My Life in the
1900’s
(Some names have been changed to protect the identity of the characters. Details have been altered to fit the culture of the times.)
I was born, Maggie Helen Linden,
the second daughter of Minister Nicholas Linden and his wife Marion. As his
title suggest, he was the Minister in our small town of Clayton. He was well respected by everyone in
Clayton and loved to tell stories. His weakness was the game of baseball to
which he could be seen running bases with the young folk up until his sixties. My
mother Marion raised us and spent her free time assisting the town doctor by
making house calls. She was ambitious about her work which was rare for women
of her time. Many of the women would come to her to find wisdom in times of
trouble or hardship.
All three of us children attended
school regularly. My older sister Alonza was very academic and excelled playing
the clarinet. She grew up and married the sheriff in the town over. They had
more kids then they knew what to do with. My younger brother William was the
strong silent type. His interest in reading led him to explore the world of
film. He was shunned by the townspeople for his involvement in the immoral cinema
industry. My parents never mentioned it but I knew deep down they were proud of
his accomplishments.
My childhood was pleasant. I
enjoyed school but was frequently in trouble for repaying the boys in my class
for pulling my braids. My parents would rebuke me and send me to my room. At
the age of sixteen, finding no suitors in my town to settle down, my father
agreed that an education would help me mature. I studied to become a teacher
and found it to be my true passion. During the last month of schooling, I met a
young man named David. He was the son of a farmer and in line to inherit the
farm. His love for academics and adventure made him forgo his farm duties and
go off to college. He was studying to become a banker. Our time of getting to know each other was
short; but was enough to start a correspondence via mail.
After my exams, a job was secured
for me to teach in my home town of Clayton.
For the next year, I grew as a teacher while writing every night to my dear
David. My father approved of our courtship and a year and a half later we were
married. I continued teaching as David began his work at the town bank. We
lived in a small apartment above the bank and attended my father’s church every
Sunday. Our first son Jethro soon came into the world. He had a vibrant and
youthful spirit and much resembled his father. A little short of two years later we would
welcome in a sister for little Jethro.
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