Fireside Stories

Stories from lands afar…

Foreign main dishes

“The difficulties of life are intended to make us better – not bitter.”

When we first learned that we were going to Saudi Arabia, I told Lad that I didn’t want to go unless we could afford to travel and do a few things. I didn’t want to think about having to pinch pennies in a foreign country. At the same time we both knew in our hearts that Saudi Arabia was exactly where God wanted us to be thought we did not know why. It didn’t make sense for us to leave all we were doing her to go to a land where it was unlawful to practice Christianity.

So we went and finances were difficult in a foreign country where no one else (American anyway) had those kind of problems. But God has us so busy serving Him that our lack of money was not important. Besides, we were able to do many of things I wanted to do thanks to help from friends likes JoAnn and Gerry who took us to Spain on one of Gerry’s flights.

One day at lunch, we enjoyed a real Spanish dinner called Spanish Paella. I have never made it in America because I have never gotten around to invest in saffron, which is quite expensive here.

Spanish Paella

1/4 cup flour

A 2-3 lb chicken, cut up

1/4 cup olive oil

1 celery branch with leaves

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup diced pimiento

1/4 tsp oregano

2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 tsp salt, dash of pepper

2 carrots, sliced longways

2 medium onions

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp saffron

9 oz artichoke hearts

3/4 lb shelled raw shrimp

12 small clams, in shells

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a bag. Add a few chicken pieces and shake to coat. In a heavy skillet, brown the chicken in hot oil for 20 minutes. Transfer to a large pot.

Add the next 10 ingredients, simmer and cover 30 minutes. Add artichoke hearts, shrimp and clams. Simmer covered 15-20 minutes. Serves 6-8 – enjoy with crusty bread and sangria.

I found this recipe in JoAnn’s cookbook after we returned from Spain. For most occasions, I would leave out the last three ingredients, but they do make the dish more attractive!

Next time – a story from Jeddah!

Breakfast Main Dishes

Lad loves bacon and eggs for breakfast. His favorite breakfast meat is probably a fresh side. If you want to fix him up with a meal that makes him happy just fry up a batch of bacon, fresh side or sausage with eggs that have been basted so that the white is not runny and the yolk is covered over. A couple slices of toast or biscuits will complete this kind of breakfast for him. As the kids grew up, this breakfast became quite expensive so there were many other ideas added to the list. At one time, we posted all breakfasts for a week on the refrigerator door so no one could complain – his favorite came another day.

When large groups came for breakfast, I often scrambled the eggs or used this breakfast casserole. The original came from Edna Lovitt, a reading teacher at Franklin School.

Breakfast Casserole

6-8 slices white bread, cubed

1/2 cup grated swiss cheese

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 lb ground sausage, cooked and drained

1 1/2 cups milk

5 eggs, slight beaten

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard, dry or prepared

salt and pepper to taste

sliced mushroom (optional)

In a 9×13 pan, place cubed bread, sprinkle sausage, cheese, mushrooms. Combine milk, eggs and seasonings and pour over the bread and cheese mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Bake the next day at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Randy and Tracy were married on December 22, 1984. Larry and Edna planned to fly to Canada for Christmas with her family the next day. We decided to have a Brunch for the Garner Christmas on the day of the wedding. Breakfast casserole along with ham leftover from the rehearsal dinner was the basis of the meal. Edna and Carol brought the rest of the goodies. Everyone had a great time together. Preparation and serving was easy which made for a great start to a wedding day!

Hello friends – It is a rainy spring Sunday in McKinney Texas, which means it is a perfect day for baking!

Many, many years ago  (before I married Roger), Joan made a cookbook for all her kids. The nostalgia through her stories make the cookbook even more special to all of us that have the pleasure of enjoying the book. I am sure there are many of you that have benefited from sitting around the kitchen with Joan and enjoying the hospitality and “rest” both she and Lad have provided over the course of the many years they have been together – 58 years at the end of May!  We would love to hear from you – please comment or share a story.

This will be a new feature each Sunday –  a story and a recipe. This is my go-to banana bread recipe for those over-ripe bananas sitting on the counter. – Lisa Garner

Below is the text from her cookbook, in her own words. Enjoy!

Introduction

“Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be a well-watered garden, like an ever flowing spring.” Isaiah 58: 10-11

Some homes just naturally draw people into them. Lad and I grew up in homes that usually contained extra people beyond the regular family members. I remember aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents staying in our home most of my childhood. In early grade school days, my teacher often lived with us too.

With that kind of childhood, it seemed natural that we should do the same. We believe that much of the blessing we have received from God can be traced back to using “the gift of hospitality.”

