Oh, goody! A 'remind!" shouted
Eric. And Annis Emily ran to call thu
other children.
Come, quick!' she cried. Great
grandma's 'reminded'!"
Great-grandma took off her spec
tacles to laugh. She shook so hard
they would tumble of.
THAT reminds me of what happen
ed to my Sunday boots once I didn't
laugh then! Oh, dear me, no! How I
cried! 1t meant a good deal to lose
your Sunday boots In those days. You
see, In summer we children always
went barefoot. And Sundays we car
ried our shoes and stockings in our
hands, and put them on under Deacon
'Bial Peters's big oak, and then took
them OF again to walk homo. Church
was three miles away; and It would
them all the way-dearie me, yes.
| WON, IAI5 Ouuuoy We SOI lu0IO 0ellyi
and thought we'd leave our shoes un.
der the oak and run down to the Gran.
berry creek for wade. Mother new,
er allowed us to on Sundays, but We
went"
Great-grandma's sorrowful gaze
rested on Annis Emily with dreamy
look, as If she thought Annis Emily
were her own long-ago, naughty self
I'VE went When we came back,
Deacon 'Bials old ram was just chew
ing up my second shoe. Oh, dearie
mel"
That was the end of greatgrand-
mas remind" There wasn't any
moral
"Great-grandma never says morals
She looks 'em" Eric said.
"She wasn't laughin' when she got
through. She looked sorry" Annis
Emily said thoughtfully. Most a
hundred years is long time to stay
sorry in, Eric Bunce."
| "Well," Eric said wisely, "then you
| rn,,st mind vOur roOthnri"