Strawberries and One Woman's Grit 



By Elizabeth Clarke Hardy 



WHEN Mrs. Lea was left to fend 

 for herself her total assets con- 

 sisted of a twelve-year-old son, 

 who must be reared and educated, and a 

 small cottage and three acres of land with 

 a mortgage attachment of $1,000. To 

 be sure, there was a small life insurance 

 which would pay the doctor's bills and 

 the funeral expenses of her late husband, 

 with perhaps a few dollars left over to 

 keep the wolf from the door until she 

 could pull herself together aad provide 

 for the future. This morning in early 

 spring she was facing a rather discourag- 

 ing situation, as she talked over their future 

 plans with her young son. 



"I think we would better stay right 

 here, Ray, and try to pay for the place. 

 I am afraid we would not make a success 

 of general market gardening, as yoi:r 

 father had planned, and I think we would 

 better make a specialty of strawberries. 

 The half-acre your father set out last 

 spring are in fine condi- 

 tion, and will net us 

 quite a little sum this 

 year, and we will set 

 out the remainder of the 

 ground to the very best 

 of thoroughbred plants 

 just as soon as possible, 

 reserving only the front 

 lawn and a small plot 

 for a garden for our own 

 use. 



"And I will leave 

 school and help you, 

 mother. I can do a 

 whole lot that will save 

 hiring help, you know." 

 "No, Ray, you must 

 keep on with j' o u r 

 school. We must plan 

 for your education above 

 everything else. It is 

 fortunate that we are situated so that you 

 can have the advantage of so good a school. 

 You can help me mornings and evenings 

 and during the picking season, which will 

 be in vacation time. I shall send away 

 at once for some of the best of both early 

 and late varieties of plants, so as to make 

 the strawberry season as long as possible, 

 and we will begin business at once." 



With Mrs. Lea to plan was to act. A 

 man was hired to prepare the ground, the 

 plants were bought of a reliable grower, 

 and in due time, and with plenty of back- 

 ache, a plucky woman and a small boy 

 had set out two more acres of fine straw- 

 berry plants, and planted one-quarter acre 

 to the garden stuff that was to furnish 

 their table with home-grown vegetables 

 during the coming year. 



And then how they worked, while the 

 plants grew and thrived ! No pains or 

 work was spared to keep down the weeds 

 and give the plants a chance to do their 



very best, and it seemed to the watchful 

 workers that their plants responded to 

 their care with almost human intelligence, 

 and meant to break the record. 



The half-acre of year-old plants was a 

 magnificent sight, with its great clusters 

 of glowing, red berries among the green 

 leaves, and in picking time help had to be 

 hired. Mrs. Leaattended to the packing 

 and marketing of the berries, and this first 

 year the profits from the half-acre of 

 strawberries enabled her to pay .$100 and 

 interest on the mortgage, with a small 

 surplus to tide over the balance of the year. 



There was no time for extra work dur- 

 ing the summer and fall, as the care of 

 the strawberry beds and her housekeeping 

 was all that one woman could attend to, 

 but one thing Mrs. Lea did. She sub- 

 scribed for a good strawberry journal and 

 studied up strawberry culture, and every- 

 thing pertaining to the profitable market- 

 ing of the fruit, and she came to the second 



SUNNV.l;k(j()K 1 ARM, HOMII (Jl- MRS. E. C. HARDY, RED CEDAR, WIS. 



year better prepared in every way for her 

 venture in strawberries. She did not feel 

 quite satisfied wi'h the prices she had re- 

 ceived the year before for her fruit, and 

 she determined to keep her eye open for 

 the main chance, and to let no opportun- 

 ity escape to make more money from her 

 second crop. 



The second year her strawberries were 

 a revelation to her less painstaking neigh- 

 bors. The vines were loaded with great, 

 luscious clusters, and people passing by 

 on the busy thoroughfare often stopped 

 to purchase berries, and in this way she 

 sold many at better prices than she could 

 command in the city market. 



Early in the spring she had purchased 

 a Jersey cow, which was pastured by a 

 neighboring farmer, and every day during 

 the strawberry season they reveled in 

 strawberries and cream and strawberry 

 short-cake. And to the strawberry short- 

 cake was due a streak of good luck, or per- 



Pa«e 147 



haps we might say two streaks of good 

 luck, which fell to Mrs. Lea this second 

 summer. 



One day in the midst of the berry season 

 a large automobile, with the usual per- 

 versity of these machines, broke down 

 directly in front of the cottage. No 

 amount of persuasion on the part of the 

 men could induce it to move on, and at 

 noon they were still tinkering perspiringly 

 at the huge machine. Then one of 

 the^men appeared at the d oor of the cottage. 

 "We have broken down, and we are 

 hungry," he said concisely, "Do you think 

 you could give us a bite of dinner.'^" 



"Why,^yes," answered Mrs. Lea, hos- 

 pitably, "dinner is just ready and if you 

 will come right in you can eat before I 

 call the strawberry pickers." 



In a few moments the four men were 

 seated at the table in the cool, pleasant 

 little dining room, and were partaking of 

 a real farmer's dinner of fresh garden veg- 

 etables, supplemented 

 by coffee, strawberry 

 short-cake and the most 

 delicious Jersey cream. 

 Evidently they had 

 good appetites and en- 

 joyed their fare, for 

 Mrs. Lea served each 

 with the second individ- 

 ual short-cake before 

 they finished the meal. 

 As they arose from 

 the table, one, an elder- 

 ly, distinguished -look- 

 ing man, turned to Mrs. 

 Lea and said courteous- 

 ly, "I do not know 

 when I have enjoyed a 

 dinner as I have this 

 one. Your strawberry 

 short-cake and Jersey 

 cream take me back 

 to my boyhood days. Allow me to thank 

 you for your hospitality to my friends and 

 myself," and slipping a bill from his 

 pocket he laid it on the table. 



Mrs. Lea's face flushed. "You are very 

 welcome to your dinner, but I do not 

 wish you to pay for it. I do not keep a 

 hotel," she said with embarrassment. 



"Oblige me by accepting it. It is noth- 

 ing compared with the enjoyment of such 

 a dinner" he said decisively. "And if 

 you would only put out a sign 'Strawberry 

 Short-cake and Jersey Cream,' I am willing 

 to vouch for all the guests you would be 

 able to serve during the berry season," 

 and touching their hats the men took their 

 departure. 



1 hat evening Mrs. Lea took her son 

 into her confidence as usual, and instead 

 of picking berries Ray worked out a neat 

 little sign, and in the morning it was 

 tacked on the front porch. The first 

 week there was a fair sprinkling of 



