Hello Friends. Today’s feature is part 2 of a fictitious story set in 1948 Wyoming, about Helen Curtis and her three teenagers (Luke-19) Liza (18) and Elijah (14) who return to Wyoming after a long winter to finish building the ranch their family started the previous summer. Helen’s husband, Will, died in a car accident during the winter, leaving her a widow. Together, the family wants to finish building Will’s dream ranch. But Helen isn’t sure she wants to remain there when it is finished, for it is in the Wyoming wilderness area between Devil’s Tower and Hulett, far from all her children are used to. Jerome Whitmore, a neighboring rancher, seeing their need for help in raising the walls of the main house, offers to bring his cowboy crew over to help.
A Home in the Wilderness, Part 2
by Sheri Schofield
Saturday dawned with clear skies. It was perfect weather for erecting a house. Shortly after we’d eaten breakfast, we heard the whoops and pounding of hooves announcing the arrival of our volunteer crew.
Luke strode outside and grinned at the men, shaking hands with them and learning names. Elijah was at his side soaking it all in and smiling from ear to ear.
“Who’s the young lady?” one cowboy asked in a stage whisper, nodding to my blonde-haired blue-eyed daughter.
“That’s our sister, Liza. But let me warn you, she’s almost as good as me at carpentry work,” Luke said. “Why, you should see her in jeans sitting on top of a frame, hammering in nails. She’s independent, too. Don’t let her dress and long hair fool you. You’re company, so she’s helping Mom cook today. But when you all leave, she’ll be back in blue jeans with a hammer and saw in her hands.”
The younger men insisted on being introduced to Liza. I could see at once she was going to have no end of attention. But having grown up with brothers, she knew exactly how to manage.
I smiled and greeted all the men. “Thank you all for coming over to help us. We are indeed blessed. My name is Helena Curtis. If you need anything, just ask.”
Jerome, the last to dismount, had been watching with a tolerant grin on his face as his men crowded around Liza. He now walked into the group and said, “Let’s get this house up, boys.”
By noon, the walls were up, the roof base was in place, some of the men were installing the metal roof over the bare boards, and siding was going up.
Late the night before, after Jerome had left, I had started making apple pies. I’d baked some more before breakfast, too. By lunch time, I’d heated and sliced the roast beef and prepared the gravy.
“Liza, help me put the food on the table.” I’d built a fire outside with a frame to hold a large pot and had cooked corn on the cob. Beans were simmering on the stove. There was bread Liza and I had baked the previous day, and big pitchers of milk.
Jerome and Elijah set up a make-shift benches with boards nailed onto logs. Together, Liza and I set the hot food on the table.
I walked over to the iron triangle hanging near the front door and sounded the call to lunch.
The men dropped their tools where they worked and headed for the wash tub I’d filled up with water. Liza stood next to it with towels ready, much to their pleasure.
After filling their plates, some of the crew sat on the grass to eat, leaving room at the table for others, while Liza and I kept the food organized. We would eat after the crew finished.
Standing next to the table, Jerome lifted a hand. The crew fell silent as he blessed the food. Meals were generally serious business for the workers, but with Liza nearby, they did a fair amount of talking, hoping to gain her attention.
When it was time for dessert, Jerome waited until his crew finished, then helped himself to some of my apple pie. After a couple of bites, he looked up at me and grinned. “You make a fine apple pie, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him briefly then went back to work.
By evening, the crew had finished the basics on the outside, including a coat of white paint. It was a great start.
I sighed with satisfaction as they mounted their horses, waved their hats and raced home with a few whoops, still exuberant as though they had been to a party. With Liza smiling shyly and listening to them, I could see why.
Jerome was the last to leave. After he’d mounted his horse, he told me, “If you need help with the interior, just send one of your boys over and I’ll come myself.”
I nodded and smiled up at him. “You have been such a blessing, Jerome. You’re welcome here anytime.”
He grinned, tipped his hat, nudged his horse, and lit out after his crew.
“Thank you, Lord,” I whispered. God had provided the help we needed.
Later that evening when the boys had gone outside for a last look around, Liza confided, “Mama, I liked Steve, the tall, quiet cowboy. He has lovely manners.”
Hugging her close, I said, “He seems to be very nice. But take your time, honey.”
“I will. But I just wanted you to know.”
“Thanks for telling me, Liza.” She was growing up so fast! I knew it wouldn’t be long before she would marry. I treasured each moment with her.
