Over My Shoulder

Chapter 18—Mother Lifts the Mortgage

“I [Virgil] did not know that the building of our house had cost more than was planned. Father’s small salary barely covered the ordinary household expenses, to say nothing of liquidating the debt on our house. Any suggestion that he leave his work as one of Mrs. White’s secretaries and find more remunerative employment was never for a moment entertained by any of us. OMS 119.1

“For several years when the trees leafed out in the spring and the birds began to sing, Mother would harness our black horse, Babe, to the one-seated carriage and journey to other communities to sell Adventist books and, at times, aluminum cooking utensils. Finding her best customers living far off the beaten track, she frequently headed for the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. For four summers and one winter she continued this work until the debt on our house was greatly reduced. From her earnings we also arranged to have a modest cottage built on Howell Mountain, near Pacific Union College. Here Mother hoped at some future time to live and educate her family, and incidentally, to finish her own schooling. But most of the time it was rented to others. (Years later the cottage was to burn to the ground only five weeks after its insurance policy lapsed.) OMS 119.2

“Mother’s selling trips were not without their dangers. Many of the miners were rough men and Mother did a lot of praying as she went into unknown country. One day she knocked on the door of a decrepit shanty and was greeted by a strange-looking individual who guided her to a room lighted only by one small candle, and then disappeared.” OMS 119.3

(Here I take over from Virgil): OMS 119.4

I looked around. In the far corner of the room I saw, sitting in a chair, what appeared to be a skin-covered skeleton. To my great relief, it spoke. OMS 119.5

“Were you looking for Nellie? She won’t be here tonight.” OMS 119.6

I started to explain the object of my call. “Don’t get the things out, dearie; I couldn’t see them if you did.” OMS 119.7

The voice coming from that eerie figure was that of an old woman, whom I later learned was 103 years old. She was totally blind and so stiffened with arthritis that she seldom moved from her chair. The huge man sitting in another corner was her grandson. He apparently gave her the care necessary to keep her alive. OMS 120.1

I left the old woman with some very brief, very important remarks. OMS 120.2

“When Jesus lived here among men, He healed all the sick and gave sight to the blind. He has promised to come again and take away all pain and suffering and to give us new bodies that will never feel old or worn out or weak.” OMS 120.3

“Yes, dearie, I know,” she said with a sigh as I backed out of the room. Babe and I went on our way. OMS 120.4

Once while canvassing in the foothills of the Sierras, I came to a village without a single inhabitant. Windows were boarded up and the forlorn cottages were surrounded by weeds that seemed more like small trees. I knew Babe was hungry, and, remembering the apple and shredded-wheat biscuit that I carried for my emergency lunch, I was too. But, there was no suitable place to stop and eat. It all seemed so weird. I drove on, but there was no sign of life anywhere. OMS 120.5

Then, what a relief! Half a mile past the village, we came to a neat cottage, and a little fox terrier ran out to the front gate wagging his tail and barking a friendly greeting. The visit with the lonely woman living there was refreshing to us both. Faithful Babe seemed to appreciate the extra feed she received that day, and didn’t leave one kernel of grain in her nose bag. OMS 120.6

While I ate my lunch and drank the glass of cool milk my kind hostess poured for me, she told me the story of the deserted village. It had once been a prosperous hydraulic mining town. The process of washing gold from the soil rapidly filled up the valley. A farmer would buy a piece of fertile land, plant an orchard, garden, and alfalfa field, and build a house and barn. After a few years his trees would be half-buried under a fresh layer of soil washed down from the mine above, and he would face the prospect of using a second-story window instead of his front door as the entrance to his house. The valley people appealed to the local government, and a stop was put to the hydraulic mining in that vicinity. This decision, however, came too late. Within a few weeks, the entire population had moved away and were looking for places elsewhere to settle, leaving the village deserted. OMS 120.7

Life in the mining towns of California during the early part of the century was rough. I know that my guardian angel protected me on more than one occasion, and perhaps on many others when I was not conscious of any danger. It was a wonderful feeling to know that I was God’s child, and that my heavenly Father was caring for me. OMS 121.1