It seems to me that food, though not the main ingredient, plays an important role in making our home a “haven of rest” for all who enter in. A “haven of rest” is a place where one can relax, regroup, refuel, and rest. Therefore, the food should be provided in such a way that it meets those needs.

If the atmosphere is to be peaceful, the hostess must keep things simple. There needs to be minimum preparation while the guests are there, unless the food preparation is part of the relaxation. To accomplish this, there needs to be planning. Food shopping should include those items needed for “spur of the moment” guests and activities.

I often plan cooking activities when entertaining young children. They love to get their hands in the bread dough or spoon cookies onto a cookie sheet. Our air popper is a fascinating activity for small children to “help” prepare their own snack.

Many a teenager has discussed his/her current problem while I was busy making bread or pies. My busy hands and listening ear made talking easier.

During the school years, children are constantly needing refreshments for this meeting or that. What better way for kids to learn to be responsible and to cook as well. Our kids were the envy of the neighborhood as they prepared their own refreshments for scouts, class parties, etc from their favorite recipes. Some of these are included in this book in their own handwriting.

With these thoughts in mind, I have prepared this cookbook for you to enjoy. It contains many old and new family recipes, along with bits of history about their use in our family life. It is my hope that you will find them useful for your own hospitality and building family memories.

In Christ’s Love – Joan Garner

 “He is a fool who will not give what he cannot keep to gain he cannot lose.”

My Aunt Irene was a family “black sheep.” She had many problems. She developed a bone disease that resulted in the loss of her leg as a very young woman. This probably led to her drug dependency. We all considered here a little crazy be she was an excellent cook when she was feeling good. Her banana bread was the best I ever tasted. She let the bananas get nearly black before using them. Nuts could be added but it was good without them why waste the time and money to put them in?

Roger and Randy like this one the best. It has gone in many a college care package. They will eat an entire loaf when it is hot. Never waste a banana in this house!

Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream butter, add sugars and mix. Add eggs one at a time. Add mashed bananas. In medium bowl, whisk flour, soda and powder. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. If adding nuts, hand mix prior to baking. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 50 mins or until toothpick inserted is clean or sides slightly pull away from the pan.

Springtime means calving time again on the ranch. Father spent many hours checking cows and the new babies. During school hours, Bucky followed Father around as he rode among the cattle. It seemed strange to outsiders to see a yearling antelope following a man as though he were a dog. Bucky seemed to know every cow on the range and formally introduced himself to every new calf. Occasionally, an angry mother would bawl at him and start a chase as if she thought he was too rough on her baby with those new horns. Father brought home many funny stories about Bucky’s antics among the cows.

No matter where he was, Bucky still ran to meet the kids as they came home from school. His white tail erect and head held high as he bounced across the sagebrush to meet them.

Don worried every afternoon that maybe today would be the day he wouldn’t come. The boy had seen so many herds of antelope nearby this spring, he knew it was just a matter of time.

Bucky saw those herds too and stopped to listen. Head high and tail erect, but always he ran back to his beloved family.

It was a beautiful May morning. School had only a few days until it was over. Don woke up to the sound of robins in the tree outside his window. The patch of sky was brilliant cloudless blue. “I sure would like to skip school and just ride Patches with Bucky at my side,” thought the boy.

Mother’s call to get up jarred his thoughts back to reality. “Oh, no! School again!” He dragged himself out bed, put on his clothes, brushed his teeth, and went out to feed his animals. Something seemed strange. Bucky was not at his stump. Teenie whined at Don’s feet. “Maybe he’s followed Dad to the barn,” thought the boy. He ran to the barn.

“Have you seen Bucky this morning, Dad?” he asked in a low voice when he could not see him at his usual spot waiting for milk.

“No,” replied Father.

Frantically Don ran all around the barnyard then out among the sagebrush. He ran all the way to his ‘secret spot’ looking for Bucky who was not to be found.

Joan came outside to feed the chickens. She noticed Bucky was not eating breakfast at the stump as usual. She ran to the barn to check there too.  She shouted and called his name.

Sandie joined the search. She shouted and called. Bucky did not reward her by running toward her with his head down. Tears streamed down her face. “He’s gone!” she cried.

When Father came to the house from the barn with two buckets of milk, he discovered three glum children sitting around Bucky’s stump.

“He’s gone, Dad. We can’t find him anywhere,” they aid in unison.

“I guess he left in the night to go find a girlfriend,” said Father.

“He will be happy with his own kind. We were only here to help him grow you know. Let’s go have breakfast.”

None of the children ate much. Mother wrote a note for the teacher to help her understand if she caught Don and Joan looking out the window too much that day.

On the way to school the children gave Patches ‘his head’ and he took them to school along the familiar trail. They both kept their eyes straining across the prairie for a sight of their beloved pet. For some strange reason there were no bands of antelope along the trail today.

