Will knew he couldn’t continue to burden his family. But he had no idea how he could earn a living? He would earn a little money helping Frank with his harvest, but that wouldn’t last long. Then the letter arrived.
Dear Aunt Mary and Uncle Will,
I sure wish I could find a way to earn additional money. As you know, Mother’s worried sick about her nephew in Hungary. He’s gotten in serious difficulties with the Communist authorities, and if caught, he’ll probably end up in prison, or worse. He’s in hiding, but for enough money, there are people who will get him out. And to make matters worse, his family is suspect and under surveillance, too. They’ve lost their jobs and are almost destitute. It’s the Communist way, you know.
Aunt Marguerite begs Mother to help, and she’d like to, but Father’s money is about dried up, so there’s not much left to help family. Mother let two wranglers go last month.
The oil business is booming down here in West Texas. New workers stream in every day. The merchants get rich the fastest. There must be some way that I can get my hands on the money that’s all around. But I can’t think of any, except maybe rob a bank—but Aunt Mary wouldn’t condone that. You’re a smart man, Uncle Will. Think of some way to help your favorite niece. I’ve still got some inheritance money left and Mother’s got enough money to get by for now. The crops haven’t been good, so she’s mighty worried about next year. And there’s Aunt Marguerite.
Tell the girls—
Will didn’t continue reading. His thoughts spun as he pushed the letter back to Mary. An idea had been percolating in the back of his mind for some time. He remembered how Gusta loved Wisconsin cheese, and he thought that others might enjoy it as much—and with West Texas flooded with workers and money—maybe that was the answer. He rushed to the telephone. “Mary, what’s Gusta’s telephone number?”
A few moments later Will heard, “Hello.”
“Is that you, Gusta? I do have an idea for making money. See what you think. I remember how you liked our Wisconsin cheese, especially the Swiss. I remember you saying how it was almost worth staying in the North a mite longer just to eat that cheese. If I could get it down there, do you think you could sell it to those oil field workers?”
Mary smiled as he hung up the phone.
“You heard me,” Will said. “Gusta’s enthused and wants to ask around to see what interest is out there. She’ll get back to me next week.”
At first, Will was excited when he considered the possibilities, how he could travel Iowa County and visit the many cheesemakers to get their best prices. The thought of spending time with Fanny Too brought a smile to his face. Then he began to have doubts. He thought about Grandpa’s admonition. Could he ever succeed in a business? When Gusta didn’t call back the next week, Will began to lose hope and decided that his failure in another business would be more than Mary could take.
His hopes surged once more two weeks later when Mary called him to the telephone and said it was Gusta. He could hear the excitement in Gusta’s voice.
“Uncle Will, you’re a genius. I’ve got merchants within a hundred miles eager to take any cheese I can get down here. I’ll need a buyer up there, someone who knows good cheese. Someone to pick it and ship it. And you’re the man for it, Uncle Will. With your co-op experience, you must have lots of contacts. It could be quite profitable.”
His niece’s enthusiasm was uplifting, but he was hesitant. “Are you certain there’s an interest?”
“There sure is. I’ve even inquired about buying a refrigerated truck for hauling cheese to the stores, and as soon as you give the word, I’ll place the order. If the business blossoms, I’ll keep the ranch and get Mother’s family out of Hungary, too. Tell me when you’re ready to go, won’t you, Uncle Will?”
“I’ll have to talk with some cheesemakers to see where I can get the best price. I’ll do some road time, and then I’ll get back to you.”
This was moving faster than he’d expected. Was he ready? Would his family agree to a new venture?
Will put the phone down and told Mary about Gusta’s enthusiasm for his idea.
“So Gusta wants to go into a business?” Mary said. “She’s got spunk. I think she can do it.”
Will, too, thought Gusta could do it, but what about him?
Will got up from the kitchen table and paced the room. “Maybe I’m too old.” He walked to the parlor, to his big horsehair, and sat down. He couldn’t make it in town. He couldn’t make it farming. Could he make this go? “I thought it was a good idea, but—what do you think, Mary? Are we up for something new?”
“You know cheese as well as anyone, but—” She went back to her sink.
* * *
Then Gusta called again.
“I want to get started, Uncle Will. I’ll need some cheese for this weekend. We’ve got a rodeo and a dance, too. I promised to give out samples to introduce Texans to Wisconsin cheese. I’ll pay for you to fly it down. There’s not enough time to ship by mail. I want too much cheese for that, anyway. And there’s another reason that I want cheese now, but I’ll tell you about that when you get down here. And, Uncle Will, can you bring a cheesemaker’s outfit? One that’ll fit you.”
“Fly it down? I’ve never been in a plane. I don’t know how I’d do it.”
But Gusta was adamant about him coming, and she needed the cheese now. Will said, “Let me talk to Mary about it.”
Will pulled Mary and Catherine into the parlor to tell them about Gusta’s plan. “She wants me to fly cheese samples down next weekend.” He knew that Jonathon Hays had a flyer friend. He turned to Catherine. “You don’t suppose Jonathon’s friend would fly it down for me, do you? Gusta said she’d pay.”
“Brayton Edwards? He does fly for hire.”
“I’ll find the cheese if he’ll fly it,” Will said.
“You’ve decided to help Gusta?” He could hear fear in Mary’s voice. “You’re going back into business?”
“I’ll help with the samples, but I haven’t decided. Catherine, will you ask Jonathon about Brayton?”
The next day, Catherine returned with the news. “Dad, Brayton agrees to fly your cheese. He said that he needs to go to Corpus Christi anyway, but he has to be back after three days.” She poked at her dad’s ribs and laughed. “And Jonathon says that if you’ll do it, he’ll go along to keep you on the straight and narrow. He says that he’s always wanted to take a trip with Brayton.”