As I Remember, Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

      I could write for hours, about those days on the farm. But I won’t. There is just a few more things that comes to my mind, then I will move on. Brother Cecil didn’t hang around too long. He took off with the Pittman boys and headed for Seattle. Later, he would return and marry his sweetheart, Minnie Bork.

Everett Harvey, from Kaysville, Utah come to town. He was a brother to Dee Harvey. Who had married Dad’s sister, Aunt Ree. He had just returned from a Mormon mission, down in the Southern States. He was a walking bible and a fast talker. Oh yes, he had come in on a stolen motorcycle. But he could hold everyone breathless in church. All the old women set their daughters on him. Thinking that he would be a great catch. One of them was my mother. Yes, he was the dirty skunk that married my sweet sister, Afton. He didn’t have a job and no place to take her.

      At the Doc Darrah ranch, the big new house was empty. Doc, a wealthy guy, had got tired of ranch life and moved to the city of Boise. Through Dad, who was a friend of the Doc, they leased this ranch. Everett and Afton moved in. There was one room in the big house that was locked up tight. Everett was to stay out of there. It was Doc’s private wine cellar. A little thing like a lock, didn’t bother this guy. Before the sun went down, he was inside that forbidden room. How do I know? I was there with him. I had helped him and Afton move in.

      There was lots of equipment on the place. Including horses and harnesses. All this guy had to do was get busy and raise a crop. He made and attempt to plow some the land. When he would start out in the morning, a jug of the Doc’s wine was hanging on the harness of one of the horses. He didn’t get much plowing done. In fact, he was there for a year and raised exactly nothing. Maybe I shouldn’t say that. Afton was pregnant and would soon bear his child.

      I made boxes all that summer. I averaged about ten dollars a day. That doesn’t sound like much now but considering that the going was twenty to twenty five cents an hour, it wasn’t too bad. I was only sixteen years old, and making as much as four or five grown men.

      Harvey always managed to get himself and Afton to church on Sunday. Usually, he would preach a sermon. He was good at that. I don’t think he ever took Afton to a doctor for an examination. When the labor pains started, he called the folks and an old doctor out of New Plymouth. Afton and I were always very close. I also went down and waited. The doctor was there for several hours. A baby girl was born and she was alright. But Afton was in bad trouble. The old doc didn’t seem to know what to do. Dad got on the telephone and called one in Boise and told him to come over. Mother called the Bishop and he sent over a couple of the Elders. I was by her bedside when they gave her a blessing. I heard them say. “And you will live to raise many sons and daughters.” I crawled up in the big hay loft back of the house and cried and prayed. I stayed there for three days. No one knew where I had gone. Then Afton died. I come out of hiding and cleaned up for the funeral. Which was a big one. Everyone loved that girl. I was a very disillusioned young man. I began to wonder about a lot of things that I had taken for granted. But I guess that is just a part of growing up. Mother took baby Afton home with her. She raised her just like she was her own child. Afton hadn’t been buried a week, when Harvey was chasing the wild widows of the community. He was having a ball. It wasn’t long until he was married again. I think he was the most worthless guy I have ever known.