From Candle Glow Dreams Nebraska -The familyhttp://templeranch.wordpress.com is moving to the Platte Valley- Author Barb Franzen
Mom promised everyone a soda with her egg money. After
getting their bottles of grape
and using the filling station bathrooms, they were on the
road again, Al and Celeste in the lead... This would also be Al’s first time
seeing the Temple place.
In a jiffy, they crossed the Platte River, full of spring
rains and a winter of heavy snowfall. Awed by the sight, the water flowed at a
rapid pace, over and around sand bars, and hither and thither, cold and
clear. Two elderly men fished from a
bank; others fished from the bridge. Looking left, the view was visible for a
good distance. Sand, cottonwood, and what not…Such scenery!
A mile further, they
came to cornfields, some interspersed with cattle, while tractors rattled row
to row. Each section—a square mile, had a house or two and sometimes more.
Above, the sun was busy laughing downward,
bypassing hundreds of tiny white puffs that looked like marshmallows
floating about in springtime skies. Such joy! It seemed impossible to feel
anything but a lively anticipation. Al, certain to like this land and the
people, felt relief upon meeting other farmers on the road. This relief dealt
with how they greeted him. He called it
the two finger V wave. ( Palm of hand on steering wheel with two fingers up and
apart, making a V, and then, waving slowly back and forth, not too fast and not
too long. A real casual wave.)
A favorite scene-I remember going along this road and also paying at the beautiful Platte-How many things did we Brady and Gothenburg kids cross that river? We went over it on the way to Jeffrey, to friends, on play practice night-with friends, with dates- and with a thousand young dream. In doing this book, these scenes were of the essence.
ReplyDeleteThe Platte has a marvelous history. Among my pictures, I have one of my dad playing at the bridge while his folks spear fish, That was about 1913-I see trees in the picture and would like more information about when those were planted. I can recall the minnows going between my legs--and clear water that was just the right depth for a child. Of course, we thought about quick sand and what it would feel like lest we be sucked under. How awful! Otherwise how beautiful...
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