The day at school stretched on and on for both children. Others in school were sympathetic. They even helped in search parties around the school during recess.

Finally, late in the afternoon, the teacher suggested they all take a hike into the foothills. The hills there were high enough to see much of the valley along the Rawhide.

Joan fell on the way up and filled both knees with cactus stickers, but they climbed all the way to the top. Far off to the north some light brown specks reassured the children that an antelope band was there. Maybe Bucky was with them. They returned to school and started the ride home.

Neither child spoke, but each was secretly hoping Bucky would greet them at his usual spot. He did not. Tears were streaming down Joan’s face by the time they rode into the yard. Don was stony silent. “Big boys don’t cry” was his motto. “Besides,” he told himself, “Bucky needs to be free.”

“Dad, I think we need to go tell Warden Benson he’s gone when we go to town on Saturday,” said Don as he was putting Patches away. He kept his head down to hide his own tears. Joan searched all around the barnyard and behind the garden in the hopes that her friend was just resting somewhere.

“I looked there six times today,” said Sandie, as she followed her sister toward the ball field.

As the children prepared for bed that evening, Mother joined each of them for their prayers. By the time she joined her husband in the living room, she too was crying. “Every child prayed that Bucky would come back,” she said.

“The next few weeks will be hard for them, but they’ll get over it in time. We did everything we could to prepare them for this. They really do understand,” he answered as he put his arm around her.

For many weeks, the children kept the sardine can filled for Bucky. It became a favorite feeding spot for the birds as spring wore into summer. News traveled fast along the Rawhide. The ranchers all watched for the little antelope. Many reported seeing him, but no one could really be sure. Bucky never did return to the ranch.

Mother had to watch Sandie very carefully. She wandered away every chance she got “to look for Bucky”. Grandfather came to visit. He and the little girl spent may hours roaming the prairie in search of a glimpse of that ‘pesky antelope’.

Don rode with Father as usual that spring, checking the brush for calves. Somehow it was not as interesting to him. There was an ache inside of him for his friend.

One day they came upon a band of antelope not too far away. A beautiful buck stood in the middle of the group. He stood very still, turned his head toward them, stood motionless, hesitated, started to take a step toward them, then thinking better of it, bounded off in the other direction, his band following him.

“It’s him!” whispered Don.

“Did you see his ear mark?”

“I sure did!” replied Father.

“I can’t wait to tell the girls we saw him. He sure did seem happy and proud of his band. Boy, Dad, we sure raised a big one.”

“Aren’t you glad we let him go?” asked Dad.

“You bet!” answered the boy happily. Somehow, the ache in his chest was gone.

As winter wore on Bucky was the children’s constant outdoor companion. He went sleigh riding with them on the big hill south of the barn. He joined them for ice skating on the beaver ponds. By mid-January several ponds were frozen solid enough for good sliding. None of the children owned skates yet they loved sliding across the ice. Bucky stood along the edge, his nose down to sniff out the ice. Slowly, he put a tiny hoof on the ice, then both feet fell in. Gingerly he pulled his back feet forward, one at a time. Carefully he took a step, then two. He began to relax and tried to hurry toward Don in the middle. Suddenly, his feet went out from under him. He fell in a jumble of legs. The children ran toward him as he scrambled to get his feet back under him and fell again. Try as he would, he could not get his four feet under him in the middle of the ice pond. Finally, Don lifted him up in the middle and the children literally carried their pet off the ice. Skating clearly was not Bucky’s sport.

One day after school in late February, Don noticed Bucky doing something he’d never seen him do before. The little antelope was rubbing his head up and down on the stump by the back door so hard that when Don came outside, he didn’t notice the boys’ approach. Instead of coming instantly on the run, the little antelope kept right on rubbing his head. Don tried to stop him, but he pulled his head away and continued rubbing.

Don ran for his father. He was completely confused by this strange action. Father laughed when he came to check this new development.

“Rub his head between his ears. Can you feel anything?”

“I feel two bumps. Did something bite him?” asked the boy a little fearfully.

“No Son, he’s starting to grow horns; he’s growing up. He’s nearly a full-grown antelope now you know.”

“Do you think he’ll leave us soon?” Don asked.

“He’s been struggling between life with us and the call of the wild and free all winter.”

“I know,” replied the boy in a soft voice. “I’m not sure I want him to go.”

“None of us do, Son, but we must be ready to let him go. You need to make it easier for your sister too.”

“Shall I take his collar off now?”

“It would be a good idea, don’t you think? Tell the girls you want him to be free.”

