Hidden in a Pillow - Brossura

Croan, Brenda

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1452039607 ISBN 13: 9781452039602

Casa editrice: AuthorHouse, 2010

Riassunto

The year is around the 1890's. Several business men had gone to the small southern Virginia town of "Salt Town" to purchase some land to build a large chemical company in the town. Salt Wells were dug and the producing and the distribution of Salt began. Around the year of 1901 a young childhood romance developed between Arthur "Art" Thomas and Laura Bell Gillespie. The author takes her readers through both Arthur's and Laura Bell's young and adult lives. Arthur and his childhood friend, Jimmy "Jim" Johnson, grow up together. They get drafted into the Army together, they get married around the same time together, they both become Preacher's and have their own church. After Arthur comes home from the Army, he gets entangled with a young Gypsy Woman who is a "Fortune Teller" She tells Art's fortune and she places a curse a "Witchcraft Spell" upon him and she tells him he will "Die" if the curse he has been placed under is not lifted from him. Arthur's and Laura Bell's young daughter "Brenda" grows up and becomes an "Author" Brenda has many visions and dreams for her family and for "Salt Town"

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Hidden in a Pillow

By Brenda Croan

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Brenda Croan
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-3960-2

Contents

Laura Bell's Home down on the River......................1The Accident down at the Sawmill.........................11Poor Valley..............................................23Matilda..................................................31The Mystery Man..........................................39The Devil's Playground...................................43The Junk Collector.......................................47The Post Cards...........................................51The Smyth County Fair....................................55The Spell................................................63The Pillow...............................................69The Search for the Young Gypsy Woman.....................75Jimmy gets Married.......................................81The Search for Laura Bell................................87Art's and Laura Bell's Talk..............................93Hickory Hollow...........................................101The Necklace Key.........................................107Laura Bell's Love Letters................................111Art's and Laura Bell's Wedding Day.......................117The Gypsy Preacher.......................................127Brenda and Red...........................................141Wild BILL................................................149The Corpse...............................................157The Search for Laura Bell's Pa...........................165The House on the Hill....................................169The Stone House Girls....................................177Art Travels On...........................................185The Company Shutdown.....................................191Frankie and Johnny comes Home............................197Brenda and Red gets Married..............................201The Haunted House........................................205The Move to Indiana......................................209The Big Steel Plant......................................213The Telephone Call.......................................219Mary Ellen's Funeral.....................................221The Old Salt Town........................................227Brenda becomes an Author.................................231Johnny and Brenda moves back Home........................235Hickory Hollow, Home Sweet Home..........................237

Chapter One

Laura Bell's Home down on the River

Laura Bell Gillespie and her best friend Mary Ellen Whitmore live in a place called Cedar Grove Hill. The nearest Town where the two young girls live is Salt Town. The year is in the early 1900's in the month of June on a nice hot summer day. Both of the girls are sitting in their classroom at their School in Ridgedale.

Laura Bell and Mary Ellen are the best of friends. The School they each attend sits by an open field down in a deep Valley. The School is called Ellendale. The School has only one big room and only one Teacher.

The Teacher teaches four school grade levels. Two grades of Grade School and two grades of High School. The teacher's name is Mrs. Pickle. The two young girls are in the first grade of Grade School at Ellendale School.

Laura Bell is the shyest of the two young girls. Mrs. Pickle is very strict with her younger students who tends to not pay close attention in class. When someone misbehaves or causes trouble for the other students Mrs. Pickle finds someway to punish the mischievous younger children without having to give the each of them a good paddling with her long wooden paddle.

Mrs. Pickle has never once had to go and use her paddle on any of her students. She believes by keeping her paddle in a place where the younger students can all see the paddle that it will remind them not to go getting themselves into any trouble.

One day, Laura Bell and Mary Ellen were sitting in their classroom. The two young girls began giggling and they couldn't seem to stop. The girls loved to giggle a lot and they each knew that "It just drives their teacher nuts, with their giggling, but they do it anyway."

