But For the Grace of God

The following are two memories that Dad has written to share with you.  As I read them, it impresses upon my heart to be thankful for all the blessings we enjoy and are often taken for granted in such an affluently evolved nation like the United States.  

The Gypsies

About every two or three years, someone would come to town with the message, “The gypsies are coming”.  It has been a long time since we have heard that in Oswayo.  I remember the gypsies usually entered Oswayo from the east and had special camping areas.  One campsite was across from the Wells Cemetery, next to the Fish Hatchery.  Another was up Deering Hollow by the creek near Coneville.  A third-place the gypsies would camp was on the flat in the woods by Topeka (at Clara Junction and Route 44).

The dictionary defines a gypsy as someone who belongs to a traveling group of people making a living by itinerant trade and fortune-telling.  These people are believed to have come from South Asia and speak the language of Romany that is related to Hindi.  

Entire families (about 15-20 in a group) came with horses and wagons, leading horses along behind them.  The group of gypsies would stay a week or two and then move on.  They sold or traded horses with the local people. They had the reputation of being dishonest in their dealings and of stealing when there was a chance.  They would enter the stores in large numbers, and people claimed that the women were experts in hiding bread and other merchandise under their long, full skirts and other clothing.  The townspeople were always glad to see them leave.
 
The Logging and Wood Cutting Camps

The logging and wood cutting camps were usually Italian, Hungarian or Polish.  They were usually honest and hard workers, but their living conditions were poor.  I knew a logging camp family whose girls, Geraldine and Mary, went to grade school with me.  The father’s name was Henry Aldrich (not the Henry Aldrich on the radio).  The family moved to Tyler Hollow from Deering Hollow near Coneville.  They lived up Tyler Hollow for two or three years, then moved over near Genesee and Hickox. It was four miles up the hollow from State Rte 244, but the girls walked down to the main road and back each night to attend school.  They were good girls, but very poor.  I always felt sorry for them.  The wives and mothers had very hard lives with no modern living conditions at the logging and wood-cutting camps.  Often, they had to carry water, wash clothes by hand, and had very little female companionship.

In those years, there was little or no government aid available to most families. The lives and hardships of those who have gone before us should never be forgotten.  May we be reminded that only by the grace of God do we live in this time and place in history.  Still, many around the world today experience similar or greater hardships.  Let us be grateful and compassionate!

"He who is gracious and lends a hand to the poor lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay him for his good deed." Proverbs 19:7 Amplified Bible

--Darell (and Jan)