The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-11-13

I furniture was little shabby, but the
hostile chairs and sofa of the "parlor''
always looked new. For all the wear
and tenr they got they should have
lasted thousand years.
Upstairs were the bedrooms; "moth.
er and fathers room" the largest; q
smaller room for one or two sons
another for one or two daughters
each OF these rooms containing a
double bed, "washstand," bureau
a wardrobe. a little table. rocking
chair. and often a chair or two that
had been slightly damaged down.
stairs. but not enough to justify either
the expense of repair or decisive
abandonment In the attic. And there
was always "sparc ROOM" for visl.
tors (where the sewing machine usu.
ally was kept). and during the seven.
ties there developed an appreciation
OF the necessity for q bathroom.
At the rear Of the house. upstairs
was a bleak little chamber, called "the
girls room." and In the stable there
was another bedroom, adjoining tho
hayloft. and called "the hired mans
room" House and stable cost seven
or eight thousand dollars to build. and
people with that much money to invest
In such comforts were classified as the
Rich. They paid the inhabitant of
"the girls room" two dollars a week.
and. In the latter part of this period.
two dollars and half, and finally
three dollars a week. She was Irish
ordinarily. or German, or II might be
Scandinavian, but never native to the
land unless she happened to be per
son OF color. The man or youth who
lived In the stable had like wages. and
sometimes. too. was lately a steerage
voyager. but much oftener no was col
ored.
After sunrise on pleasant mornings
the alleys behind the stables were gny ;
laughter and shouting went up and
down their dusty lengths. with lively
accompaniment of currycombs knock
Ing against back fences and stable
walls. for the darkies loved to curry
their horses in the alleys. Darkies
always prefer to gossip In shouts In
stead of whispers. and they feel that
profanity, unless It he vociferous. is
almost worthless. Horrible phrases
were caught by early rising children
and carried to older people for definl-
tion, sometimes at inopportune mo-
ments; while less investigatlye cbil.
dren would often merely repeat the
phrases In some subsequent furry OF
agitation, and yet bring about conse
quences so emphatic MS to be recalled
with ease In middle life.
They have passed. those darky hired
men OF the Midland town. The
stables have been transformed into
other likenesses. or swept away. like
the woodsheds where were kept tn,
stoyewood and klndling that the "girl'
and the "hlred man" always quarrelet
over. who should fetch II.
So with other vanishings. Their,
We're the little bunty street cars on tn,
long. single track that weat IL
troubled way among the cobblestones
At the rear door OF the car there wal
| hV Pih'i'ihis buh N ottU Wutlt Dusstii
gers clung In wet clamps when tn,
weather was bad and the car crowded
The patrons-if not too absent-mlnde,
put their fares into a slot; and n,
conductor paced the heaving floor. bu
the driver would rap remindlngly witt
his elbow upon the glass OF the doc
to his little open platform II the nick
els and the passengers did not appeal
to coincide In number. A lone null
drew the car. and sometimes drew |
or the track. when the passenger
would get out and push IL on again
They really owed II courtesies lik
this, for the car was genlally accom-
modating: lady could whistle 60
from an upstairs window. and the ca
would halt at once and walt for he
while she shut the window, put on he
hat and cloak. went downstairs. foun,
an umbrella. told the "girl" what 4
have for dinner. and came forth iron
the house.
They even had time to dane
square Dances" quadrilles and 'lan
cers;" they also danced the "ras
Quetts' and schottisches and polksi