We were all up early Monday morning with chores to do. It was barely day light when Pledge left for his newspaper route. Mac and Terry brought in arm loads of wood. Our uncle made coffee for himself and Mama. Mama made hot tea for us children to drink with our oatmeal. Margaret made the beds and checked to see if everyone had his homework to take to school.

"I lost a button," cried Mac, putting on his blue chambray shirt.

"Minnie look in the button box and sew a button on Mac’s shirt.

"I need a comb," yelled Terry from his room.

"All right, boy," returned Margaret, "Soon as I finish combing my hair."

I didn’t wait for the black comb. I slipped into Mama’s room and used her hair brush.

Mama made our lunches, putting a biscuit and apple in each brown paper sack. The school teachers made hot cocoa for everyone to drink with their lunches.

"Today I will fix a room for myself in the attic," declared the great uncle. "It will do just fine when I get it arranged. First I’m going to find a lumber yard where I can get wood to build a ladder stairway into the attic. Then I’ll build a wood bed and buy a feather mattress to lay on it. I noticed that there’s a window under the front gable so I’ll get plenty of light in the day time. At night I can read my bible by the lantern light or maybe the almanac or anything else I choose to read."

"Mama, look how short my pencil is," complained Terry. It hurts my fingers to write.

"Look at my pencil," joined Marcella.

"Oh dear," sighed Mama. "I haven’t any change to buy new ones today."

The old man put his right hand in his pocket, took out a brown coin purse and gave each of us a penny to buy a brown lead pencil.

We ran out the door and were on our way to Mr. Ben’s store. There were three other stores in Gabletown. A Grocery, a Dry Goods Store and Feed Store but Mr. Ben’s store was nearer to where we lived and Papa and Mama had always purchased supplies for our family there.

Margaret, Marcella, my two brothers and I all went into the store together.

"How are the Huddles today?" asked the store keeper.

"Fine," we replied. That’s what we always said when he asked that question but there were times when we were not happy.

"I hear your uncle came to visit," the man said.

"He is going to live with us," returned Marcella.

"It’s probably well that he is," said Mr. Ben. "Your Mama can use a man’s help."

"He is going to live in our attic", informed Mac.

"Is that so?" said the store keeper. "By the way what can I do for you, young ones?’

"We need pencils," I said. We all laid our pennies on the counter.

Mr. Ben took the pennies and handed each one of us a pencil and a peppermint.

"Thank you!" was our response. He was such a nice man.

We hurried out the door of the store. We were on our way to school with the cloth book bags that Mama had made hanging from our shoulders and the lunch sacks held lightly in our hands.

The wind was getting stronger and colder. We pulled our stocking caps over our ears. Margaret had a scarf tied around her head.

There were children playing in the school yard when we got there. Waiting for the bell to ring, we set our books and lunches on the ground and joined the other children.

Nellie and Violet were jumping rope. Margaret and I took the rope ends to turn while they jumped together inside the turning rope. What a lot of fun we were having jumping and repeating jump verses.

"Nellie and Violet dressed in brown,

Rode white horses into town,

Saw their boyfriends at the store,

Threw them kisses by the score.

How many kisses did they throw?

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 and on to 24.

Suddenly Nellie screamed loudly and fell to the ground.

"Minnie, run get Mrs. Hayes," said Margaret. "Something awful has happened to Nellie."

I ran as fast as a deer, my heart pounding furiously.

"Come quick, Mrs. Hayes," I hollered before I got through the door of the classroom. "Something happened to Nellie."

"Good Heavens!" she said, following me outside.

We found Nellie groaning.

"She doesn’t live far from here," said the teacher. "Do you think that you girls can get her to her house."

"Yes," answered Margaret. "I’m strong. She can lean on me."

Margaret, Violet and I managed to get Nellie to her house. Margaret had to hold her up most of the way; she even carried her a short distance just before we reached the house.

Nellie’s mother saw us coming. "Oh God!" she cried out loudly. "What’s wrong with my child?"

Carefully the woman laid her daughter, Nellie, on the bed.

"Minnie, please run and get the doctor and tell him to hurry", she said. "I know it is something bad wrong with my girl."

In hardly any time the doctor was there by Nellie’s bed.

"Children, please wait outside," he said.

We should have hurried back to school but we lingered to find out what was wrong with our friend.

In a few minutes the doctor came onto the porch and spoke to us, "You youngsters must leave now and not come into this house anymore because Nellie has spinal meningitis. It is a serious disease."

"Is she going to die?" asked Margaret.

"I don’t know," replied the doctor. "I’ll do what I can for her."