Mrs. Pickle had her back facing the students while she was writing their daily homework assignments on the chalkboard. She heard the girls giggling and she turned around and she spoke "Girls, please stop your giggling and focus on your tomorrow's homework assignments I have written out for all of you to do." she said. Then, she turned herself back around facing the chalkboard once again. Mrs. Pickle proceeded to write out their homework assignments on the chalkboard for the following day.

The girls began laughing and giggling a lot harder and a lot louder and then suddenly "The whole classroom of students burst into laughter along with them."

Mrs. Pickle turned herself back around to face all of her students and she asked them "What in this world has gotten into all of you younger children today? What is going on in here?" the teacher asked her younger students. She continued to say "Tell me right this minute or all of you younger students will get a good paddling." she told them.

Mrs. Pickle glanced around the room and she saw what was happening for herself without anyone needing to say a word. She was not the least bit happy with the uproar in the classroom where the noise and the confusion seemed to have been created by a few of her younger grade students.

A couple of the young boys who are the same age as Laura Bell and Mary Ellen were sitting in their wooden desk chair seats. The same two boys had risen up out of their chair seats and they were taking something out of their pants and their shirt pockets.

This day, the two young boys decided they would bring along their "Pet Frogs" to school with them. The boys hid the frogs inside their pockets and before the young girls had burst out laughing the boys had already taken all of the frogs and turned them all loose, onto the bare wooden floor. The young girls began laughing and giggling hysterically.

The two young girls were just sitting there in their seats. They were each laughing and giggling just as hard as they could, while they sat and watched what the two young boys were doing. This was what seemed to have started Laura Bell's and Mary Ellen's giggling in the first place.

When the two girls first noticed what the two young boys were up to, they each laughed that much harder and louder. The girls were each thinking to themselves "The Boys are going to be in Trouble". !!!

The frogs began hopping all around the bare wooden floor. They were jumping up into some of the other students laps, where they were sitting in their chairs. The incident was causing the other students to have to rise up and come up out of their chairs and when they did, the other student's were also getting all excited.

The frogs were hopping underneath the long tables. Then, one of the frogs began hopping all around Mrs. Pickle's feet. Mrs. Pickle threw her long skinny arms up into the air and then, she went to hollering and crying and she was getting herself all upset with her younger students.

From all of the excitement and from all of the commotion, where was going on inside of the classroom, Mrs. Pickle began gasping for air. She could hardly catch her breath. She was at the point of collapsing and she had to sit back down in her chair, where is by her desk. She began praying to God, and she was begging him "God, Please don't let me faint." she prayed.

After Mrs. Pickle had a chance to get a hold of herself and she had caught on to what the boys had gone and done, she then said to them "Boys, take and fetch all of your frogs and take them all outside to the open field and turn them all loose." she said.

One of the young boys replied "But, Mrs. Pickle, these frogs are Mine and Kyle's special pet frogs, we've had for sometime now. Can't Me and Kyle just put our frogs in a box, where we can keep them, until school lets out? Then, Me and Kyle, will take the frogs back home with us, when we go." asked the one boy Brandon.

Mrs. Pickle answered Brandon and she said "The damage has already been done and I've already told you boys what to do with your frogs. Brandon, You and Kyle, have done went and turned this classroom into a disaster. I don't intend to change my mind about this Matter-At-Hand. I've already made my mind up. You children, will have to stand accountable for your own actions, when you'all go and do bad things. And when you'all don't seem to want to pay any attention at all in class, as to what you'all are being told to do. So-Be-It, take the frogs outside like I've already told you to do, and turn them all loose out into the field." said the teacher once again to the two young boys.

Mrs. Pickle was saying to all four children "Brandon and Kyle, Mary Ellen and Laura Bell, all four of you young children, are to remain after school and receive more punishment that's due you'all." she said to the children.

The four young children were all thinking to themselves and they were wondering if "Mrs. Pickle was planning on using her paddle on them." Instead, after school let out, she ordered the two young girls to write these words on the chalkboard "I will not giggle out loud in my classroom anymore." Then, she ordered the two young boys to write these words on the chalkboard "I will not bring anymore of my pets to class with me, ever again."