Don put his arm around his pet’s neck. Together they ran across the yard, crawled under the fence behind the chicken house, and bounded across the sagebrush to a secret spot that Don had kept for himself. The boy and antelope sat down under the sagebrush. Don rubbed the antelope’s head for a long time. They seemed to communicate to each other in the silence. A big lone tear slid down Don’s cheek and splashed on the antelope’s new horn, as Don reached down and removed the collar from around Bucky’s neck. Bucky nuzzled Don’s neck with his nose. The two stayed in the little hideaway until it was nearly dark. Finally, they got up and raced each other across the sagebrush and under the fence.

Supper was waiting when Don came inside. He slid silently into his place at the table. Mother seemed to understand and didn’t make him go wash his hands. After Father had said the grace, Don announced.

“Bucky’s growing horns. I took his collar off.”

The remainder of the meal was eaten in near silence. Each member of the family seemed lost in thought. Even Loreen was not as noisy at her high chair.

Sandie finally said, “He’s going to be here a long time, I bet.”

Bucky’s new horns grew fast. They soon became the source of much annoyance to both Sandie and Teenie.

For Sandie, Bucky’s little game of bumping her over when she played in the squat position posed a double threat. Even though they were formed of tough fused hair and were very short, they seemed very hard and sharp to a little girl. She always got angry when he teased her this way. Now the teasing brought wails and tears as though she had been hurt. Bucky seemed totally confused by this reaction. He tried to make amends by licking her face. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long. Soon the little girl and antelope could be seen racing around the yard, but she ran away every time he put his head down.

Now when Bucky played his chase game with Teenie, she put up with it for a while, then she’d growl and bark at Bucky, coming at him with fierce anger. He surprised her by putting his head down and bumping her ever so lightly. With a yip of surprise, Teenie ran to the door of the house and scratched to be let in. It was clear Bucky planned to be King of the yard. And he was.

He then tried his new power on the chickens. They scattered and ran as he walked toward them with his head down.

The barnyard was his next testing ground. The pigs ignored him as usual and the cows gave him little reaction. The cat and her kittens ran as always. But the horses were another story. The surprised antelope jumped back and tried it again. With head down, he butted at the pony’s flank. This time Patches turned around and raised his back legs for a good kick. Bucky bounced away just in time to avoid a sharp pony hoof.

“That antelope had better be careful where he puts those horns,” commented Father.

The “January Thaw” had cleared away much of the snow and jack rabbits were in abundance. Lad and Wendell had their guns cleaned and ready. It was time to make a little extra money so “rabbits here we come.” Now the best time to hunt rabbits is at night. You get in a vehicle with a spotlight and drive across the prairie watching for blow-outs (let’s not waste time getting stuck in the sand).

The rabbit holes were dangerous for cattle and horses and their hides were worth a dollar each when delivered to Everett Leeper. Everett sold the rabbits to mink farms to be fed to the mink. These mink were used for mink coats, hats, and other expensive but popular items.

Lad was the designated driver. Wendell manned the spot light. Wendell’s job was to shine the light on an unsuspecting rabbit, momentarily blinding him. A quick stop and fast shot would yield a rabbit or a chase. Either way there was plenty of excitement in the hunt. A good night would yield twenty to fifty rabbits.

One Saturday morning Wendell came to Joan and said, “So you want a date with Lad?”

“Yes.” “Well, be here tonight at ten, I will get you your date.” “I can do that.”

Now the dilemma for Joan was – she already had a date. She was going to a movie in Gordon with a rancher she had gone out with a couple of times, and was not at all interested (I don’t even remember his name). Too late to change it, so she went with a plan to be back in time. The trip to Gordon was all about the cow that had a calf that afternoon. They didn’t stop for a soda or anything on the way back and she hurried to the door when he dropped her off. Wendell came in a few minutes later and they were off, not in Lad’s jeep but in the lavender mercury!

Lad opened the door on the driver’s side and Joan slid past to the middle seat. Amazingly his pistol was not on the seat that night, but he pulled his 22 rifle in beside the door where it would be handy. Wendell got in on the other side so he could man the spotlight and get out quickly to shoot or pick up the ones they shot and put them in the trunk.

It was very dark and the ride was bumpy. Joan had no idea where they were going. She couldn’t even see the road. But that didn’t scare her anymore. She had gone deer hunting with Everett & Lola in the fall where she road with Lola at the top of the ridge near the river while the guys walked along the bank – but that was in the daytime! This was pure darkness and there was no road. The chase was fun when Wendell’s spotlight picked up a rabbit in the distance, Lad would speed up to get closer and sometimes the rabbit ran, but the trick was to shine the light in his eyes so he would stop. This went on for an hour or so.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere they stopped near some unoccupied buildings that looked abandoned and falling down. “This is my home,” Lad said. “No way!” I replied. Wendell laughed, got out of the car and disappeared into the darkness. Turns out, it really was his childhood home where he was born. While Wendell was gone, Lad put his arm around Joan and gave her their first kiss!

