Santa's Identity

I was in the first grade in a little ole country school house one evening, it was the night of our Christmas program. After we all said our pieces it was time for Santa to come in and all us kids could sit on Santa’s lap and make our Christmas wish. I was sitting on this rolie polie jolly good Santa, white beard, red suit, short & stocky just like you see in the pictures of a real Santa. I’m thinking, boy this is the real thing, this is really Santa, just when I thought I was almost in heaven to be sitting on the real Santa’s lap I noticed Santa’s wrist watch sticking out from under his sleeve and wow did I get the surprise of my life, I recognized the watch, it was my dad’s. Then my bubble burst and I found out who Santa really was.
 -Marvin Leman

Goats in the Garden

"Mom and Dad were at a Saturday night testimony at church, and we kids were at home. The telephone was a great source of entertainment for us children and with the parents gone, we decided to have some fun. We called our neighbors, Charles and Nadine and said, " Get your goats out of my garden!" We did this several times, and I'm sure that they were very frustrated with us. -Jana

This story is one of the Eli Meyer family. It features the younger set of children, Cynthia, Jana, Richard, & Lanette.

Hide and Seek at the Steiner House

      One of my favorite games was hide and seek. We often played this at dusk because it was easier to find a hiding place when darkness started to fall. I remember our dad playing this with us on some evenings and this really pleased us. It made the game more exciting and I am sure he helped settle fusses. The problem was, Dad had to quit early and go to bed. He needed to arise early in the morning to milk cows and take care of other chores. We would also play hide and seek in the house, when we couldn't be outside. It was a little difficult to find good hiding places in the house. One time my brother, Lyle, and sister Florence, decided to hid in one of the kitchen cupboards. It was close quarters, but they managed to squeeze in and shut the door.  After much searching we could not find them and became alarmed. They did cry out, but we could not detect where the voices were coming from. Finally, they pounded on the door and made much commotion. Someone heard it and opened the cupboard door. They were really scared as was the entire family. I am quite sure no one ever hid in the cupboard again!

An excerpt from Gene Marti's book, The Lord Was Our Shepherd. This story is told by his wife, Mary Steiner Marti. pg 271

Saturday Night Bath

      With no running water or bathroom, bathing was quite a chore. First, water had to be heated on the kitchen stove. A round galvanized wash tub was brought into the kitchen. This was the same tub we used to rinse our clothes. I don't know how large this tub was, but surely it was not over two feet across. For a kid like me it was not difficult to sit in it, but the adults must have had a tight squeeze. 

      In the winter, the tub was set fairly close to the kitchen stove so we would be fairly warm. Hot waster was put in the tub and I will remember it was always too hot. I squealed like a pig under a gate, but it did no good. I just knew I was going to be scalded. 

      Being the youngest, I usually was the first one to take a bath. I believe the others used the same water and just added a little more hot water. It must have been pretty dingy by the time the last one was finished. Maybe they refilled the tub with fresh water but I don't remember that it was.

      One cold Saturday night, I finished my bath and was drying myself with a towel. I was standing close to the stove because I was freezing. I bent over to finish drying my legs and feet and would you believe, I backed into the hot stove. That really got my attention and I can still remember it quite vividly today. I had a fairly severe burn on my back side and it took some time for it to heal. In fact, for many years I had a scar which helped me to remember that Saturday night bath. 


-An excerpt from Gene Marti's book, The Lord Was Our Shepherd, The life and times of Gene Marti and Mary Steiner Marti. pg 52

Johnny & the Slops

      Johnny's mother asked him to go outdoors, gather the eggs and slop the hogs. Procrastinator as he was, Johnny ignored her and went about his business. Again, she asked him, "Johnny, go out and do your chores!"

       Finally, he tromped out and headed to the chicken barn. He got to the bar, headed inside, gathered the eggs and in his huff, he kicked a chicken across the barn floor. Still frustrated, he headed towards the pig pen. He dumped the slops to the hungry pigs, and when they came running, he kicked one pig as hard as he could.

      He turned toward the house only to see his Mother watching from the front porch. As he sullenly walked to the house, he knew he was in big trouble.  "Johnny," his mother said, "I saw you kick the chicken, I saw you kick the hog, and since you did that you won't be able to have bacon or eggs for breakfast." Johnny had just started to protest when behind him his father came onto the porch. He kicked the cat out of his way and slammed the door.

      Little Johnny looked up at his mother and said, "Momma should I tell him or do you want to?"