Excerpts That Will Leave You Wanting More: Part 2 of 5 - The Stranger

With Mother, Rose, and Mary making quilts in the winter and jelly

in the fall, their little enterprise became quite popular and profitable

at the church bazaar and bake sales. And once again, Mother Mary’s

reputation was restored at the Jefferson County Fair. The girls would

set up the table at the fair for the next five years to sell their quilts

and jelly. The girls were growing older, and their profits helped them

purchase store-bought clothing, ribbons for their hair, and other finery.

Each year, it seemed more and more young men were stopping

at their table. Although they would ask about what they were selling,

they apparently had other reasons for stopping. Needless to say, they

both attracted quite a bit of attention, for better or worse.

It was the 1904 Jefferson County Fair. Rose was nineteen, and

Mary was seventeen. It wasn’t certain how many more fairs they

would have a table. They were both done with school, and Rose was

looking for employment. Mother Mary was in her sixties, and the

arthritis in her hands limited her ability to sew. Mary hoped to get

one more year before they had to give up their business.

It was midmorning of their first day at the fair when a young

man walked up and said, “Good morning, ladies.”

The girls were putting the finishing touches on their table and

not quite open for business. It was a few moments before Mary took

the time to return the greeting. When she looked at the potential

customer, she couldn’t speak. He was average height and thin. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows, showing

his firm biceps and accentuating his tanned arms and face. His

denim pants were held up neatly by red suspenders. A brown flat hat

sat loosely on his head, failing at any attempt to hide his long brown

curls. His big blue eyes looked directly into Mary’s blue eyes, as his

face lit up with a captivating smile. Mary was frozen. Rose, somewhat

indifferent and looking to make their first sale, asked him if she

could help him.

Without looking away from Mary, he pointed to the top quilt

and said, “I’ll take that quilt, please,” not bothering to inquire about

the price.

As Rose wrapped the blanket in brown paper secured with

string, the stranger reached into his pocket and pulled out several

silver dollars, quite a sum of money for a young man not working

during the day. As he paid Rose, Mary finally regained enough composure

to speak, saying, “I hope you enjoy the quilt.”

The stranger flashed his smile once again and said, “I already

have.”

He tipped his hat to each of them and said, “Good day, ladies.”

And he turned and walked away. They never saw him again that year.

Buy the book to learn about the stranger!