Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles Volume VI, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in the 1860s and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. This is the sixth in a series. The books are available from Lintern for $25 a set, tax and shipping included. Each book is about 120 pages written for intermediate readers (4th grade) with local illustrations. Volume I is Amelia Changes Her Tune. Volume II is Isaac and Wolf Paw Find Their Home. Volume III is Autumn Keeps Her Secret. Volume IV is Mr. Gamble Starts a School. Volume V is Jacob Blows his Horn.
Oct. 1, 1831
Dearest Sister Autumn;
It has not been a month since I left you but it feels like it has been forever. When my parents told me they were sending me to Ohio to visit your family this summer, I thought they just didn’t want me around and were sending me to another country on the other side of the world.
Indeed, the 10 days it took to get to you seemed like we were crossing the jungles of Africa or going up the Amazon. My first days with you were so hard, and not because you and Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jacob were mean to me, because you could not have been nicer.
I just thought I had been dropped in a strange and backward place. But my time in Richland County changed me and I became an Ohioan and a member of your family. I know I scared you with my illness after that snake bit me, but truly, I could not have received better care, and I could not have a better sister than you are for me, Autumn.
I pray that the miles and months will not separate our hearts as we grow up and grow old.
Your affectionate sister, Amelia.
As Cassie and Mama boarded the train, Papa was joking about how much luggage they were taking and how they would need their own personal porters to look after them.
“Don’t be silly Levi, it’s just what any two ladies would take for a couple of weeks east,” Mama said.
“I’m just glad we’re not going by covered wagon, the way your Father did,” he smiled.
“He wouldn’t be going that way today, either,” Mama replied. “And besides, this is no more than we took the last time, or the time before.”
“And it was too much then, too. But what do I know? I’ve just sent 3,000 men off to war with plenty of supplies and less than this.”
Mama swatted Papa on the arm and showed disdain, but Cassie knew they would sneak a kiss just before departing.
I want a kiss, too.
Papa was good for that, too, a peck on her forehead as he told her, “Have a safe and wonderful journey, and don’t grow up too much before you get back.”
“Thanks, Papa. I love you.”
“I love you my little chickie.”
As the train pulled out of Mansfield, Cassie pressed her nose against the window and look hard at everything going by, slowly at first, than faster. It was her “tradition.” She wanted to soak in as much as possible of what she was leaving behind, to remember it, to take it with her.
She loved looking at the passing scenery because even if it seemed the same, every click of the track and curve of the train brought sights — farms, animals, hills and trees — and each village had something distinctive, even if the stations they stopped at began to blend into one big blur.
There were the familiar stops where Cassie had already visited — Lucas, Hayesville, Jeromesville, Wooster, Orrville. Then came the farther away stops — Canton, Hanoverton, East Liverpool — until into Pennsylvania they went, with dozens of interesting communities between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Along the way, Cassie would amuse herself with poems or songs she would write about the places she saw.
Of course, a trip this long had plenty of time for reading, and napping, and talking with Mama.
“Who was the first boy you fell in love with, Mama?” Mama smiled.
“Your father, of course.”
“No, he wasn’t, I know that. You were old when you met and he already had Levi when you got married.”
“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t my first, it just means I wasn’t his first. You know that Papa’s first wife died when Levi was born. He found me and all of a sudden, we were a family,” she said.
“But you had boys you liked growing up. Who was the first?”
I wonder if she sees through me. Does she know about Sheldon?
“Is this about Sheldon, dear?” Mama asked.
Cassie’s heart sank. Too late now.
“It may be,” Cassie said, slowly. “And how did you know?”
“You can guess which older brother of yours told me,” she said.
“So what is so special about Sheldon?”
Besides being tall and strong and cute and a year older than me?
“Nothing, I was just asking.”
“Does he show any interest in you?”
“Only when I slide into home base,” Cassie said sullenly.
“You are growing up, sometimes too fast, sometimes not fast enough. We see that and you can feel that. Did you hear Papa tell you not to grow up too much before we get back?”
Cassie nodded.
“He just knows that you are quickly becoming a woman and he doesn’t want to miss those last moments with his little girl. And dear one, he knows that he is not around much as it is.”
“Why doesn’t Sheldon care about me?”
“Maybe he isn’t as grown up as you think, either. If he is supposed to notice you, believe me, he will.”
“How did you find Papa?”
“He found me, and I am glad he did.”
“Did he love Levi’s mother?”
“More than anyone.”
“Then how…”
“It’s a mystery dear girl, how we can love. Papa needed a mother for Levi, and he wanted someone he could love as much as…. you know.”
“We decided love would find a way for both of us, and it did.”
And maybe it will for me, too.
