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Books About Life on a Farm Written Especially for People Who Like to Read! "Highly recommended reading." The Midwest Book Review Reviews & Readers' Comments |
LeAnn R. Ralph Rural Route 2 Author E6689 970th Ave. Colfax, WI 54730 (715) 308-6336 |
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by LeAnn R. Ralph A Story about Life in the Country! As a child, I always thought of it as The Treasure Box. My mother kept souvenirs in the box, a miniature version of the large cedar chests used to store quilts and blankets. My mother's cedar chest is about three feet long by about a foot and a half wide. In the cedar chest, my mother kept what I thought were the most amazing things. Birth certificates. Pictures of her parents. Booklets she made when attended school at Norton. A tiny plastic hospital bracelet that reads "Girl Ralph." ("Girl Ralph refers to yours truly. I was the only one of my mother's four children born in a hospital - the others were born at home.) My mother received the cedar chest as a gift from her Uncle John when she was 10 years old. Although Uncle John only had one arm, he was fine carpenter, and he made the chest himself. Inside the cover the initials N.I.H. and 1926 are painted in black letters about an inch high. (My mother's maiden name was Norma Irene Halvorson.) Whenever I asked Mom about Uncle John, she always responded with warmth and fondness in her voice. Even though Uncle John lost his arm in accident, Mom would tell me, that never seemed to dim his spirits. And, like her parents and other aunts and uncles, he, too, was an immigrant from Norway. My mother always mentioned how much Uncle John loved to sing, especially when he was driving his team along the river road on his way to town. "People always knew it was Uncle John long before they saw him,"Mom said,"because he was always singing - usually a hymn, and usually at the top of his voice." In addition to the cedar chest, I remember another small wooden box Uncle John created. My sister keeps it on her dresser. The top and bottom of the small box are two books, lying on their sides. The portion between the two books is another set of books lined up, as if on a shelf. The interior of the box is covered with red velvet. My mother noted Uncle John had crafted many wooden items, but we only have the cedar chest and the small box. She remembered a clock he had built out of red and white cedar strips, too. But she didn't know whatever happened to the clock. After both of my parents had died, my brother, sister and I decided that I should keep the cedar chest. I took it home with me to the southern part of the state, and then I brought it back here when I moved. One time I wanted to see if the lock on the cedar chest still worked. I inserted the key, turned it, and presto - the cedar chest was locked. I turned the key back to unlock it - and it wouldn't budge. I jiggled the key. I exerted greater pressure. I banged on the lock. I even tried feeling panicked. Nothing worked. I finally called a locksmith and he suggested spraying the lock with WD-40. I sprayed the lock and waited a few minutes. The lock still wouldn't budge. Every now and again over the next several months, I sprayed the lock and tried the key. I really didn't want to haul the cedar chest to a locksmith, so I kept trying to unlock it myself. To my surprise, one day when I tried the lock, it opened. Just like that. I haven't tried locking the cedar chest since. Perhaps some things are just not meant to be locked. |
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