Page 85 - memories-of-golde-dicks-markham-(1996)-golde-dicks-markham

Memories of Golde Dicks Markham (1996) Golde Markham Dicks 70/125
I

One particular Christmas, Pa’s sister Mabie and I wanted to attend the Christmas
program at the Rose Creek Presbyterian Church. This church was nicknamed “Round Top”
because a round roof covered its one round room. Just before the holiday, it had rained

heavily until all of the branches and streams were brimming full' of water.
Pa’s brother Henry (“Bill”) said that he would take Mabie and me to the church. I
can’t imagine why my mother allowed me to go with Uncle Bill because he never would buy
a horse that didn’t buck, run away, and have to be broke in. I had never seen him buy a

horse, bring it home, and try to ride it. The horse would throw him off its back as fast as he
would get on it. He even blindfolded the horse—he just had to have a wild horse.
Mabie and I got all dressed up. I wore above-the-knee, black ribbed cotton stockings,

and Ma always managed to have one pretty dress for me. Uncle Bill had the horse hitched to
his buggy and was all dressed up in his suit and shiny shoes. We three got into the buggy and
away we went.
Everything was fine until we got to Rose Creek. It was dark.

Uncle Bill said, “Just look at all of this water! I can’t tell where the road is!”
Mabie suggested we go back home. She was a frail and sickly girl but very pretty.
Uncle Bill said, “We are almost to the church now. I'll just give the horse the reins and

trust him to take us across because I just can’t tell where the road goes.”
Then he added, “If the water is as deep as I think it is, this buggy is going to float, but
the horse will pull us on through.”
He predicted the water would come up to ourseat and told Mabie to hold on to me

with her left hand and to' hold on to the buggy with her right hand. Uncle Bill wanted us to
put our feet up on the dashboard, and he told me to put my feet and legs on his lap.

Then he told the horse to “gid up” and slapped him on the back with the lines. The old
horse took off into the water. The water got deeper and deeper and soon came up to the
bottom of the buggy. Uncle Bill told1 us to keep our feet up as the water came into the
buggy. The bottom of the buggy was full of muddy water. No one would have done this but

Uncle Bill.
“Oh, the buggy is floating!” he exclaimed.
About that time the horse started swimming.

I didn’t say a word, but I was thinking, “Ma, if you could see me now!”
About then the horse touched bottom and the buggy wheels hit ground. The water
started running out of the buggy. We had crossed Rose Creek! The buggy dripped water all

the way to the church.

70

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: C15F5985-B57F-498C-9C99-F425FA07E049