My Life - Tomato Plants and My First Memory! #2

A Lasting Memory

At the time I was born, my family lived in a small village named Clear Lake, which is about 30 miles from Watertown, South Dakota. Watertown, itself, being a small town of about 10,000 people at the time.

My earliest memory in life was from sometime in the spring of 1948. I was about 3 1/2 years old, and the youngest of 4 children. My brother, Selmer was the oldest at age 10, followed by my oldest sister, Jean, who was 8 at the time, with the third sibling being my sister, Sharon, who was 5.

At age 15, Mother had left her family to marry a man who turned out to be a drunkard and a non-provider. He never physically abused anyone in the family, but was mentally abusive and left mental scars on everyone. Also, needless to say, we were beyond impoverished.

Such was the situation, when at that time, an event occurred which became my earliest memory in life.

Living next door to our family, was an elderly couple, Mr and Mrs Hawley.

Mr Hawley had arranged several seedling tomato plants in individual small containers outside on the sunny side of his house. South Dakota's growing season was too short to grow tomatoes in the ground from seed. So it was traditional to plant the tomato seeds indoors during the middle of winter.

These containers, with seeds planted in the soil, were placed on a window sill on the sunniest side of the house.

The seeds sprouted into tiny plants and continued to get taller and bigger as the winter passed into spring, and finally, late spring. When the weather, and the ground grew warm enough, the tomato seedlings, still in their containers, were placed outside to "harden".

After a few days of hardening, they would then be transplanted into the garden where they would produce the kind of home grown tomatoes that we all love.

I must have noticed, on an earlier day, Mr Hawley watering his tomato plants. They were in their separate containers and placed on the ground next to his house, and on the side facing our house.

I was playing outside when I noticed Mr Hawleys plants. I immediately thought to myself, "He will be so proud of me if I help him by watering his plants. He will praise me and say what a nice little boy I am for helping him".

It was with this mindset and my chest lifted in pride, that I grabbed his garden hose and turned the water on.

A Boy, a Garden Hose and Tomato Plants

I didn't have enough experience in life to know that I was destroying Mr Hawley's plants. Even though bits and pieces of the plants, soil and containers were flying everywhere, I was consumed by the thought of Mr Hawley's oncoming praise for me when he saw me watering his plants.

My emotions were tipped upside down when he rushed toward me with and expression on his face which I had never seen from him before. His face was twisted, and unusually red with rage. The words he used were hurtful, and some, I had never heard before. Why was he so angry?I only wanted to help.

As I got a little older, and with more of life's learning experiences to guide me, I soon understood why Mr. Hawley was so angry. But that memory, is still with me, a mere 70 years later.

Next Post: How, at age 5, I shot myself in the foot.

My first post
My second post
My Life Begins - I Almost Killed My Mother!! #1