by Mary Wingfield Bell
Chapter Eleven -
After the Thanksgiving holiday, the LITTLE CHURCH gang heard
that there would be a Christmas parade.
"Please, Mr. Winterfresh, could we all be in the parade and
sing our children's army song?" Little Cube asked one day.
"Well, I should think so," the old man answered.
"We would need some kind of costumes for a parade," reminded
Daisy.
"Aunt Gracie, will you help us with that?" Isabel asked.
"I think I could make some robes if we can get a merchant to
donate cloth," Wink's aunt suggested. "I'll see what can be
done."
"We can carry our flags," Marcia said excitedly.
"We must learn to march correctly for the parade," the
children's leader said. "Hundreds of people will be watching."
"We will work hard," promised Daisy. "You will be proud of
us."
"I'm sure you will do fine," said Mr. Winterfresh. "Jesus will
be watching. March for Him!"
That day and the next Sunday the children practiced marching
for the parade. They learned to march with equal distance between
their lines. Three new children joined them as they marched and
sang their song - "We're the Children's Army." Heather, Ken and
Alberto thought the marching was fun and they were joining the
gang.
Rainbow made a big beautiful sign: JESUS IS OUR KING. She
would carry this and lead the LITTLE CHURCH gang in the parade.
The other boys and girls were going to carry American flags and
wave them.
Wink's aunt was not successful in getting a merchant to donate
cloth for robes. But she and her lady friends bought white sheets
at a discount store and made beautiful capes for all the children.
The capes were trimmed in red and blue. There were big blue bows
at the neck for the boys and red bows at the neck for the
girls.
When the day of the Christmas parade arrived, the LITTLE
CHURCH gang was ready. Aunt Gracie took them to the starting point
and left them in the care of a city councilman. Then she went to
get Mr. Winterfresh and the two waited with crowds of people for
the parade to begin.
A band began to play. The parade had started. It was a
beautiful parade with floats on trucks. The schools, churches and
businesses had gaily decorated floats. There were clowns and
people dressed as toy animals. There were giant balloons. There
was a Santa Claus and a manger scene.
Mr. Winterfresh and Aunt Gracie watched, eagerly waiting for
their little band of youngsters to show.
Finally, the children appeared looking grand in their white
capes and big bright bows, proudly waving the American flags.
Rainbow marched ahead with great pride, holding high the banner -
JESUS IS OUR KING.
The announcer called over a loudspeaker, "Following the East
School Rhythm Band we have the LITTLE CHURCH GANG, known for their
great help to the Alstone Flood victims." Many people cheered and
clapped their hands, but one guy called out, "Brats! Who do you
think you are?"
"Now!" Rainbow said. The children sang loudly with joy:
We're the children's army
Marching for the Lord.
We're the children's army
Trusting in His Word.
We're the children's army;
We will shout and sing.
We're the children's army,
Jesus is our King.
We're the children's army
Marching through the land,
We're the children's army
And we think it's grand.
We're the children's army,
We will shout and sing,
We're the children's army,
Jesus is our King.
There was rousing applause as the boys and girls marched and
sang their song all the way along the parade route.
When the parade had ended and Mr. Winterfresh and Aunt Gracie
had joined the gang, the two received lots of hugs.
Everyone had the Christmas spirit and this year the holiday
had real meaning for the boys and girls of the LITTLE CHURCH. It
wasn't just a special day for getting gifts. They had learned how
to know Jesus who had been born in Bethlehem so long ago.
The LITTLE CHURCH GANG had a Christmas party in the afternoon
before Christmas Eve at Wink's house. Daisy and Jeff helped Wink
decorate the house with balloons and crepe paper. Rainbow and Big
Squirt made dozens of cookies. Wink's aunt bought gallons of ice
cream. Mr. Winterfresh gave every boy and girl a bookmark and a
one dollar bill. The bookmarks were for their Bibles.
The house was filled with youngsters. There was hardly room to
move around. Because of so many kids, the games had to be sit-down
games. They played "I Fly My Kite," "Who's Got The Eraser?" and a
Bible quiz game. After the game the boys and girls sang their
regular songs and Christmas carols. There was so much noise, it
seemed that Wink's house could explode.