"Now, hurry to school, tell the teacher what I have said. "When you get home, tell your parents, also. This is a contagious illness."

With a heavy heart, we went back to the school house. We knew that Nellie might not live and also, that we had been exposed to her disease.

The day seemed so very long and I wanted school to be out so I could rush home and tell Mama what had happened. I was so scared for Nellie and I was afraid that I might get the spinal meningitis or maybe Margaret would get sick.

At noon Margaret, Violet and I went to the girl’s washroom and washed our hands with a lot of soap lather, hoping to rid ourselves of any germs we might have picked up.

In the afternoon when we returned home from school we heard the loud pounding of a hammer. It was our uncle, building his ladder stairway that went right up through the opening in the attic floor.

"Are you sleeping up there tonight," I asked him.

"I think it will be tomorrow night before I have the room fixed up," the old man said.

"Oh, I got to tell Mamma about Nellie, I said.

"What about Nellie?" asked my uncle, "Not that I know her."

"Nellie got sick today, just fell on the ground when we were jumping rope," I replied. "Margaret and I had to help her get home, but it was mostly Margaret that helped. She learned on Margaret until Margaret had to carry her."

After telling the bad news to Uncle Cyrus, I ran downstairs to tell Mama about Nellie and what the doctor had said but Margaret had already told her. Mama was sorry that my friend was so sick and hoped she would soon be well.

Mrs. Pearl came in and Mama stopped sewing and sat for a spell with her neighbor. They each had a cup of tea. When Mrs. Pearl heard about Nellie she said, "How terrible!" Then she informed Mama that spinal meningitis was a contagious disease. She had heard of epidemics causing the deaths of many people in a community.

"I sure hope no one else takes that sickness," said Mama. "Margaret and Minnie helped the child get to her house."

"Oh, no!" said the neighbor at this alarming news. "You don’t need sick children. You have your hands full."

"I don’t believe my girls will catch the illness," said our mother. "I’m going to trust God about that. He will take care of Margaret and Minnie."

It was a real relief to hear Mama say that because Mrs. Pearl frightened me talking about people dying. I did not want to die. I was only eleven years old. I hoped Nellie would be well soon. I liked her very much and even if I did not like her I wouldn’t want her to die.

"You children get around the dining table and do your homework," Mama said as soon as Mrs. Pearl left. "When you girls finish that I want you to set the table and fill the glasses with water. We are having fried squirrel and beans for supper. When the beans are done I will make biscuits.

"Mama, where did you get squirrel meat?" asked Terry.

Someone gave the meat to Uncle Cyrus and he cleaned it and cut it up for me to cook," was her reply.

I could see that we would always have food to eat with Uncle Cyrus living in our house. It was a good feeling.

"Mama, I was late getting to first class today," Pledge said. The Gatty boys would not let me go by their house."

"I pray that you won’t see those lads tomorrow" she said.

Uncle Cyrus came down the stairs just as we finished the homework.

"It is going to be nice," said he. "I’ll have a room of my own without any bossy daughter-in-law telling me what to do. And I’ll enjoy this great family – my own kinsfolk."

"We do have problems sometimes," said Mama. "But you are right, these six young one do fine."

It wasn’t long before the supper was done and we all ate well. Margaret and I cleaned the kitchen and she emptied the dish water outside away from the steps.

The best time of day was when we all sat around the open fire, talking about so many things.

Uncle Cyrus played on his jew’s-harp, the little musical instrument he held between his teeth and plucked the bent part of it. There was a twanging sound but we children loved it. Sometime he let us try to play on it.

Our uncle could do lots of things and he knew many songs. When he sang, "tramp, tramp, the boys are marching," we all stomped our feet. He teased us, saying, you youngin’s will stomp holes in your shoes. He was so much fun.

"Uncle Cyrus," I said. "I really do have a hole in my shoe."

"I’ll put cardboard in it tomorrow," he said looking at the bottom of my shoe, "And when you come home in the evening, bring me the shoe. There’s an old inner tube under the seat in my car and I have adhesive. We’ll make your shoe last a while longer. It’s too cold for bare feet to be on the ground."

"Mama, can we have something to eat?" Pledge asked.

"Yes, dear," announced Mama as she got up to go into the kitchen to make everyone a cup of tea.

Soon she was back with the tea and sugar biscuit sandwiches.

Uncle Cyrus did not like sugar on his biscuits. "Too sweet," he said.

The old man told the children how long ago his mother had cooked bread in a black iron skillet set in the fire place.

Eight of us were now living in the gray house. We were fairly comfortable even though times were hard. We never knew what it was to have luxuries like nice things and fancy clothes so we did not know what we were missing except for Papa being gone. We surely missed him but expected that one day soon he would show up and we would hear him whistling as he came near the house and we would run to him and fling our arms about his neck.