Mrs. Pickle was thinking to herself "Maybe this time, the mischievous youngster's will all know not to be doing bad things in school where will get themselves into trouble and cause them to have to stay after school or could get themselves a good swatting with my old wooden paddle."

It was a good thing the teacher had already written out all of the student's homework assignments, who are in the remaining grades of school at Ellendale, before she was faced with having to deal with some of her "Very Naughty First Grade Students".

Laura Bell and Mary Ellen play together during their recess and also during their lunch period, on the school's playground. They enjoy taking turns pushing one another high into the air in the "Rope Swing" where hangs down from a big tall tree with long thick heavy rope. The two young girls love to sit and swing together in the little wooden seat, so they can reminisce.

Lots of times when the two young girls play together they like to just sit and talk about the young boys and about who and what they each want to be when they become "Young Women". The same two boys, Brandon and Kyle, are the very same boys, Laura Bell and Mary Ellen, both, dream about and talk about and they would each, like to be married to the each of them, someday, when they have all four grown up.

When Mrs. Pickle dismisses her classroom at the end of each school day, Laura Bell and Mary Ellen, walks together part of the distance where leads back to the each of their homes. Then, they continue walking the rest of their way to their home by themselves.

Mary Ellen lives out on the Ridge in Ridgedale, where isn't very far away from Ellendale School. Mary Ellen walks all by herself back to her home, alone, without having to have anyone else to walk along beside her, since she doesn't become scared and afraid of having to walk all alone back to her home by herself. Mary Ellen doesn't get scared and afraid, like her best friend Laura Bell, who happens to be "Scared of her own Shadow at times".

Laura Bell's home, is a good several miles of having to walk on foot, where the pathways leads back inside a "Mountain of Hills". The steep hills tends to be very rugged, when anyone has to climb the hills to get to where they need or have to go. There are several long and narrow pathways where people has to travel on foot, in order to get to Laura Bell's home. There are also several fences along these straight and narrow pathways along the way, where people has to either climb over the fence or crawl underneath a small fence opening. This way is called "The Hill Way" where leads to Laura Bell's Home in Cedar Grove Hill.

There have been many times, when Laura Bell has had to walk all alone back to her home, unless a few of her siblings would walk along with her while she is having to walk to school or having to run an errand out on the Ridge for her Ma (mother).

The long walk usually takes Laura Bell four hours of her time out of every day, when she attends school. It usually takes two whole hours in the mornings and two whole hours in the evenings walking back and forth to school, each day, when Laura Bell gets to attend school.

Laura Bell seldom ever gets to go to very many places. The places where she does like to go and the places she likes to visit, are very limited to her, since she has to walk almost everywhere she wants or she needs to go. Lots of times Laura Bell's Ma sends her to the store to buy some food seasoning or a bag of sugar, flour or cornmeal and other items, after her Ma has ran out of them.

Then, Laura Bell has to walk several miles to the little neighborhood store, where sits at the top of a steep hill out on the Ridge in Ridgedale. And Ridgedale is also located in the Cedar Grove Hill Area.

Laura Bell sometimes walks down to the river to visit with her Uncle Lester and his family and their pet dog "Bones". Lester's dog "Bones" loves to play with Laura Bell's pet dog "Paddywagg". When both of the dogs are together playing, Lester gives them each a "Soup Bone" where he has saved from when he has cooked a big pot of "Pinto Beans".

Lester and his family live in a small wooden "House Shack" which has three very small rooms. The family lives by a big river where is by a long bed of big river rocks. This is where family members and visitors go and meet, when they need to get to the other side of the river, in order to get to Laura Bell's home, where she lives with her folks, and all of her other siblings. Their big "Farm House" is totally surrounded on all of its sides, with very tall trees in the heavily populated vast wooded area.

