Memories of Rosetta by Madge
Roach
The following notes were taken from a conversation
with Madge Roach (85years old) who is a cousin to Ila and Lois. She was Rosetta's Granddaughter, and
daughter of Joyce Flavel Dean.
Rosetta loved to play cards with her sisters, Mary
Ann and Jamima. If ever they didn't want the kids to
know what they were saying Rosetta would talk in Welsh. Often she would say
"Mo- la-
vakie—my little bellie.
Jamima her sister had the most beautiful long black hair.
She would rinse it in a solution of steeped sage. One day she was not feeling
well so she sent her children out to gather the sage. Unknowingly they brought
her the wrong weed and it turned her hair green. She had to wear a scarf around
her head for a long time till the green went away. She was so upset.
Indians would pass through their yard quite often
and beg for food. Rosetta would always fix them a sandwich or give them a piece
of cake and send them on their way. They hardly ever talked.
Grandpa Flavel had a
beautiful tenor voice. He would take the grandchildren out on the swing tied to
a huge poplar tree in the front yard and push them and sing an Indian
lullaby—"Oh the moon shines tonight on pretty Redwing,
The breeze is sighing. The night birds crying
Far beneath the stars my Brave is sleeping
Red Wing is weeping her heart away
One of Rosetta's favorite sayings was "Let the
wind blow free where ere ye be" referring to having to pass a little gas.
(I'm sure she's going to want to be remembered for this)
Grandma was very modest. She never took her garments
off even when she bathed. She would wash half of her then replace her garments
and wash the other half. She said not even her husband had seen her without her
clothes.
Rosetta was a great cook, especially known for her
cakes and pies. She would stoke up the old cold stove and stick her arm in the
oven to tell if it was hot enough. She was always right and seemed to know when
the temperature was right. She never burned anything.
To the side of the cold stove was a reservoir they
would fill with water to heat. This hot water was then transferred to an old
galvanized tub with a washboard where the clothes would be scrubbed.
Spring-cleaning was a big deal. All the rugs in the house were taken up and
hung over a wire line outside and beat till all the dust was out. The wallpaper
was cleaned with a pink playdough kind of stuff 'that
would clean off the soot and dust. The wad of pink was rubbed down the
wallpaper picking up dirt then folded over for a new clean surface and rubbed
down the next spot. It had a nice smell.
Grandma was well known for her beautiful handwork.
She had doilies all over the house. She was an expert in piecing and quilting,
and made many beautiful quilts. She also did embroidery, and made the shawls,
which she almost always wore around her shoulders.
Grandma never had running water or a bathroom in her
house. The well and the outhouse were out back in the yard. She had a pitcher
and basin she would fill and use for her washing—then out the window the water
would go when she was finished.
The Parlor was a very formal room at the front of
the house. It was reserved just for visiting, or singing around the piano. No
one touched or played the piano without grandma's permission or her being
there. She also played and loved to sing. She would go singing through the
house all the time.
Going to church together as a family was very
important. They were a very faithful family. She tried hard to teach and
convert her brother Luther, but he was a stubborn one. When he died someone
walked by his casket and said," Well look at old Luther, all dressed up
and nowhere to go" He had a reputation for being a real character.
Birthdays weren't celebrated much in their home.
Halloween was a time of tricks especially tipping over out houses. Those who
got caught got a good whipping from their parents, and oh what a mess that was
to clean up. Thanksgiving and Christmas were big celebrations. Rosetta always
put out Christmas stockings filled with goodies. One Christmas her Son Will
sneaked and filled the stockings with manure.
When her daughter Joyce got married, Rosetta didn't
like the idea of going to the church for cake and a receiving line. Instead
they hung lanterns all over the yard and set up a feast celebration. People
didn't bring presents—usually the couple just got one big gift. The friends
came to eat and dance and pull pranks. It was called a Chivery—sometimes
even the bride was stolen and hid from her new husband.
After her husband died Rosetta moved to the little
parlor at the front of the house. This became her living quarters as she rented
out the rest of the house to make enough to sustain herself. She had a double
size bed in the middle of the room with a fat feather tic mattress that you
would sink in the middle almost to the floor when you got on it. Her closet was
used to stock her fruits and vegetables from the garden. She had a little hot
plate to cook on, and her water pitcher.
Once when lla and Lois
went to visit her they found out just after leaving that the family in the rest
of the house had scarlet fever. Poor lla got the
fever and was very sick. Their house was quarantined, with a big sign out in
front of their house. No one could go in or out. All the schoolbooks had to be
heated in the oven to kill germs before they could go back to school.
During the flu epidemic of 1918 Madge remembered how
a man would walk down the streets of Spanish Fork calling out who had died that
day. They cremated as many as they could or just buried them out somewhere.
There wasn't the situation for a proper burial.
The story was also shared about Rosetta's son Will.
When he lost his first wife, Carrie, he was so devastated and despondent. He
would go to her grave and sit there and just sob how much he missed her and
couldn't go on. He became so depressed he finally decided he would take his
life. He got a gun and was walking down the stairs to go outside and shoot
himself when at the bottom of the stairs his deceased wife Carrie appeared to
him and told him "don't you dare do this Will don't do it!!" It
scared the heebee jeebees
right out of him. He went on with his life and ended up meeting Erma, having 2
more children and had a happy life.
Lizzie Evans and Rosetta Christmas Flavel were down in the fields shocking grain and they
caught George Hutchings cleaning wheat in their field and they took him by the
arm and leg apiece and swung him back and forth and then threw him in the big
ditch.
Grandma Rosetta had a happy positive personality.
She always spoke for people never against them.