It was about 1 AM when they got back to Leeper’s. Now you would think it was the beginning of a “happily ever after” romance. Not so! Lad had a rule, he only dated a girl once.

After all he didn’t have time for girls. It took Joan nearly two months to get the next date but after that he was hooked.

With Christmas fast approaching the big white house seemed alive with anticipation and preparation. When Don and Joan arrived home on the empty hay wagon even Bucky was caught up in the excitement and preparation. He seemed to bounce higher than ever as he joyously circled the wagon containing his precious friends. Occasionally Don would jump off the wagon and race with his pet. Somehow, Don always lost.

When the children went inside there were cookies to help bake and decorate. Joan practiced her song, “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” over and over until Sandie could sing along with her. Don thought the program was a “dumb idea”. He didn’t want to get up in front of all those people. Mother coaxed and worked with him until he learned his piece. “If I have to do it, I don’t want to be embarrassed because I forgot it, I guess.”

One Saturday, the family went for a ride on the hay wagon to the foothills on the north side of the ranch. This rough hilly terrain boasted of many dark cedar trees. Many were scraggly and bushy, but careful scrutiny would detect a tree stately and worthy of being placed in the big front window of the living room. Here its dark beauty would be magically transformed into the sparkling wonder of Christmas when lovingly trimmed and with careful placement of the bright colored glass balls that had been wrapped in tissue and stored for a year. And with the big silver star placed on the very top.

The children strained their eyes to be the first to see the special tree. Several were examined until Father found just the right one. Everyone seemed to agree – it was perfect.

“Too bad we can’t keep that bit of snow on it,” remarked Mother, “see how it sparkles in the sun.”

A few carefully placed hits with the ax by Father marked the spot where Father and son would place the long double-handed saw and draw it back and forth across the base of the tree. At first, Don found it hard to pull the say back toward himself, but with Father’s encouraging words heard above the shouts of advice from the girls, he soon felt the rhythm of push and pull. Bucky’s curious nature kept his nose dangerously close to the moving saw. Don tried to push him away with his free hand. Joan finally had to hold him back. In a very short time, Father shouted ‘timber-r’. The tree fell to the ground and three children began to pull and tug in their effort to drag it back to the wagon. Father’s sure hand lifted the trunk and the tree was a sled.

With everyone back on the wagon, they headed for home. The children sang Christmas carols and talked excitedly about how the tree was going to look. Each child talked of where his or her special ornament was going to go. No one seemed to notice that once again Bucky stopped to recognize that his own kind were nearby – except Don. Every time this happened he felt his heart skip a beat. “Will he run away this time?” This unanswered question haunted the little boy. But somehow, he could never talk about it to anyone. “I’ll make him a special Christmas gift,” he vowed.

Once at home, Father and son placed the tree in a bucket of wet sand and trimmed the scraggly branches here and there. Mother and daughters made popcorn to string and carefully laid out the ornaments. This year, Don and Joan had painted pine cones in red and green, added the sparkles of silver and gold and tied red and green ribbons on them for hanging. It was late in the evening before the tree was finished. Loreen fell asleep on the couch beside the stately tree. While Father and the two older children did the outdoor chores, Mother and Sandie prepared sandwiches and hot cocoa for a simple, but late supper.

Before he went to bed, Don went out to just hold his pet for a while. The love between boy and antelope didn’t need words. They understood each other.

“Stay here with me.”

“I won’t leave you just yet.”

After the tree was in place, it was time for packages to mysteriously find their way under the tree. Don and Joan had been secretly making gifts for each member of the family either at school or at home.

Don had found a soft piece of rawhide at the saddle shop when his father had taken him along to pick up a new saddle earlier in the fall. Using his pocket knife, he carefully cut it into strips. These he braided together for bracelets for each sister and a watch fob for Father’s pocket watch. For Mother, he sacrificed his nearly perfect arrowhead and made a necklace using a single strip of soft rawhide. His special project for Bucky took the remainder of his rawhide. He braided long strips together, placing three small jingling bells strategically around the collar. All these gifts were carefully wrapped and placed under the tree. Don felt a deep sense of satisfaction when all his gifts were placed under the tree. Christmas felt good!

Christmas Eve found the family leaving Bucky behind as they drove to town for Christmas Eve services at the Church, the manger scene and the enactment of the Christmas story. The story was made alive by the adults and children who acted out in the pantomime as the scripture story was read. Even sleepy Loreen seemed to glow with the final song “Silent Night, Holy Night”. As they left the Church, each child was given a brown paper bag containing special Christmas candy, an orange, peanuts, and even a walnut or two!

