1. Church Picnic


    Date: 8/16/2015, Categories: Historical, Author: verytrustedsource, Rating: , Source: LushStories

    Life in rural Ontario was tough in the mid-1800s. Farming families were able to make a living but it was hard work every day of the year. In spring they planted and hoped that the crops took, in summer they worried about drought, in fall they harvested and in winter they tried to survive the harsh days where the temperatures sometimes plunged to minus thirty for days at a time. Our family ran the General Store so we didn’t endure their long hours and physical discomforts but our living depended on how well they did with their crops. Under such conditions, we took any opportunity we could to party. July seventeenth was one of those times. Ever since 1839 a group of us had had a church picnic to celebrate completing our confirmation class under the very stern and no nonsense Reverend MacYork. This year eight had said that they would attend – Janet and her husband Greg, Jim and his wife Karen, Tricia, Jane, Lowell, and myself James. Arriving back from changing out of my church clothes after today’s church service I saw that Jane and Tricia were already there. Jane had always dressed in pants and a loose shirt when she came to class and was dressed that way again this afternoon. I’d known her all my life and I’d never really thought of her as a girl – especially since she was always dressed like one of the guys. She’d been really uncomfortable when her parents forced her to wear a dress to the first picnic. The mouths of all the guys in the class dropped when she’d said hello ...
    and we realized who it was. She looked absolutely fantastic – it highlighted her tiny waist and a nice size chest. Tricia, on the other hand, was always in dresses, as she had this afternoon, that highlighted her fantastic figure. Like Jane, I’d know her all my life and thought of her as a sister. While I worked in the family general store, Tricia and Jane worked on their families’ farms. Thankfully, even though the three of us were now in our mid-twenties, none of our parents were forcing us to look for a mate. “Hi guys,” I called out as I got out of my wagon, “how’s it going.” “Great!” answered Jane. “Janet’s not doing so well though. Her mom came up to me after church to say that Greg and one of the kids had come down with the flu and they couldn’t come today.” Tricia said, “Karen let me know that she and Jim wouldn’t be able to make it because Jim had to travel to Greystoke to visit his mother because she’d broken a leg.” “I guess it’s just the three of us then,” I said, “because Lowell told me this morning that he’d had an accident in his buggy yesterday and needed to get it fixed.” “Do you guys want to cancel?” “Why should we suffer too,” said Jane. “I’m all for it if you two still want to go.” “We’ve got all this food we’ve prepared,” said Tricia. “Let’s do it!” “Okay!” I said. “Let’s get the stuff into the back of the wagon and get going. You can leave your buggy here for the day. It’s supposed to get up to a 110 this afternoon and I want to be near water. I found a new ...
«1234...89»