Marcia and Isabel helped Wink's aunt serve the ice cream and
cookies. Then the children and their noise left Wink's house.
Mr. Winterfresh seemed a little tired when Lena's father came
to take him and Lena home.
"What a gang, Aunt Gracie!" Wink said after the guests were
gone. "We are outgrowing the garage."
"You're right, Wink, I'm sure something will have to be done
about that very soon. But I don't know what. I'll talk to Mr.
Winterfresh and Lena's parents. Perhaps they will have an idea.
There's Mr. Growly. He seems to favor you children these days. My!
How he has changed from an old sourface to a friendly man. Even he
may help in some way."
"I know God will make a way for our Bible Club to meet," said
Wink. "If we broke up and went to the regular churches, I'm afraid
some of the guys would give up and just quit. So Jesus has to find
us a place. He won't let us down."
Wink and his aunt went to sleep that night thinking of the
growth problem of the gang.
A light snow fell on Christmas Eve, blanketing the town with
white for Christmas day. Most of the children of the LITTLE CHURCH
GANG had a good Christmas but Rica and Ken came down with the
chicken pox, which was sure to spoil their fun.
Wink was glad for the winter vacation days. Jeff and Knuckles
spent much of the time with him. They played indoor games, rode
their bicycles and took hikes. Winner always went along.
Sometimes Daisy and Rainbow rode bikes with the boys. The
younger girls played with their dolls.
After New Year's Day, all would be back in school again,
working for good grades. Mr. Winterfresh had told them to study
hard for Jesus.
At midnight on New Year's Eve Wink's aunt received a telephone
call.
"Dear me! Who would be calling at this hour?" she said as she
hurried to the phone.
"Maybe someone wants to wish you a Happy New Year," returned
Wink.
When Aunt Gracie said hello, her face suddenly turned pale. It
was Lena's father calling. He had just returned from walking to
the door with Mr. Winterfresh. After the old gentleman had opened
his front door, he dropped dead just inside the door.
"How dreadful!" Aunt Gracie said. "But I think he expected to
go soon. He just left this world as the old year went out."
Wink was deeply upset to hear such news. "No, Aunt Gracie. He
couldn't leave without telling us all goodbye. We love him. No! He
must not be dead yet. We ought to go see for ourselves."
"Dear, he is dead. He has gone to be with his maker," she
tried to comfort him.
"I have to tell the gang, Wink said, crying. "I got to call
them."
"Not tonight!" his aunt advised. "Let all of them sleep and
you can call everyone in the morning."
The night was noisy with firecrackers here and there. Bells
were ringing, but Wink did not feel there was anything to
celebrate. He was so sad as he went into his bedroom. His head
rested on the pillow but he could not sleep for a long time. There
was so much to think about and it was mostly about the dear old
man who had been so good to him and his friends. Why, he or his
friends might have been placed in a correctional home if it had
not been for Mr. Winterfresh telling them about Jesus.
And he remembered the strange dream about Mr. Winterfresh. Mr.
Winterfresh was probably very happy now and had no need to return
to them. Somehow the gang would have to get along without him.
Would they try or quit the Bible club?
In the wee hours of the first day of a new year he fell
asleep. When morning came he rubbed his eyes, hoping he had just
had a bad dream. When he entered the kitchen, his aunt was crying
as she made breakfast. She wiped away her tears and smiled sadly
at Wink. "Want pancakes?" she asked.
"Don't matter! Nothing matters today," he said, depressed.
"Now, look! Would the old fellow want us to be so down?" Aunt
Gracie asked.
"Can't help it," declared Wink. "We need him!"
"Now, you are the one to help the other kids," his aunt
reminded. "Mr. Winterfresh will be counting on you."
After Wink had eaten one pancake, he called Big Squirt, then
Jeff and Little Cube.
Big Squirt called Rainbow.
"No! He can't be gone!" She slammed down the receiver. She
cried and put her coat on to go tell Daisy.
Soon everyone who had been to the Bible club in the garage
knew that their kind old leader was dead.