By the time the family car was out of town, four tired children were sound asleep holding their precious brown bags tightly to themselves. A light snow was falling providing a flurry of sparkles across the beams of the headlights. Father began to sing “Silent Night” in German. Don opened his eyes and listened to the familiar tune of words he did not understand. He thought of Bucky, “that must be how he feels living with us. It is familiar and makes me feel good, but it’s strange and hard to understand as well. I wonder how much longer he’ll stay with me?”

When headlights shined on the way up the lane, Bucky jumped up from his spot near the back door and ran to meet the car. He bounced in circles around the car just as he did when meeting a horseback rider. Father laughed so hard the children woke up with a start. Three heads popped up in the back seat to watch their pet. Suddenly, the antelope stopped and stood still. With head held high, he seemed to be sniffing the air and listening for something. Snow swirled around him.

“Look! He looks like a Christmas card.”

“Do you suppose he sees or hears Santa and his reindeer?” asked Father as the car came to a stop in front of the house.

“If that’s the case, everyone better get to bed or he’ll fly right over us!” Mother remarked.

With a whoop of excitement at that comment the three older children raced into the house and were in pajamas with blankets pulled tightly under their chins almost before Mother could get Loreen into bed.

Early Christmas morning, the girls were awakened by Don, who had tiptoed into the girls’ room. “Let’s get Mom and Dad up,” he whispered. The three children padded silently down the hall to their parents’ room to awaken them. To their surprise, Mother, Father, and Loreen were waiting for them. Together the family trooped into the living room. The next half hour was a flurry of excited shouts and joyous exclamations of surprise and pleasure as each gift was opened and carefully examined.

Don had a feeling of satisfaction with the pleased look on everyones faces as they examined his leather creations. Father was especially pleased with his new watch fob. He immediately attached it to his big pocket watch. The girls put their new dolls in their new homemade clothes.

With her necklace around her neck over her robe, Mother went into the kitchen to prepare Christmas breakfast.

“Let’s go do the chores, son,” said Father.

“Just a minute, Dad.” Don pulled the last wrapped package from under the tree, donned his coat ad went outside. Father followed him out the door.

Bucky came to meet Don near his stump feed bunk. The boy carefully unwrapped the package and placed the braided band with its bells jingling brightly around his pet’s neck. The antelope licked the boys’ face and shook his head. He did a little bounce step around Don, shaking his head from side-to-side. Then stopped quickly. The bells stopped jingling. Bucky stood still as if puzzled, then did his little dance again as the bells jingled around his neck. He repeated this several more times. Then he ran to the yard gate and back, shaking his head obnoxiously from side-to-side. Father and son walked toward the barn. Bucky followed, his bells making a clear jingling sound in the crisp morning air.

“That’s quite a present you made, Son. I wonder what the Warden will think of it?” remarked Father. He called the cows and prepared to do the milking. Don gave all the animals an extra portion of oats as their special Christmas treat.

“Do you think I should take the bells off Bucky’s collar, Dad?”

“You can leave them on for a little while I guess,” said Dad.

September 1958: class is in session

Every Monday morning, with his trusty 22 pistol on the seat beside him, Lad drove from Merriman to Chadron for his classes. He returned on Friday afternoons and took his turn working at the gas station. Hunting and fast cars filled his off time, no time for girls. When fall turned to winter, he added basketball games and seeing how many times he could get his jeep stuck and unstuck in snowbanks. Still no time for girls. Lad did spend some time at Everette and Lola Leeper’s house since Lad mentored their son Wendell in basketball. Lad and Wendell were together whenever Lad was off work and Wendell wasn’t at basketball practice at the high school.

During this time, Joan got busier and busier with thirty primary students in Kindergarten through Second grade. She lived with the Leeper’s and since she didn’t have a car, Lola would drop her off in the morning when she dropped off Wendell at school. In the afternoon, Joan walked to the shop/garage where Lola worked. They would share their days and plan dinner. Joan then walked on to the house and started dinner.

The school building housed Kindergarten through 12^th grade and the primary classroom was behind the stage and gymnasium so there were many opportunities for Joan to observe the comings and goings of high school students. In the school cafeteria as well, she began to notice the girls coming to school with safety pins instead of buttons, uncoordinated outfits and uncombed hair. At a staff meeting one day she commented that “somebody ought to teach those girls how they should dress for school”. To which Superintendent John Mandeville said, “You should start a girl’s club”.  So with that challenge and the help of a couple of seniors, Joan started a Girl’s club. Now after school and Saturdays were filled with hair styling & grooming parties, simple clothing repair, and even some practice in “modeling” (walking, sitting & standing). After all, these were the fifties with firm rules of etiquette!

The girls club led to a pep club; they needed a sponsor. Now coaching the cheerleaders, helping with uniforms that everyone could afford and attending all the games was added to the mix.

