“That’s two of you in the west now!”
“The country’s growing, Amelia, and city crowds are not for all.
“And I think we’ve given our youngsters enough time to get to know one another for now. Shall we gather the luggage and take your young ladies to their new home?”
Most of the young folk had already congregated, cowboys spiriting the bags and boxes into the wagon, which had been outfitted with benches.
CHAPTER 24 – Welcome to Green River
It was all so strange, the wide open spaces, the towering trees, the ranch buildings. There were no tall narrow buildings crowding the streets; no traffic of people, and carriages, and carts, covered wagons and drays and other equipages racing along to the hazard of any pedestrians and other vehicles and horses.
And the smells were so different. Not the animal waste; that stayed the same, although generally not so concentrated and intense. But there was no overlying odor of rotten garbage. The breeze held a hint of green smells and flowers and even cooking, but not the spoiled and sour smells so often coming from the tenements. These were mouth-watering aromas of meats and pies.
It wasn't the same kind of noise, either. No yelling and screaming or shrill sounds of mother's calling their children. Except for the very youngest, the children all seemed to be helping with chores around the ranch.
Reverend Richardson had made arrangements for lodging at the Tri Brand. A dance was planned for Saturday night, the day after everyone arrived, to give other young men in town the opportunity to meet the young ladies, as well, and to introduce them to the rest of the townsfolk.
The rancher, Charles Barnett, and his beautiful wife Mary, had made them all feel at home. It had been decided that the women should stay together at first, so the men had vacated their bunkhouse and set up tents in the next field so they could all get to know one another and the ladies might not feel so strange and alone. Mother Evangeline had been invited to stay at the ranch house so she’d be near her charges.
These people are really thoughtful of others, thought Barbara. This will be a nice place to live.
~~~
On their first full day they were treated as guests and permitted to sleep in and recover from the rigors of travel. Emilene was a happy toddler and had been a good traveler—better than some of the others, thought Barbara. Poor Judith had suffered from motion sickness on the train to the dismay of others in their car.
The men had been as quiet as possible attending to the morning chores but had been permitted to share a late breakfast with the ladies. A tub had been provided and fellows took turns bringing water from the well to the cauldron throughout the morning until everyone had had a chance to bathe and wash clothes.
It was good that the girls were given a chance to rest and relax after the train trip, because they were meeting the whole town this evening at the dance. And it's a very good thing, thought Mother Evangeline, that we gave the girls some dancing lessons.
Some had thought it frivolous to be teaching working class girls about the waltz, quadrille, and polka, but besides being good exercise for them, it also gave them grace and poise, fundamentals for almost any situation. The round and square dancing were even popular with the male orphans being cared for by the Franciscan Brothers, who relished the chance to get out, some to see their sisters, once a month.
But, even before the dance, the orphans had been invited to a tea party. Nervousness warred with excitement as preparations were made.
CHAPTER 25 – Afternoon Tea
Knowing the potential for jealousy toward the new girls, who might be resented as interlopers despite the rather overwhelming majority of men over women, both Father Francis and Reverend Joe had made a point of inviting the most popular young ladies at their churches to get together with the newcomers prior to the dance, to make friends and serve as personal ambassadors.
Francis gave credit to Joe for coming up with the idea but both men had used their own wiles to make the girls think it was their idea to be the first to greet the new girls as companions instead of rivals. After all, they were here from back east and (the rumor had already spread widely) wearing the latest fashions. Perhaps they’d share a few of the newest techniques!
So just after lunch, wagons departed from the Barnett ranch house, St. Mary’s on the Hill, and Green River Church, laden with females dressed for tea, on their way to the Grange Hall, which was already decorated for the evening’s dance. Both sets of church ladies had placed rather elegant tea services (donated by these hostesses for the occasion) at four tables set for eight women each, plus one table for themselves.
Breaking the Ice
As the wagons arrived, and their occupants disembarked, excited chatter diminished to nervous glances at the other groups, until Charlie Sue broke the ice by striding over to Judith and exclaiming over the needlework on her dress.
“Most of us were taught to make lace,” Judith was explaining, “but very few have the skill to keep the stitches even.” She fingered her cuffs. “Sister Agatha made me these to remember her by.”
Then she reached toward Charlie Sue’s sleeves which featured equally exquisite cuffs. “But this is a totally different style of lace. Did you inherit these?”
“Oh, how perceptive of you! Yes, they are old-fashioned, but I made them myself to match the collar my mother made me. But it didn’t quite work with the neckline of this dress,” she drawled, as another of the ladies narrowly avoided whooping with laughter.
“Oh, be still, Gladys! Just because you managed
