Stony Point by S. Noël McKay

Author:S. Noël McKay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inanna Publications
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Wednesday, July 1, 1903

“C’MON LADS,” LUCILLE HELD UP A PIE in front of the two miners. “This wonderful blueberry was baked especially for Pie Fest by Mrs. Harriet Baxter. Won’t you give two bits for such a lovely pie?”

The miners squeezed their hats in their hands, grinned, and made jokes. It was Dominion Day and the Stony Point UMWA Ladies’ Auxiliary Pie Fest was taking place inside a tent that the women had pitched on the grass opposite the ball diamond. The men came inside the tent and gazed like bears at the array of pies, cookies, and tarts, for it was late in the afternoon and all were starving for the picnic supper. Lucille sold the pie to the miners, then waited for a moment, shooing flies away from the treats with her whisk, when her next customer came up. He was a skinny boy in worn overalls whom she recognized from her day at the mine; he was one of the breaker boys. She sold him half a dozen tarts. As he rushed away, she cautioned him not to eat all the tarts at once and spoil his supper, but the boy hurried out of the tent a tart already stuffed in his mouth. Lucille looked around noting that the wooden boxes and tin plates on the table behind her were empty. She now had sold nearly all of her quota.

It was easy to sell pies with Granny around. The old woman sat on a stool beside the exit of the tent. If a man tried to walk past her with empty hands, she would tap his shins with the knob of her walking stick and scold him until he bought something. In addition to collaring the local men, she herded inside the men on the Frank baseball team and held them hostage until they bought pies too. Later, after the women had sold all of the treats Granny, Mrs. Baxter, and several other miners’ wives sat down at a table and counted the coins and bills. They put all of the proceeds in a strongbox that they gave to Mrs. Perkins to keep in her safe. From the satisfaction on the women’s faces, Lucille knew the Stony Point UMWA Ladies’ Auxiliary Pie Fest had been a success.

After she and Kate helped the other women clear up inside the tent, they took tin plates outside and strolled over to the firepit. Around them, the festivities continued. To the left, a group of grey-bearded men stood around the horseshoe pit and argued over who had the closest toss to a ringer. Children ran around everywhere. Lanka Ruzicka threw a firecracker into the dirt track between first and second base on the ball field; at the bang, she and her friends held their sides laughing. The girl was not a bit tired after all the hopping around she had done in the flour sack when participating in the children’s races earlier that afternoon. The men of the baseball team, with Seth among them, limbered up and tossed balls around in the outfield.

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