LIFE MUST GO ON

Joe helped his mother to run their mixed farming operation. The job required long hours of work, but the neighbors were good, and helped out when the need arose. The fencing was quite a chore and the animals managed to break out frequently, causing problems with the neighbors.

Sometimes when payments were due, they would have pigs or lambs to sell, and that would pay for the purchase.

Once money was scarce and they were in need, so they had to sell one of their good cows. She weighed one thousand pounds and they only received seventy five dollars for the animal. They were disappointed, as they needed more than that to meet expenses.

During the winter there was no way to make a living. This caused a problem, especially during the Christmas season. One year, Mary Bell had no fruit for a Christmas cake. On December 24th she managed to gather enough eggs to barter for a package of seeded raisins and some shortening in return for the eggs. _

It was late in the afternoon before Joe made the return trip to Bear River. Mary was happy to get the raisins and immediately started to make the fruit cake. She succeeded in having her cake out of the oven before Midnight Mass. Needless to say, it was excellent. As Mary Bell used to say, “If there’s a will, there’s a way!

One Christmas when Pat and Joe were young, Pat received a miniature set of aluminum dishes from Santa. She played with them for hours. They gave her endless hours of pleasure, and left her with fond memories of the toys that cost so little, and yet pleased her so much.

Joe recalls that the highlight of his Christmas gifts was a top that he received when he was six years old. He had placed his sock under the tree, but Santa had replaced it with his cap, because the top would not fit in the sock.

Christmas morning arrived and Joe was so excited and happy with the top, which was an unexpected gift. Usually they received fruit and some candy, but this toy was exceptional. It was well used and gave him many hours of enjoyment. '

Joe was so excited and happy about receiving such a meticulous gift,

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