Most of the children gathered on the driveway at Wink's house.
They had much to talk about and share with each other. They cried.
They laughed, remembering all the good things and good times with
the old man.
Wink's aunt came out to talk to them, "Boys and girls, the
memorial service is at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning at the
Fairlawn Home just two blocks from here."
"I ain't going!" declared Big Squirt, "I just got to know the
guy, then he drops dead." He was really feeling sorry for
himself.
"You don't have to go, Sherman," Wink's aunt said, "but I
think it would look nice if the whole gang was there out of
respect for Mr. Winterfresh."
At 11 o'clock the next morning, the LITTLE CHURCH GANG sat
together in the Fairlawn Home, after viewing the body in the
silver-colored casket.
Rainbow had stroked the hair on the old gentleman's head and
tears had fallen on the clean, crisp, white shirt. "We will see
you someday," she sobbed. "We won't forget you!"
Jeff looked into the coffin and didn't say anything but
silently he recalled the wonderful change in his life since
knowing the old man.
Wink lingered by Mr. Winterfresh's body longer than the
others. He just didn't want to let go of his friend, who had
seemed like his very own grandfather.
The service began with soft organ music. The pastor of a
nearby church spoke to those present - including many children. He
did not talk of death but of the new life Mr. Winterfresh was now
entering. "There is no sorrow, no tears in Heaven. Mr. Winterfresh
is walking on golden streets with his friends and loved ones as he
celebrates his graduation."
His graduation day, Wink remembered, and was sure the other
boys and girls remembered. Their old friend had spoken of
graduation day. Wink looked at the others and saw faint smiles on
their faces.
When the service ended, the children walked behind the black
limousine that carried Mr. Winterfresh to the cemetery. It took a
while to cover the mile and a quarter to the grave-site. Instead
of carrying a flag, each child carried a single red rose on a long
stem. When they arrived there, they threw the red roses onto the
silver-colored coffin and said, "Goodbye, Mr. Winterfresh!"
Now it was all over. Mr. Winterfresh was gone. What would
happen to the Bible club? This was in the minds of all the
children.
In the afternoon Rainbow and Daisy came to Wink's house.
"Can we have our meetings here!" Daisy asked his aunt.
"I don't think we have room here," she answered. "But we will
find a place. I'm working on it. I'll talk to Lena's parents and
other grownups."
The telephone rang. Aunt Gracie answered it.
"I'll have to go uptown to see an attorney. I will be back
soon. You children ride bikes or something until I get back," she
said as she hurried away in her car.
In less than an hour she was home again.
"I have news for you, children," she announced. "Good news! We
have a nice place to hold the Bible club meetings, if we can get a
new teacher.
"It's a place on Maple Street. It was used for a private
school but has been closed for three years. Mr. Winterfresh bought
the building and left it to be used by you boys and girls for a
Bible club or church, whichever it turns out to be. I am now one
of the trustees. Now, I must find a good teacher."
"Good old guy!" said Knuckles.
"Yeah, ain't that like him, to leave a place for us in his
will.` Moon said, happy with the news.
"When can we see it?" asked Rainbow.
"Tomorrow," said Wink's aunt.
Next day all the children except Rica and Ken were on Maple
street to inspect the new property.
"Man! It's bigger than the garage," Little Cube said when he
saw the school building with the gray and brown field-stone front
with white trim.
"It's beautiful!" shrilled Marcia and the others agreed.
Wink's aunt turned a door key and the kids scattered, like
mice, throughout the building. There were four classrooms plus an
assembly room. It was a great place for a small church, having
restrooms and a water fountain.
Willie opened a back door and looked out. "Hey! Gang! Come
here and see!"
There was a basketball court and a volleyball net. Mr.
Winterfresh had planned well for them. The sadness of the children
was turning into happiness and excitement.
Wink went into the assembly room and walked up onto the
platform. He was alone there behind the little pulpit stand. Wink
looked up toward the ceiling and spoke, "Mr. Winterfresh, some day
I will preach in this church." And he imagined that the old man
answered, "Yes, that's what Jesus wants you to do."