Whether it was sunny or freezing,
Leon delivered the GRIT newspaper.
Harvey Shaw, a school bus driver, would
try to take Leon home on the days
he walked in the winter, but the half-
frozen newsboy always declined. He
was committed to doing this job on his
own. The citizens of Thida and Union
Hill were proud to receive the GRIT
newspaper for many years in the early
1960s. Leon was smiling every Friday
on his way home from delivering the
papers, when he’d count his nickels one
by one.
Leon is one of my special customers,
from whom I’ve heard many GRIT stories
over the years. Earlier this year, Leon
and I were thrilled to discover that
GRIT is still in print, now published as a
magazine. The GRIT magazine shown in
the picture with Leon is the March/April
2019 issue.
CATHERINE HARRIS
THIDA, ARKANSASMemories of an Old Cookstove
The letter from Michael Young
(“Grandma’s Stove,” May/June 2019)
sure brought back memories of my
family’s old cookstove. It had a 5-gallon
water reservoir at the end where I got
hot water to fill the round, galvanized
washtub on the floor of the kitchen. The
tub was usually kept outside, and in the
middle of winter in Hinckley, Minnesota,
it took a while for the hot water to warm
it up; I can still remember the feeling of
cold metal on my bottom.
When I was done taking my Saturday
night bath, I’d have to go out to the well
and pump water into pails to bring back
inside and refill the reservoir.My fondest memory is of Grandpa
and I sitting in front of the stove, side
by side, with our feet resting on a box
of dynamite. That’s how we got it warm
in winter, so it would be more effective
when it was time to blow up tree stumps.
As we sat there, Grandpa would tell me
stories of his life, how he and Grandma
got married in Nebraska and their
journey by covered wagon to the land
where they’d later build a log cabin.
I still have the curved glass china
cabinet they brought with them from
Nebraska by covered wagon. It was their
wedding gift.
GARY ANDERSEN
LAND O’ LAKES, FLORIDAMail Call(^6) September/October 2019
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