Life on the Prairie: Maddie

Once Upon the Prairie

 The Conductors

Daniel was the runaway’s name.

His life filled with misery and pain.

Maddie and Owen, their families, too,

Knew what they needed to do,

Help Daniel travel that “underground train.”

The two became part of the plan.

Together they spied on the mean old man.

Kansas, bleeding at the time,

Saw good men fight across the line.

Could slavery be stopped with a ban?

Dressed as a girl, Daniel sought to be free.

He was hid in an old, cottonwood tree.

They could not know how effective the train became.

         Each worked in secret, with only conductor as a name.

Risking all so free others might be.

PLEASE NOTE THIS BLOG CHANGES FIRST AND THIRD WEEKS OF THE MONTH.
Be sure to check out The Story Teller's Corner and Up the Family Tree.

 

Maddie

This is ten-year old Maddie again. I live in Kansas Territory in the new town of Lawrence. Popular sovereignty exists in Kansas. The people of Kansas are to vote on whether or not the Territory joins the Union as a free state or as a slave state. Border Ruffians from the adjoining state of Missouri fought with the free-staters. The Eldridge Hotel was ransacked and burned during one fight. My cousin, Own, and I were not downtown that afternoon. That was the day we helped Daniel, a runaway slave, move closer to freedom.

Mama and Papa are proud of me for the sacrifice I made to help Daniel. My determination to stop slavery gave me the courage I needed. I can't tell you about it now, but you can read more about my adventure soon.

  Hello, Spring

My mother used to quote the following phase: Spring is sprung, the grass is rize. I wonder where the flowers is. 

For 30 years my husband and family ran a greenhouse business called The Green Thumb. For us spring did not arrive on March 21. It arrived weeks earlier as we hurriedly got seed into the ground and cuttings transplanted. Days were filled with four-inch pots, cascading baskets and flats of assorted flowers and vegetables. It included sunny days where one could almost see the plants growing and cloudy, cold days as the plants struggled to survive and not develop botrytis. Loading trucks and vans at night to go out first thing in the morning was always part of each day. The job was a 24 hours a day, seven days a week job.

This diversification of our farming operation allowed us to send our boys to college. My older son got a degree in greenhouse management and ran the operation for a dozen years; even he grew weary of the many hours. We sold the business and expanded the farming part.

While I miss the flowers each spring and the beauty of poinsettias at Christmas, spring has become just that-a renewal of life for us. I especially like the opportunity of going out to eat on Mother’s day or Thanksgiving instead of working in the greenhouse filling orders. I didn’t get that option for 30 years.