Journal of Elijah Charles Clapp
Things I Remember
by
Zelma Clapp McBride
I remember sitting on father’s lap until I was so big my feet almost touched the floor. He would rock me to sleep. I remember on Lost River father being so sick and he walked with a cane. What a struggle it was to clear the sage brush on the homestead. We all helped.
When we lived on Lost River we rented a place up at Darlington. It was already in hay and we had a large garden. We ate peas until we nearly burst, they were so good. There was a cellar just outside the kitchen door where we kept the milk and vegetables. Les says he fished every morning. He would get up early and mother fixed him a fishing pole out of a willow. He caught so many of them that father put them on top of the house to dry. There was a whole barrel of them.
In the fall Malinda and I were down helping father. He was building a house near Moore. He wanted us to go to Darlington to get something from mother. He put us on an old horse called Barney. He was such an ornery horse and would buck. I was so scared to ride him, so when we got out of sight Malinda and I both got off. We thought we could lead him but he was not the kind to lead. So one pulled him and the' other got behind and hit him with a willow. It took us so long to get home it was way after dark and it was cold. I can remember hearing Joseph playing his violin as we got near the house. He came out and put the horse away. Mother was so upset to think we had walked that way.
One day while we were living on the farm near Moore, mother decided to go visit Mary who was living at Darlington. She took the one horse buggy and only had room to take Gene the baby. That left Les, Al, and I home alone all day. It was such a long day. We played as best we could but we got so lonesome. Finally I said, "Let's go meet mother." I had a jacket on but the boys just had their shirts. We walked and walked. It got cold and I put my jacket on Al. Suddenly I saw a fence with a trail by it and I knew it was a trail that went down to where father was building a house for Boyels. We went down this trail. We were so happy when we saw the house and knew that father would take care of us. You can imagine how shocked father was when he looked thru the chinkings of the house and saw us coming. He took us to Boyles place. He had been boarding there while building. Sister Boyel insisted on fixing us something to eat before father borrowed the wagon to take us home. By the time we started home it was dark. On the way we heard a horse coming fast. When it got to us a man said, "Brother Clapp is that you and do you have the children?” Mother was so worried because we often played by the river. So the man hurried back to tell mother we were all right.