When we got back to school next day there was no good news about our friend. The doctor said that it would be a miracle if Nellie lived through the day. And others were taken ill with the same dreadful disease. An old man and woman became sick and died. A little boy in Mac’s class had to be carried home.

At recess time boys and girls talked about death and its dark shadows hanging over our town, but it was Mama’s words to Mrs. Peal that made me believe our family would be fine. I took comfort in what our mother said because she was most always right about everything.

At noon one of the sixth grade boys came back from Mr. Ben’s store, saying that he heard Nellie Webster died. That news was like a mountain falling on me. How could my dear close friend be gone? We had played together at school since first grade and we both had attended the same church. No! She is not dead I thought but deep inside I knew she was already in Heaven. Margaret had faced death before but now this cold awful strange thing was hitting me. I was sad!

Margaret and I hugged each other and cried and cried.

I could not do my lessons the rest of the day. I just sobbed softly and Mrs. Hayes did not scold me. She understood.

The next few days were days of crisis and much concern to everyone. More people became victims of spinal meningitis but on the third day Kipp Smith, a boy in first grade began his recovery. His parents were overjoyed and the rest of the people were relieved.

In all, seventeen people in the community contracted the disease. Twelve recovered but five slipped out of this world into eternity.

When school was out we told Mama our said news about Nellie. She took us in her arms and we knew she really cared.

Before nightfall a man knocked on our front door. I opened the door there stood Mr. Webster. I felt so sorry for him but I didn’t know what to say. He walked past. "I want to talk to Mrs. Huddle," the grief stricken man said.

"I’m so sorry about your Nellie," Mama said softly.

"Thank you," said he. "We are much grieved. I don’t know if the sadness will ever go away. The only comfort is knowing that she did not suffer long and that she is now in the arms of Jesus. Mrs. Huddle, she really loved the Lord."

"Can I help with anything?" asked Mama.

"I want to know if it is all right for your Margaret and Minnie to be flower girls at the funeral tomorrow at 2 o’clock. Nellie would want them there. Violet is also going to be a flower girl."

"It’s fine with me," replied our mother, "If the girls are willing to be flower girls."

How could Margaret or I say no to this man in his sorrow and besides it was our duty to be near Nellie’s body.

With tears, Margaret and I promised to be flower girls at the funeral. We were extremely sad.

Next day the school was let out at noon because of Nellie’s death.

At one o’clock the town’s three church bells range. They rang and rang, stopping and starting again at intervals for almost an hour.

Friends and acquaintances came from the hills and the hollows all around to say farewell to our Nellie. Uncle Cyrus drove us to the church in his car.

As we entered the sanctuary we could see the white casket near the altar rail. The coffin was never opened for viewing because of the dread disease but when Mr. Diction, the undertaker, asked Margaret and I to take our place in the front pew we saw the words, LITTLE DARLING engraved on the white casket. A wreath of crepe paper flowers with a lavender bow of ribbon was placed on the floor in front of the casket. All around inside the church – in windows and on stands were vases of crepe paper flowers. A large spray of real red roses from Mountsville lay on top of the coffin.

People who didn’t get in the church mingled in the church yard. There were folks who came that did not know Nellie. Some folks just wanted to go to a funeral.

The service began with a prayer by Brother Beamer, committing Nellie to the Celestial City. Then the congregation sang, "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, I’ll be There."

The preacher read from the bible about the mansions in Heaven. Mrs. Snootkin sang, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" The preacher spoke only a few minutes, telling the people that perhaps God looked ahead to the future and knew it was best for Nellie to go the Heaven. There she is healthy and happy with Jesus and the angels.

The last song that we sang was "In the sweet bye and bye, we shall meet on the beautiful shore."

The funeral was over. Mr. Diction gave Violet, Margaret and me all the flowers we could carry. We walked ahead of the men bearing our friend in the beautiful white coffin.

When we were outside of the church, it was decided that Uncle Cyrus would drive the flower girls to the cemetery. The hearse went first, then a car holding family members. Uncle Cyrus followed. After our car was a car carrying the paul bearers. The hearse moved slowly, allowing a crowd of people to keep up. There was a long train of folks following the procession but some did not go to the graveyard. My brothers went home. Mama and Marcella walked home with Mrs. Pearl.

At the open grave the preacher read another scripture. Then the casket was lowered into a deep hole.

I said, "Goodbye Nellie", and threw flowers near the grave. Margaret and I placed some of the flowers near the grave.

Everyone sang, ‘God be with you till we meet again." It was over, but not really.