a true story by my Guest Author, my Dad
Talk about excitement. We had a new car, and we were going to town. Going to town made our day. Sometimes it made our month. A trip to town in the early thirties meant a three hour drive over dusty roads, an overnight stay in a hotel, and eating in a restaurant.
Bud and ‘Niter with the kids
The new car was a second hand Studebaker that Gib McFarland had tipped over. That automobile was a speedster! Story was that McFarland had driven FIFTY miles and hour. Fortunately, he wasn’t going that fast when he ran in the ditch and tipped the automobile its side. Daddy didn’t run into ditches, and, when he drove too fast, Mama would scream, “Bud, you’re doing thirty‑five!”
We hadn’t expected to go to town. It was July, and we had already been to town in June. The surprise trip came about because of the new hired man.
This new hand was a cowboy type who had worked on a neighboring ranch. After branding time, he got laid off. He came up to the sawmill for work to hold him over until haying season. The would be cowboy didn’t bring a horse with him, but we could tell that his heart was in riding and not in stacking lumber. He was outfitted with a big hat, shiny spurs, and chaps. He took his spurs off, but he kept the chaps on. They were leather chaps with floppy legs. He wore them every day, even on Sundays. He wore them to breakfast. He wore them to dinner. He wore them to supper. Maybe he slept in them. Anyway he earned the name of “Chaps”. (Pronounced, “SHAPS”). If it wasn’t for him we’d have waited until August to go to Big Timber.
The hired man was a neat fellow with good teeth. After every meal, Chaps picked his teeth. He was polite and put his toothpick back in the holder when he was through with it. The rest of the logging crew tried to get their toothpicks before the new man put his back. Chaps combed his hair and brushed his teeth twice a day. On the day we went to town, he came out of washroom with a toothbrush. He held it up and said, “I’ve tried them all and like this one best.”
It was Daddy’s tooth brush. My father turned to mother and said, “Niter, get a clean dress on, we’re going to town.”
