The Autobiography of Ruth Tagg Caley

woman and often wore a dotted dress which added to my mother's humorous nature of calling herfriend Dotty. Dotty was like dynamite, she was the cause of our troubles I learned later. She toldmy mother that there wasn't a man in the Mormon Church who didn't have two wives, and formother to keep her eyes open, then she would find out for herself. The Mormons were a bad lotof people and she wouldn't trust any of them. My mother let those ideas go to her head, shenever forgot the things that Dotty drilled into her until her dying day. With the death of mybrother Ray, and the preaching of Dotty, mother's mind was in a whirl.I remember the black stocking caps mother put on us to wear after a death in the family.People wore black for about six mounts. The twin girls and myself wore those black caps for along time. The girls at school pulled the girls caps of their heads and threw them in the thistleand stinging nettle patch. Mother always wore black except on Sunday when she wore a largewhite apron over all. She used to wear leg of mutton sleeves, they were full from the shoulder tothe elbow then skin tight on down to the wrist, mother seldom went to Sunday School, she stayedhome and cooked dinner for the rest of us while we attended church. But did go to the eveningmeetings.Our Sunday dinner seldom varied, it consisted of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roastpotatoes, gravy, boiled cabbage, and mother’s home made fruit tarts or coconut cake. Fatherwould pick up the carving knife and sharpen it and say who gets the first cut? We would allexclaim, "I do' I do!" and he would say "I'm sorry but the knife gets the first cut." I was a happychild in those days especially when we had company come in. Sometimes they would bring asack of chocolates and put them in a dish in the center of the table. I was not allowed to touchthem until after I had finished my plate of dinner. (Dodman was the church caretaker and AuntFlo’s friend). After dinner was over and the dishes done up, it was time to go to church again. Ithink one reason mother liked the night meeting she liked the hymns the choir sang. She alsowas jealous and suspicious of father, and remembered Dotty’s words. One evening at church thesecretary came up to my father and wanted information for the church records. Mother, seeingthis walked up and slapped her face, thinking father had a case on her. My father was a perfectgentleman and was never in love with any other woman in his whole life. We were now living inNorth London at this time.My mother was a good mother. She was neat and clean, taught her children the ways ofthe Lord. She taught me how to pray, she taught us to keep the Sabbath day Holy. We had toshine our shoes on Saturday. Everyone has their weaknesses, my mother had hers, but I did notever show any disrespect for her. I loved the good things she did for us. Saturday was a busyday in our house. We scrubbed the chairs, polished the door knobs and silverware, cleanedwindows. Mother always made us work according to our age and size. Wiping dishes was oneof my jobs, and setting the table, even if mother knew at lunch time she wouldn't be home at 4p.m. she would tell me, “Remember Ruthie, I want you to lay the cloth at tea time, I won’t behome, but I want it ready by 4 p.m.” When mother came home at 4:30 p.m. the table was ready.I can't remember any of us getting a spanking, we were made to mind without the spank.On Saturdays after our work was done we were put into the tub and got our hair washed and putRuth Tagg Caley pg 5