Miss Beth Shumate made the best cherry pie, and she made it for me so many times I cannot remember. She was my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher plus a great friend of the family. In fact, I would say between her and Gladys Snyder (Aunt Gladys) and their kids, they were family.
I loved it when Sally, Janie, Larry and Debbie would have to go to Ponca City to the orthodontist because I would get to go home with Antie Beth (Miss Shumate). That was when she would make those cherry pies for me. There was one downside to all of this. When her sewer lines and sewer tanks got clogged or full, I was the designated HONEY DIPPER. That means I was the repair man. If you are too much of a city person to understand, let me explain.
In small towns and rural America folks did not have city sewer and water. They had water wells and sewer lines with a tank buried underground in their yards. It was common for those sewer lines to be made of clay pipes about 4 to 6 feet long connected but packed with led to seal them together. The problem was/is that over time tree roots would push that lead packing out and fill the lines so there would be no drainage. The other problem is sometimes the tanks would fill up with s__t and stuff. That is when the honey dipper got called into action. Luckily the only two folks I had to do this job for was Miss Shumate and Gladys Snyder. In fact, the only pay I ever got for either of these two ladies work was cherry pie. Now Aunt Gladys was never much of a cook, so I did not get any cherry pie from her. Basically, I think my folks thought we should do this work as an act of kindness. AT MY EXPENSE!
Actually, I did not mind as they were both great to me. They both were mentors to me and were mighty big in my life. I would have to say I got one dig (joke) in for Miss Shumate when she retired. They had this party at the Grainola Methodist Church, and they asked me to speak. Miss Shumate never liked my penmanship, and she knew I was terrible at spelling. I happily shared at her retirement that her cherry pies were a great reward and that you do not have to have good penmanship or be a great speller to be successful. I got a few good laughs.
So, what do you learn in the Osage?
- Cherry pie can make a man do anything for a woman, including dipping s___
- Teachers and their words can make a difference in the lives of children
- Hard work and dirty work can make a better person and build character for a lifetime
