"Don't cry. Your mother can have more babies!" Those were the haunting words spoken to young Josephine after her week-old, yet-to-be-named brother died in her arms. Even at 94 years of age, she could hear the pounding of nails and the snipping of scissors in her childhood home. She could close her eyes and see a man making a tiny coffin, and two women sewing fabric for its liner, in preparation for the wake. Josephine grew up in extreme poverty. Being the oldest child, she assisted a mid-wife with most of her mother's ...
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"Don't cry. Your mother can have more babies!" Those were the haunting words spoken to young Josephine after her week-old, yet-to-be-named brother died in her arms. Even at 94 years of age, she could hear the pounding of nails and the snipping of scissors in her childhood home. She could close her eyes and see a man making a tiny coffin, and two women sewing fabric for its liner, in preparation for the wake. Josephine grew up in extreme poverty. Being the oldest child, she assisted a mid-wife with most of her mother's fourteen births, including a stillborn and two newborn boys that died. Her mother, sickly and fragile most of her life, endlessly cooked, cleaned and cared for the children. Her father often fixed cars and farm machinery in exchange for food, but drank away much of the precious cash he received for his work. Josephine sacrificed her childhood helping care for her younger brothers and sisters. Complicated by constant moves from one small Minnesota town to another, she persevered with her studies and was the only sibling to complete high school. Some of the boys did not even finish grade school; instead, they worked with their father in his shop. Josephine earned a teaching certificate and taught all eight grades in a one-room schoolhouse, but later got fired for violating the terms of her contract by getting married. "I was strong and I had guts - you need guts." That was Arthur's motto. He was a feisty boy who grew up with a chip on his shoulder. He got into fights his whole life, even into his seventies. He fought for dignity, to express his masculinity, and to defend family or friends, even risking his life in one incident. Although his brawling wasn't exactly governed by Boxing's Marquis of Queensbury rules, it had his own code of ethics. He battled only with his fists - he called it "fighting fair." There was no beating the opponent bloody when down. "Nobody kicked nobody," he said. There was no use of knives, guns, or other weapons. Rather, there was a certain innocence, and sometimes even heroism, associated with his fighting. Arthur was three years old when his mother died in the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918. His father kept the youngest boy, James, but abandoned Arthur and his older brother Charles in an orphanage, where Charles would die from Tuberculosis. Arthur's luck changed for the better (or did it), when fostered by a farmer and his wife. The couple vowed to adopt Arthur, but like the promise made by his father to return for him, this also proved to be untrue. They provided Arthur a comfortable home and cared for him, only to break his heart by sending him back to the orphanage after two years. Just when Arthur was about to lose all hope, his foster parents came back for him. He gained incredible strength working on their farm like an indentured servant, helping them achieve wealth. When his foster mother Annie became sick, she convinced her husband Nick to put Arthur in their Will. But after she died, all copies of the Will mysteriously disappeared. People, whom Arthur had trusted, lied and tricked Nick out of most of his estate, leaving Arthur with nothing. To add insult to injury, he and his newlywed wife Josephine were evicted from the home that had been promised to them. My dad's masterful story-telling inspired this book. He entertained friends, relatives and strangers with his sagas, right up to his very last day. After he passed, Mom provided her own fascinating tales. "The Teacher and the Tough Guy" is their true story.
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