Ina’s
Sundays were always quiet days, devoted to church, fellowship, a good mid-day
meal, and quiet activities.
A
visiting minister came the first Sunday of the month. Other Sundays, they
called the service “Sunday school,” and a member would provide a lesson
followed by discussion. Today, Bertha shared the story of the Wisemen. An
inspiring discussion followed. The congregation sang several Christmas carols.
Pot
roast was a natural for Sunday dinners since the meal roasted while they were
at church and was mostly ready when they arrived home. Today, it
was just the three of them. Shirley Anne set the table while Ina put the food in serving dishes. The meal and the dishes were finished quickly,
and Ina was glad, since she wanted to start her Christmas cards.
Mid-afternoon,
Ina became aware that Shirley Anne was sad and rightly guessed that she was
missing her mother. It was difficult to know how to cheer her, but just then
the phone rang – a long and two shorts – and Ina lifted the earpiece to answer.
Yes! It was Mrs. Smith calling to talk to Shirley Anne. “Why, she’s right here.
I’ll put her on,” said Ina.
Telephone
calls were kept short in those days because they were expensive. If I told you the
cost of a long distance call, you would think it a pittance, but even loose
change was dear. Ina set the 3-minute egg timer on the windowsill, and Shirley Anne knew what it meant. Undaunted, she forgot her sadness in hearing her
mother’s voice and chatted along about the magic closet, the new nightgown,
robe, and slippers, and even about the poem she was learning for the school
Christmas pageant. Ina was pleased to know the child was happy in her stay,
even though she naturally missed her mother.
The
call ended satisfactorily within the three-minute limit, and Shirley Anne’s
cheerful nature was restored. Ina set her to work putting stickers on the back
of Christmas cards and letters. KW
How do you suppose the phone bill was calculated? Did the operator have 20 timers so that she could time each call and log it in a record book? Was there a more automatic way that the call duration was recorded?
ReplyDeleteNeat stamps! Why isn't there an amount listed on the stamp?
I don't know how they calculated the time. I suppose we could research that.
ReplyDeleteI don't know when phones were installed at Gilbert, but both Ina and Bertha had them. Perhaps the phone utility was a co-op in those days because Bertha recounts the details of a meeting in which it came out that no one could pay their phone bills, so the company officials forgave all their charges and they started all over.
The stamps are "Christmas seals." Seems like we don't hear so much about them now, but even when I was a child, people were encouraged to donate to the American Lung Association and use the Christmas seals they provided. Back in the day, they fought tuberculosis. Now that tuberculosis is less prevalent, they also fight other lung diseases. It's an interesting history, and you can read about it at christmasseals.org. P.S. This year's stamps are quite beautiful.