Years ago my mother did the family laundry with a wooden tub with a paddle/agitator connected. She swished the laundry around by a crank. Rinsing the clothes was done in two tubs. A wringer was mounted onto the wooden tub. The wet clothes were hung on long wires attached to two poles. Nothing else could be done all day. My…
Author: Larry Yeagley
A New Old Bike
World War II had just ended. New bicycles once more appeared in the window of the Western Auto store. A blue beauty with headlight and horn was my dream. More than once I begged Mom to buy it. Her answer was consistent-We can’t afford it. School mates increasingly filled the school bike rack with new bikes. I wondered why their…
My Father’s Dream . . . Watch What I Do
My father’s dream for me became clear as I rode on the drawbar of the F-20 Farmall tractor. He was plowing on a steep hill when the front end rose a few inches above the ground. He tapped the left brake and the front end came down. He smiled as he said Watch what I do. You’ll be doing this…
Sticks and Stones . . .
Bethlehem Steel Company financed passage for hundreds of Europeans to come to America. The company built five villages, one for each of the ethnic groups near the ore mines where they would work. They built a Catholic church and a Presbyterian church to accommodate the newcomers. A state-of-the-art school was built of limestone taken from the open pit mine. The…
The Gospel of Baked Beans
Billy scarcely scraped enough money to buy groceries. He planted tobacco on his three acres by the Ohio River every year without the use of fertilizer. His relatives hoped for a good crop on that land for generations. He lived alone and welcomed my book-selling visit even though he had no money to spare. Billy dominated the conversation. It appeared…
High Point Forgiveness
High Point is a village situated in north central Pennsylvania. A lake with crystal clear, cold water is fed by springs in the surrounding mountains. The city of Lebanon eight miles south bought the lake and thousands of watershed acreage. High fences protect it from development or recreational use. The water is piped to replace the city’s preponderance of wells…
Mommy & Daddy Divorced & I Know Why!
Sally, age eight, sat across from her counselor. She had a death grip on the arms of her chair. Her legs swung non-stop. Fear raced across her pretty face. Why did your mother bring you to see me? Mom and Daddy divorced and I know why, she replied. Can you share the reason with me? The counselor asked. It was…
The End is Near
I was a naïve 16-year-old in Philadelphia. Fels Planetarium advertised a star show on the end of the world. Since I was raised in a Christian home and learned about end times, I decided to attend. The lecturer turned on the star projector. He showed how the earth is getting closer to the sun. Temperatures, he claimed, would escalate until…
Granny’s Good Medicine
I am grateful to Doctor Ernest E. Bruder, longtime chaplain at St. Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital in Washington D.C. In class he shared a remarkable story of the power of acceptance in the treatment of mental illness. He was searching for a patient who could type the manuscript for his book, Ministering to Deeply Troubled People. He settled on his patient/secretary.…
The Meanest Man
If you know what’s good for you, you won’t visit old Owen. He’s known as the meanest man in these parts. He’s likely to shoot at you. You’ll know his place when you come to a gate bordered by barbed wire. Owen’s neighbor had my welfare at heart. His warning posed a problem. The sales supervisor repeated many times, Never miss…