We named our ranch the Circle C for Curtis. Over the next few weeks, we installed the plumbing and insulation indoors. An electrical crew tied us into the power lines that week, and the phone company installed their line as well. The interior walls were knotty pine, so we didn’t need to paint. The boys put in windows and added red trim to them. Will had provided red metal roofing, and the total effect was pleasant to the eye.
I sighed. Will, we did it. I wish you could be here to see it! You would be so proud of the boys and Liza.
Until the house was finished, we slept and ate in the back room of the barn. Even though it was summer, the nights were cool in the highlands of Wyoming.
Luke and Elijah began the brickwork for a chimney for the stove the morning after the house raising. It took a few days, but it looked efficient when it was finished. But the old wood stove was too heavy for the two boys to move on their own.
With the phone in, I called the operator and had her ring Jerome’s number that evening.
“Jerome, this is Helen.”
“Hello Helen. How are you?” I could hear the pleasure in his voice.
“I’m doing well, thanks to you and your crew.”
“Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“Yes. Could you send two of your strongest men over to help Luke and Elijah move the wood stove into the house for us?’
“Gladly. You know they will fight over the privilege of coming over, don’t you?” I could hear the laughter in his voice.
“I’m sure. Liza has always been a major attraction in our family.”
“Yes she is. But so is her mother.”
I felt my cheeks growing warm. “Oh! Thank you, Jerome.:
“We’ll be over there first thing in the morning.”
“Thank you.” So Jerome is coming along with his men. I can see he likes me. But I’m not ready to think of anyone besides Will yet! Lord, show me what to do.
We had just finished breakfast when we heard horses coming. The boys jumped up and headed out the barn door to greet them. Liza and I quickly put the dishes in the barn’s sink which Will had installed the summer before, then followed the boys outside.
“Good morning, Helen,” Jerome nodded, dismounting and tying his horse’s reins to the hitching rail. “You remember Steve and Pete?”
“Yes. Thank you all for coming.”
“Lead us to that stove, ma’am. We’ll have it installed in no time.”
“It’s inside the other barn door,” Luke said, taking the lead.
“Do you have some boards we could use as a ramp into the house?” Jerome asked.
“Yes. They’re in the barn, too.”
A few minutes later, Steve and Jerome came outside with four two-by-six boards and a piece of scrap plywood. Laying the boards down and nailing the plywood firmly over the top, they made a secure ramp for moving the stove.
In a short time, they were able to move the heavy stove across the grass and into the house and put it in place in front of the chimney. Luke had laid a brick foundation to accommodate the stove and to prevent fires. Jerome helped him install the connecting stovepipe.
By the time they had completed the work, Liza had baked a tray of hot oatmeal cookies which she brought out to the table on the grass.
“It’s looking nice, Helen,” Jerome said as he finished and brushed his hands on his jeans. He looked around. “Homey. Warm.” He nodded and looked over at me. “Will would be proud of you and the family.” He looked at Luke. “You’re a natural-born carpenter, Luke. Good job. You too, Elijah and Liza.”
Will had installed a fence around the property last summer, but the interior pastures needed to be fenced before we could bring in cattle. For the next three weeks, we worked with poles and barbed wire doing the inner fencing.
Sunday, I woke the children early. “Let’s go to church this morning,” I said, sitting on the edge of Liza’s bed and addressing them all.
“That sounds fun,” Elijah said with a yawn and rolled out of bed.
Luke followed suit, then Liza.
“Breakfast is ready as soon as you are,” I said, walking into the living area.
Town people were walking toward the church when we pulled our Chevy into the parking area.
“There’s Steve!” Liza leaned over and whispered into my ear.
“I see him.”
Jerome stood near the door and saw us drive up. He smiled and waved. I waved back. Steve turned when Jerome waved. Seeing Liza, he strode over.
“Hi, Liza. Good to see you here!”
“Hi Steve.” Her face glowed.
“Would you like to sit with me this morning?”
“Yes, I would.”
Crooking his elbow, he pulled her hand through it and walked her into the church.
Jerome watched, an amused smile on his face, then glanced at me. “Ma’am, would you like to join me this morning?” He crooked his arm.
“Thank you, Jerome.” I let him lead me inside, though my heart held him at a distance. Friendship was all I could give, and I welcomed friendship…as long as it remained friendship only.
Elijah found a small group of teenagers and introduced himself. Luke, much less social than my other young people, simply walked into church and sat next to me. It was nice. Jerome on one side, Luke on the other. At least I wouldn’t feel alone in the new church.
The choir entered, dressed in long blue robes with white stoles, and began singing the doxology. We all stood and joined them. Later, one of the young women in the choir sang a solo during the special for the day, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.
