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Linda Bristow (Elias)
Hello Classmates:
I wrote this to my sister this morning. Then I decided to share it with you too. It is a memory from my childhood with my brothers and sisters.
Thanks for putting up with me!
Linda
On a farm, a large family with 9 children were huddled in one room listing to the Grand Ole Opry with their parents. Outside was below freezing. Even the watering trough for the horses had ice so thick that Dad had to break through it to water the animals.
Red Foley was singing 'Beyond the Sunset' and Mom loved to hear him sing. Mom had cooked a ham and had just set the dinner on the table. The Bristow children welcomed the time to eat and cleaned their plates before dessert was served. Even though the times during WWII were difficult times for everyone to afford enough to eat, the Bristow family lived on a farm and always survived. Mom had planted a garden and had canned a great deal of food to last through the winter.
After the Grand Ole Opry was over, Mom went to the piano and played by ear, 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'. Playing just a few more tunes, Mom urged her girls to come and sing. It was so cold that our dog Queenie kept warm in the kitchen.
The children didn't really have much for gifts that year..... a few beautiful oranges and bright red delicious apples. One morning during a heavy snow, Dad rode a horse up to the house and could see into the 2nd floor window. Also, during some snow aftermath, Dad used a small black sleigh to give his children a horse-drawn sleigh ride.
The Bristow home was always filled with active and cheerful kids who loved their family. Sometimes, their home was a little smaller and we were more crowded, but still enjoyed the love of the family, led by the music of Mom and Dad, and of course, the radio with the Grand Ole Opry.
We children were always grateful for having clothing, warm coats and shoes for the winter. As hard as those times could be, we always saw that other children had worse situations than we had. No matter the situation, we saw our parents help other children passing through, trying to get to a relative's house so that they could survive. Dad would bring them home and Mom was always up for a hair-cut and finding some extra clothes for them. Then they would collect a few dollars from neighbors and send them on to their destination by bus.
It was amazing to see our family living close to the hardest of times for themselves, while they maintained happiness and love in their home with their children, but yet..........they would always help others.
Are we acting as well in our older lives to help others? They set a great example for us. I think about their ability to share whatever they had. Wouldn't it be nice for the world to learn to be like them today?
Love, Linda
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