When Laura Bell hurries off to school each morning, she climbs the very steep hill behind the backside of their very old "Two Story Farm House". She encounters a few fence lines along the way. When she reaches these area's, she will either have to climb over the fence or crawl underneath the fence and through a very small opening to get across the fence. Most of Laura Bell's other siblings would climb across the fence while she preferred to crawl through the small fence openings.

Laura Bell gets scared and she's afraid, during the times, when she is having to walk all alone in the woods all by herself. Then she goes to thinking to herself and saying to herself "What if some wild hungry bear or wolf or some other wild hungry animal was to jump out at me or want to harm me or even want to try and eat me and cause me to go jumping out of my skin?" she asked herself.

Work is very plentiful on "The Gillespie Farm" where is owned by Laura Bell's folks "Calvin Gillespie and his wife Minnie". Calvin and his sons, sets out many fields of corn and hay. They set out fields of big tobacco patches. Calvin plows up two fields out beside of the house for his wife Minnie, so that, she can set out her two big vegetable gardens. This they all do every year. Their farm land provides them with many crops and vegetables. The monies where is made from the selling of the crops and vegetables, is used for the upkeep of their large farm and it also helps to support their very large family.

Calvin is also like a "Blacksmith". He puts shoes on all of his own horses and mules, when they each need to be shoed. Calvin has a work shed out by the house where he does his work and when he puts shoes on his horses and his mules.

Calvin and his sons, loads up the back of his horse-drawn wagon and they haul the fresh produce and crops into town, where is about thirty miles distance away from where they live by heading South. Sometimes, Calvin will let Laura Bell come along with them into town, since she hardly ever gets to go to very many places.

The small "Country Store" out on the Ridge in Ridgedale, buys a lot of the fresh garden produce from "The Gillespie Farm". The produce is sold in the store.

Laura Bell enjoys getting to go to the store, the many times her Ma sends her there. "Harry Watkins" the owner and the manager of the store, loves having Laura Bell come into his store. Harry loves to tease her and he loves to make small talk with her, while she's inside his store. Harry teases Laura Bell about the young boys her own age because he knows he makes her face blush. Harry also knows Laura Bell is very bashful and sometimes awkward, and then, she'll get a little bit clumsy. Harry sometimes gets "A little bit confused" when he is having to "Count his Money". Harry has to be very careful that he doesn't go and "Short Change himself" nor his customer's, when he is handing them back their change.

Calvin raises many animals on his farm. He raises horses, mules, cows, hogs, goats, sheep, chickens and lots of other animals. Minnie raises turkeys and ducks. When it comes time for Minnie to kill them, she takes and saves all of their feathers, after she has killed them. Minnie also takes the feathers and she makes what she calls "Feather tick mattress and Feather tick pillows" out of the feathers. She uses them for their bedding for her family to sleep on. The pillows and the mattress is very soft and the family gets "A very restful nights sleep".

Calvin has two special "Mules" that is very old and feeble, but the mules are still very capable of "Cutting the mustard in the fields". Calvin harnesses the mules to the very old farm plow, so he can cultivate their farm land. He has given the mules their name of "Blue and Sue". Sue is blind in both of her eyes, but Blue takes very good care of Sue. Blue leads and guides Sue all around the farm, while they're both having to work the farm land, plowing up the dirt for the crops and the gardens each Spring.

When Laura Bell and her other siblings comes back home from school in the late afternoons, the family dog "Paddywagg" runs up the steep hill that's in the backside of the house and greets them. When Paddywagg hears them in the distance he begins wagging his long hairy tail and he starts to bark. His friendly bark echo's to them loud and clear before they reach the clearing from having been amongst the vast wooded area of trees all around them. This is Paddywagg's way of letting them all know he has missed them and he is glad to see them come back home.

When they've reached the clearing from having walked the very long and narrow dirt pathway leading back to their home, they can all see the top and the backside of the two story farm house and the old barn where sits off to the side and away from the house.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Hidden in a Pillowby Brenda Croan Copyright © 2010 by Brenda Croan. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: AuthorHouse
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1452039607
• ISBN 13: 9781452039602
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 264
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile