|
a.
|
Note: EXCERPTS FROM FAMILY HISTORY BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH MARIA VALLIERE, DELIENNE VALLIERE, LOUIS VALLIERE, JEAN VALLIERE & DORIS MARTEL -- BY WILLIAM MAHAN
Coming Home From Work (circa 1910, Berlin NH. Dosithe Valliere is "Papa") "Main Street ran along the river and was one of the few paved roads in the area. The children stopped here to await the trolley Papa rode home on from his job at the Cascade Mills. Maria ran directly to the telegraph pole at the corner. She put her ear against it listening intently. When it started to rumble she knew the trolley was coming and sounded the alarm that Papa was on his way. When the trolley arrived, Father stepped off into a cheering crowd of his own children where he was relieved of his lunch box and escorted up the hill.
Up at the house, Jeanne, who was too young to join the race down the hill, recalls looking out the window to catch sight of the trolley. "In winter months Mama would press a hot iron plate to the window to melt the frost so I could see through it."
When the group made its way back up the hill and the door flew open, Mama was waiting with a spoonful of head cheese. As the children looked on in anticipation, Papa took the spoon in hand and surveyed the offering with a critical eye. Then, raising the spoon to his nose he would pause and breath in deeply, as if sampling the bouquet of a fine wine. Next he delivered the morsel to his mouth as his eyes closed in ecstasy. After an interminable pause -- a swallow. His eyes opened thoughtfully for a moment, then came the smile of approval just before he snapped his head from left to right exclaiming "magnifique!"
A resounding cheer from the youthful throng about him was followed by a mad dash to be first in line for their own sampling of mother's specialty. With the brood in control (mother was the real disciplinarian anyway), father headed for the living room where he would indulge himself in a book, a cigar, and an appetizer of head cheese until dinner time...
When dinner was ready, Papa served the meal, always saving himself for last. With the younger family members already taken care of, the more mature group sat together and spoke of whatever was current, such as how Doc was making out in his new job.
Doc was 14 years old and had just graduated from St. Ann�s grammar school when he went to work in the same mill as his father. The hard twelve hour day, six day a week life of a mill worker was something Doc was not yet used to and he complained about how demanding his foreman was. It was a complaint his father had little sympathy with. As Maria put it, "It was clear to everyone that Doc was not yet the worker our father was." The debate ended when Anna and Maria began giggling uncontrollably and were banished to the stairway for embarrassing their brother.
After dinner Papa worked in the garden which grew between the house and the ledge. There he tended carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, parsley, string beans, and tomatoes. Mama often joined him once she put a pot of water on the stove to heat for washing dishes. This was much more than recreational gardening. The nation was in the midst of a financial panic making employment sporadic. Coupled with the loss of their tenant and the growth of the family, the garden continued as an essential source of food..."
The Hernia Operation (Circa 1894, Berlin NH)
"Since he was paying for this operation he intended to watch it until he passed out, if not from the pain then certainly from the whiskey. With a brother on each arm and a neighbor on each leg, Dosithe�s eyes grew wide as he watched the knife descend towards his abdomen and disappear into his flesh. Regina was pressed into service to soak up blood as the incision grew. The pain was severe but bearable, and the sight of his own insides provided as great a diversion as the whiskey. After some pushing and prodding inside his abdomen, he saw the doctor reach to his lapel and pull off a fringe of catgut which he threaded onto a needle. Then he brought the needle down into the incision and began sewing away like he would a button to a shirt. A quick tug finished it and he moved out to the incision which he closed with the same sewing technique."
|