Glancing a Luke, I noticed his lips were slightly parted and his eyes were fixed on the woman. Who was she? Was she spoken for? I could almost read his mind. Well, we would find out in due time. I felt we would fit into this church nicely, and thanked God for the friendliness I felt from others.
By July, we were ready to buy stock. We bought four heifers, a bull and a milk cow from a rancher closer to town. It was the start of our own herd.
I bought some chickens from another neighbor after my young people put up a chicken coop with straw for nests. They built the coop between the barn and the house so we could easily walk between buildings when snow fell. Sheltered by the cliff to the north and west, all the buildings would weather the coming winter well.
Liza came up beside me one evening as I stood looking out over our fields. “It feels good to have our own home and ranch, Mama. Even if it’s far away from Grandpa and Grandma and our friends back in Rapid City. I like it here.”
“Yes. It is good. I miss your dad a lot. But he would be pleased with the way we’ve all managed to build the dream he had.”
“He would. He’d be proud of you, Mama. You’ve been wonderful.”
“Thank you, Liza.” I hugged her. “You’re a comfort to me.” I sighed, wondering if I should keep my young people so far from all that was familiar to them. “I don’t suppose you’d like to sell the ranch and move back to Rapid City, now that we’ve built the ranch, would you?”
“No. We put too much work into this place. We belong here now.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, honey.”
It was a busy, exhausting summer, but I welcomed the long work hours, for it kept me from the grief I felt over losing Will. He was never far from my thoughts. Yet I never had time to linger too long in the pit of grief. I fell asleep each night before the wave of pain could reach me.
Gradually, my heart stopped hurting so fiercely whenever I thought of Will. The grief became a dull ache. By September, I was able to go a day or two without remembering my loss, and by October I could even laugh again sometimes. Healing began washing away feelings of loss for long stretches of time.
My children began experiencing healing, too. Hard work and laughter eased the pain.
During the summer and especially when fall arrived, we all worked together canning fruit and vegetables we were able to buy in bulk from the farmer’s market in town. We stored what we canned on shelves in the rock-walled basement with its earthen floor. We stocked the large freezer with cuts from half a beef we’d been able to buy at the butcher’s store. We butchered most of the roosters, freezing them for future meals, and my boys caught many fish in the creek near our house. Some we ate fresh, and some we froze. I felt great satisfaction with all we had stored for the coming winter. It was hard work but rewarding.
One morning in October when I awoke, I saw snowflakes falling outside my window.
“We’re ready.” I whispered. We had mowed and baled hay during July and stacked it in the barn’s loft. We’d also stacked some in a cave where the cattle went for shelter when the weather was cold. If a storm came, I didn’t want the cattle to be without hay.
Luke had built a roof extending twelve feet out over the area in front of the chicken coop so the chickens could be outside whenever they wanted without battling the snow.
Temperatures dropped in November along with scatterings of, but there were days when the sun came out and warmed the cold earth. Ice on the roof melted, forming icicles. But we were warm inside the house, for I had bought enough logs for two winters, and the boys had chopped much of it. The wood was stored conveniently on the south side of the house right outside the kitchen door, where the sun would warm it. The boys had built a sturdy roof over that end of the house and secured a canvas tarp over the top of the stack, knowing from long experience how snow on wood made it stick together.
Our first Christmas in our new home was somber. We all felt Will’s absence.
“Remember when Dad…” The phrase came to our lips often, provoking good memories, but leaving us sad.
Jerome came over with treats his cook had made, telling funny stories about his riders. It was a bright spot in an otherwise sad day. Steve, who had gone home to Sundance for Christmas, stopped by our house the next day..
“Come in, Steve,” Lisa said, inviting him into the house.
He grinned and came inside carrying a cardboard box. “My mom thought you might like some goodies,” he said, setting the box on the table.
“How lovely!” Liza said. She walked toward the table and began unpacking the box. “Christmas cookies….Mmm! This smells like pumpkin bread. Lifting a paper bag and looking in it, she reached in and pulled our homemade taffy. She turned a glowing look up at Steve. “Thank you!
Steve’s face glowed, too, as he looked into her eyes. “It is my pleasure.”
The boys crowded around, reaching for cookies and taffy. “Tell your mom we love it!” Elijah said, munching on a cookie.
Steve brought laughter with him, too. But the room felt empty when he left.
I think we all felt relieved when Christmas season was over, and the new year dawned.
But January 2, 1949 turned our world upside down.
(To be continued)