Somehow in the middle of all these things, Joan decided her primary class needed a rhythm band. So she requisitioned the instruments and persuaded Lottie Wickman to make little hats and capes for thirty kids. With some practice they were soon able to perform for others.

Meanwhile this primary teacher was the only single woman living in Merriman. So the matchmakers went to work. There were two young ranchers (probably in their late twenties or thirties), who asked her out. She went but found neither of them very interesting. She was watching Lad come and go at the Leeper’s and felt her pride being hurt because he didn’t seem to notice she was there.

At Christmas time, Joan went home to Mitchell. Having saved enough money to make a down payment on a car, she and Dad went shopping and found a green ’52 Chevy that she could afford to make payments. Now she had wheels and an idea. She bought more gas than she needed on the weekends when Lad was working.  But he simply filled her tank, checked the oil and radiator, washed the windshield and collected her money. Then she got the idea to stop in and say, “My car is making a funny noise, will you drive it and see if you can tell me what is wrong?” He did, but just shook his head and said, “I don’t hear anything,” and went back to the station. This went on for the next month or so.  He just didn’t have time for girls.

The hay wagon afforded Bucky some new entertainment to ‘while away’ the long hours of school. He began following the wagon as Father loaded it with hay and feed for the cattle. He joyfully kicked up his heels and ran in circles in his own bouncing way around the team of horses and wagon as it lumbered across the prairie to the feed boxes, the water tanks and the salt licks for the cattle. Every day hay and “cake”, a compressed feed mixture, would be taken to the cattle. Ice had to be chopped away to allow the cattle to drink from tanks which were filled by the windmill pumping water from far below the earth’s surface with the wind providing the power.

Bucky loved this time. His snoopy nose examined and snatched from the feed boxes. He took a lick of the salt with his pink tongue and stood so close to the water tank Father feared he would accidentally hit him with the ax used to chop away the ice. As soon as a hole appeared, Bucky hurried to beat all the cattle to the first drink of icy water underneath. Having sampled all the wares, he started a game of tag with the calves or young heifers. Father laughed as he watched the playful youngster.

“Now he thinks he’s a cow.” But as soon as the wagon took off to the next stopping place, Bucky was right behind it and then racing his bouncy circles around the wagon and team. Occasionally, he’d get a bit too close to one of the big draft horses and he would receive a warning kick. He always seemed to get away just in time.

Bucky made many friends during these romps with Father across the prairie. He met rabbits and ground squirrels with open friendliness. They stopped and communicated with him like friends. Often now he stopped and sniffed the air – standing very still, he ears pointing skyward and nose straight forward and tail straight up. Father knew there were antelope near. Occasionally he would see them far off in the distance. He knew Bucky had seen them too. For a moment, the little antelope stood still and uncertain., then quickly he’d be off to chase a calf or make another run around the hay wagon.

“I need to get the family out here so the children can see this,” thought Father. “If they watch this, they will understand why he leaves one day.”

That evening at supper, Father told the family about seeing the antelope and Bucky’s reaction.

“He won’t run away will he Daddy?” asked Sandie, near tears at the very thought.

“He’s a wild animal, you must remember that,” said Father gently.

After the children were in bed that evening, Mother and Father discussed ways to show the children that their beloved pet would one day soon make a decision between life with the family who had saved him from death or his own kind.

“I’ll start taking the kids to school on the hay wagon tomorrow. It would probably be good if you and the two little ones saw him too. Do you think Loreen can handle half a day on the hay wagon?”

“I think she’ll love it if I dress her warmly.”

The ride to school on the hay wagon was a joyful affair. The children didn’t seem to notice the cold at all. They laughed and giggled at Bucky’s antics along the road. He knew he was the center of attention so he was being especially frisky. He ran along beside the hay rack. Suddenly his neck jerked forward and an unsuspecting child would lose a mitten. Don jumped off the wagon in pursuit of the bouncy antelope with a red mitten dangling from his mouth. He didn’t run away so fast that Don had no hope of retrieving the mitten. With a quick motion, the boy grabbed the mitten and ran back to the wagon. His reward was a handful of hay tossed on his head by an equally mischievous sister. Now a hay fight became the order of the hour. Father put a stop to the flying hay and pointed at Bucky while putting his other finger to his lips.

Bucky was standing still in the trail ahead of them, his ears cocked forward and nose and tail high. He seemed to quiver all over. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Don understood there were antelope grazing just ahead, barely visible to man. Bucky knew they were there and so did Don. In his heart he prayed, “Not now, I don’t want to give him up yet.”

Bucky stood motionless for perhaps a minute, then came bounding back to the wagon and all around it. This time, an unsuspecting little girl felt a playful nip from Bucky’s teeth on her leg before he went bouncing away again.

