A New Beginning

Shortly after that [starting school], the crops were ready for harvest. The maple sap was collected and cooked, a new one-time crop. Then my pappa bought back our own little house that he had cut logs for with his ax and built by hand.

One cold windy day we loaded up kids and belongings for PZ Ridge, about 3 miles away. As I sat upon the wagon full of our feather beds and stuff, we came to the big cedar tree above the old schoolhouse and I got a glimpse of my old house. That was the most beautiful sight - it looked like paradise to me!

My pappa started talking about repairs to the fences and barns and screens for the windows. I was so excited - it seemed that I had gotten back everything that I thought I had lost.

We started our life all over again. We never had the nice wooden beds and the bureau with the marble top that I remembered so well. Gone too was the dining room china cabinet. We had bare necessities. But we loved each other very much.