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FEBRUARY 27
The Assaria town council has decided to keep out the people from Salina and McPherson because of the smallpox epidemic. We will stay close to home for a while too. Many have died in these towns, and I don’t want to take any chances. No one in our neighborhood has gotten sick with it yet.
March 27
Mabel Adelaide (named for Adelaide Robinson) was born today. Having a baby at age 43 wasn’t as easy as it was twenty years ago when Christina was born. Julia was so happy to get a little sister to play with her. She told the other girls that now she is a “big sister” too.
April 8
Emma and Frank were sponsors for Mabel’s baptism today. Julia came up to the baptismal font and watched. She had many questions after the ceremony, asking why Pastor poured water on Mabel’s head.
May 1
The children helped me plant a lilac bush on the northeast corner of the house today. Julia wanted to dig the first shovelful, and she struggled with it until she got some soil out of the hole. I love the color and smell of lilacs. This plant will give me pleasure every spring as its blossoms burst into perfumed lavender clusters. Even though lilacs bloom here in May, it reminds me of the flowers blooming in Sweden around Midsummer’s Day.
May 4
The Assaria Argus reports that 9,000 pounds of milk are arriving daily at the creamery. I didn’t realize it was that big an operation. If we have extra milk, we usually take it to the cheese factory in Bridgeport when we go to get the mail.
May 5
Alma was confirmed at the Assaria Church. She did very well on her catechism studies. She has a knack for learning Bible verses. I was extremely proud of her today.
June 6
Theo Pehrson, who lives northwest of Assaria Church, had an accident with the old McCormick binder he was using. The needle pierced right through his forearm when he was reaching for something. He had to use his pocketknife to cut the flesh to get free. I wonder if he will ever use that arm again. I just hate it when the men have to work around those machines.
July 4
We packed a picnic basket and spent the whole day in Assaria for the Independence Day celebration. There was a parade, then a band concert in Hessler’s Park, plenty of ice cream to eat and so many people to visit with. The evening was topped off with a fireworks display. Someone said the town council spent $200 for the balloons and fireworks.
The big talk in town though was the drought that seems to be taking its toll on everyone’s crops. I think we needed one night of lights and excitement.
July 31
Johan and Eva have decided to sell their land and start over in Minnesota. They have had a hard time this year with the wheat price being so low and they were already deep in debt. Johan had seen advertisements claiming that after a man cleared the land in Minnesota and sold the timber, he had rich soil for farming. The family, including Sven and Katarina, left today on the train for Clarissa, Minnesota.
It was a scant harvest due to the drought. There are several businesses in Assaria that are closing.
August 4
It is so hot in the kitchen during the summer. It seems like we don’t get enough air moving in the room some days. We’ve decided to add a summer kitchen on the west side of the house, just off of the kitchen. When we cook for the harvest crews, it gets unbearably hot, and canning steams up the kitchen all day. We are going to put doors on both the north and south walls of the summer kitchen so the breeze can blow through. It will just be a lean-to on the side of the house, nothing fancy since it won’t be seen from the road, but very practical.
The addition will help keep the cold winds from blowing directly into the kitchen during the winter too. Now there will be a place to store the winter coats and boots while they thaw and drip on the floor. We can build a row of shelves on the west wall for storage. Oh yes, this might be the best room of all!
November 2
Erick died today from pneumonia. He was only 51. Baby Martin is not a month old yet. Magdalena has a hard life ahead of her with three babies so young. I believe her parents will move in to help out with the children and farm chores.
Erick will be buried beside our parents on Sunday. I will miss him so much. I relied on my big brother when Carl died. Now it is my turn to help Magdalena.
December 7
My baby Christina’s 22nd birthday. Swan Nelson has asked her to marry him. They have set next February 24 as their wedding date.
December 31
We didn’t have the money to finish the house this year, but we will get it done eventually. Besides the summer kitchen, we need to rebuild the porches. I want a fancy porch on the east, facing the road, with carved poles and gingerbread trim. We should change the south porch to match the east one and screen it in to keep out the mosquitoes and flies. The north porch will enclose the cistern hole and should be enclosed with screen too.
I want to paint the house a light lemon yellow, with gingerbread trim around the eaves painted in shades of cream, yellow and green. We might not get that done for a year or two, but that is my goal.
Mabel and Julia will never know what our life and farm were like when we first lived here. Whenever I use a bowl or kitchen tool that Carl carved for me, I tell the girls stories about our early days. They can’t imagine living in a dugout alone on the vast prairie. Unfortunately, my parents have passed on without the younger girls getting to know them. They could have told so many stories about the Old Country.
I have been in America for over twenty years, yet I still get a twinge of longing in my heart for Sweden. But my family is around me, and Carl and our lost daughter are buried nearby.
I have come to love my land in America. We worked hard to carve the fields out of the virgin prairie. Now I could not leave this patch of land in the middle of Kansas. This farm will always be home.
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DEAR READER:
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Linda K. Hubalek
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