Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-11-02
|Dnily Short Story
On the Shelf
By EVELYN CAMPBELL

BY EVELYN CAMPBELL
Ms. KIMBALL was 60 when en-
Va she went 20 the country 10
live. She had worked all her life
md her son. Mark, and daughter
Lisa. thought IL was time for her
10 retire and grow old gracefully
30 they bought a two-acre farm
bust the right distance from town
Tor Sunday driving and installed
their mother there.
snow YOU won't have 10 work
any more" Lisa said, Well
come out every weekend or for
Sunday dinner and have a nice
visit. Neither Mark nor I have
any CHI ldren 50 there II he
nothing 10 worry YOU or cause
any extra work. You can have
everything your own way"
Mrs. Kimball didn't mind work.
She had worked all her life as
widow must 10 put a son and
Daughter through college when
there is very little money 10 GO on.
She knew how 10 do everything.
HAD SEwED ALL DAY
She had sewed BY the day and
taken in boarderS and roomers in
h college town and Just about cut
|the edges of every economy TO get
Sthem through. But II had all been
|over for long time and both chill
dren were married and had Splen-
did Jobs. for Lisa was like her
|mother and kept right on work
bng. She couldn't give up having
|her own money.
Mrs. Kimball worked in the al
Iteration departments of the big
stores from time TO time and had
bier own small apartment, where
she cooked what she pleased. She
knew many people. most of them
|youngish, and went 10 the movies
ION Saturday night.
She had saved money. for saw
ling had become a habit that
wouldn't break. even when she had
N couple of thousand in the bank.
Ut was at that stage when her
children became fussy about her
welfare.
OF course. they both had nice
homes and would love 10 have her
stay with them. but you know how
IL is when a house has two women
in ii. Their mother would be
happier alone or nearly alone.
Mark found the farm on one of
the Sunday drives and was so
happy over il that he could talk
of nothing else. 1t was grand
bargain. too. but il so happened
that at the moment neither Mark
nor Lisa had any loose money so
they used Mrs. Kimbalrs $1,000
for the down payment and said
that they would take care of the
rest between them; amortiZed. it
amounted to about SIS month.
FINDS PLENTY TO DO
They would never miss $3.50
out of their salaries and the prop
erty would be valuable some day.
Mrs. Kimball found plenty to do
even on two acres. Mark put I'M
500 chickens and Lisa was inter-
ested in fruit canning She bought
on that subject and
gave them TO her mother.
She even saved mayonnaise jars
and thanked heaven they wouldn't ,
have TO eat commercial preserves
after the first year. The little
place had dozens of fruit trees.
Mark was married to Grace and
Lisa TO Jim. They were nice peo-
pie for in-laws. They came for
the Sunday dinners, naturally, and
often brought along their own re-
lations so that these were big,
jolly. family affairs.
Mrs. Kimball would kill and
draw and fry six or eight fine
chickens for the feast. Afterward,
the men would take TO hammocks
or touches in the house and the
girls would wander down the
shady road 10 walk Il off"
There was one other feature
about Mrs. Kimball's retirement
which she did not discover until
she joined the woman's club and
began TO meet the public again.
When she gave up her job and her
in town, she took on an
complex without know
ing 1t. She had heard about such
things without knowing what they
were and now she had one herself
as big as house.
And il was house, Marks and
Lisa's. 1t showed every time they
came TO see her. poking in the
cupboards, commenting gently on
the way she kept the yard and the
kitchen, which was never their
way. She became a guest on theIl
farm the moment their car drove
up-or rather a caretaker who.
might even be ousted but for
their lovely patience.
COMPLEX GROWS