The Autobiography of Ruth Tagg Caley

unloaded it at the grain elevator to be milled in to flour which he would pick up on his next tripto town.It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, we started on our journey of about twenty five miles tothe country. The horses had to walk most of the way as the load of coal and lumber was heavy.We had to sit on the lumps of coal or stand up which we did a little of both. It was dusk whenwe pulled to a stop. Sandford said, "all of you hide in the bottom of the wagon and don't speak."We wondered what for, his hired man came out of the house came to the wagon. He said “Hellothere! Sanford did you see anything, or hear anything of the folks in town?” Sanford hesitatedand said "Well sir I guess they didn't get in yet." There was silence, and disappointment in the airfor a few minutes. Then we all jumped up and said "surprise dear brother Steve." It had been along time since Steve left home. (3 years) We were thrilled to see Steve again. We all went intothe house and Velate, Sandford’s wife, had dinner ready for us. One thing we had was creamedcorn. We never knew people ate that. Back in England we called it maize and fed it to chickens.Our mother always used to dish up our food right on each one's plate and handed it to us. Ourfirst experience was a laugh when the Dudleys handed father a bowl of creamed corn and Pastarted to eat right out of the bowl. He thought it was a huge serving for one man, but decided hewould tackle it. Steve told him about it and he felt embarrassed.The Dudley’s only had two rooms so they made we girls a bed up in the attic. I heardsomeone talking and walking around up stairs but couldn't see the stairway. I soon found out wehad to climb a ladder on the outside of the house to get to our beds. I thought how funny, as welived in a three storied house in London and had carpets on the stairs, and a fireplace in our livingroom and French glass door.The next morning we awoke and all three girls came down the ladder carrying our dressesover our arms. When Steven saw us he said "go back and get dressed." We told him our motherhad taught us to not put on our dress until we had scrubbed our neck, and face, and arms, good.He said "it's different now, wash your necks after."It was Sunday and a day of rest and church. But we didn't go to church that day. Wewere about six miles out of the village of Glenwoodville. It was in the afternoon a team andbuggy drove up outside Sandford’s house. They had come for me. It must have been arrangedbefore hand or how did they know about us. I didn't want to go with them. I had never beenaway from my folks at all, for any length of time, only the three days I stayed with that old ladyback in London at the time mother ran off with us.But we were always told to mind our elders, so I got in the buggy and turned my back onthe family, they talked to me but I didn't speak. There was Ethel who was a year younger orabout my age. Ivan was their oldest boy and Shirley (boy) was just younger than Ethel, then Inezwho was two years old. They had an older boy working for them on the farm. His name wasSidney Clanfield. They must have had hearts bigger than their house.Their house was only two rooms, and the men slept out side in a shed they used forwheat, the granary as it was called. (Nearly everybody had granaries where the stored their wheatRuth Tagg Caley pg 14