When the family arrived at school, Joan and Don were quickly off the wagon and shaking hay loose from their clothes before father could get it turned around.

A new problem at this point. Bucky decided to stay at school with the older children. No amount of calling from Sandie and her parents could change his mind. Finally, Don ran back to the wagon with Bucky right beside him. Father grabbed the little antelope and lifted him up on the wagon. Mother and the little girls held him there until they were well out of sight of the school.

After they turned him loose, he continued his usual antics around the feed boxes and visiting with his friends the rabbits. Every once in a while he returned to the wagon to see if his audience was still there. Whenever he came close, Loreen clapped hands and reached for him. He licked her mittened hand and bounced off again. Twice during the morning, he sensed other antelope nearby but only stopped momentarily before running back to the wagon.

After lunch, two little girls took very long naps. The excitement of the morning had made them very tired. Loreen fell asleep before Mother finished reading their usual after lunch story and was still asleep when Father returned with Joan and Don later that afternoon.

Don told his Mother, “Bucky saw some more antelope on the way home today.” Joan was quiet all evening. She ran to the porch several times to see if her friend was still there. Bucky rested peacefully beside his stump.

LAD:

Life in the Sand Hills took a turn at about age fourteen. His parents sold the ranch for a good price and made a 100 year lease deal with the State of Nebraska to buy a house and four cabins on Merriman Lake. Though he still worked in the summer hay fields, he went from the adventures with his brothers on the ranch to the ideal place to fish and swim, hunt rabbits and other wild game across the hills.

His brothers went off to the Army and he built himself a car from parts of two others. It was a most unusual car that no one but him could drive and he always won any race.

High school was easy – take the principal with you on a morning hunt and you wouldn’t get called tardy if you got back to class late. Six man football, lots of basketball and track was also on the agenda. The entire town was always there to cheer the team on. He played half a football game with a broken collarbone and didn’t realize it until the next morning. After all there were only six guys on the team. But basketball was his love and they had a very good team.

With only twelve students in his class, he easily became the senior class salutatorian and won a four-year scholarship to Chadron State Teachers College where he decided to major in mathematics. It was the last week-end at home for his sophomore year there that started the change of everything for him. That Sunday, he went to an antenna raising at Everett Leeper”s house.

JOAN:

At age fourteen, her Dad took her across Wyoming from Guernsey, to the foot of the Ramshorn Mountains west of Dubois to work for Grace Cross on the Cross Ranch for the summer. She spent the first morning ironing stiffly starched western shirts, dozens of them,

All inspected by Grace; none passed and were wadded up again and dropped back in the basket. Sorry Joan, too late to quit, Dad left this morning.

She learned to keep the sourdough starter going for the breakfast pancakes for the twelve man hay crew. Don saved the day by showing her what needed to be done the night before. Grace assumed every Wyoming Ranch girl knew how to keep the starter going and didn’t give instructions.

Another day Grace went to town leaving her to watch the boys (Abby and Jock) and fix supper for the crew. She said, “Here’s a chicken, make your mom’s chicken and noodles.” Wow! What to do? Mom’s clear across Wyoming and no phone. “Well, I’ve watched her and she let me roll out the dough, so I guess I can fake it.” Humm a dozen eggs, flour, water and salt, looks about right. The boys helped roll out the dough to dry while the chicken was boiling.

The noodles were a little tough but the crew was hungry, nobody complained except Grace who said, “These are not a good as your Mom’s”

At the end of the summer she had learned to dance in Dubois on Saturday nights, but only with partners chosen by Don and his friends. So with money she earned she had a bus ticket and a couple of new outfits (chosen by Grace) that were totally inappropriate for the new high school. Yes, it really happened. While she was gone, her parents moved to Mitchell, Nebraska.

So she began her junior year in a new school with several challenges ahead. She knew no one, and all her new classmates were two years older than she. But she found her niche; No one looked at her record and said “You shouldn’t take advanced algebra, and chemistry, really?” Her new best friend would be the class valedictorian. She became part of the “studious group” and made them laugh. Their study group got her through chemistry and she made a deal with her second best friend (a cheerleader) to exchange knowledge of history for help with algebra. The history teacher and the English teacher helped her to see her own love for learning and the gift of encouraging others. Those two years set in motion the plan her mother had set in motion for her many years earlier. There really was a possibility for a country girl to become a teacher.

When she graduated from Mitchell High, Don sold a horse and gave her the money to go to summer school at Scottsbluff Junior College and get a teaching job in a country school outside of Kimball, Nebraska. She was sixteen years old when she was greeted by the mothers of kindergarten through third grade students, with shot records and birth certificates with absolutely no idea what to do next.