Monthly Archives: April 2004

Audrey: Oh!?

Beatrice Shippee

Audrey: Beatrice Shippee and I were best friends from the third grade to high school. Beatrice went in the commercial and I went into the college bound. Beatrice worked after high school. She worked near the Thornton Theatre in Arctic. Beatrice moved and I never got to see her again. She died when she was younger, around 60 years old.

Audrey: I’d recite poems. Kids came over to my house.

Audrey: You were afraid of thunder and lightening, so I would read to the children during the storms.

Audrey: Yes.

Audrey: There was an old man who lived in the country. His livelihood was killing pigs.^*

*Crystal, Audrey’s second daughter, emailed me to say the following: “the man who killed the pigs was old man Irons.  His daughter Isabelle Irons went to Shepherd of the Valley Church.  She was about 85 years old in 1970.  She never married. I remember when he came to the house and shot the pig, Pinky.  Pinky was a big fat pink pig. So cute. Vaughn was a baby in the crib in the back room.  We were supposed to stay in the room, so we wouldn’t see what was going on. But you know me, I had to peek.  I looked out the window and saw the pig fall down.  I remember crying.  You and Deardra were there too (but you two didn’t peek!),  I never knew that we ate the pig.  Thank God!  I can remember it like it was yesterday.

Audrey: Yes, getting around Arctic was like a jig saw puzzle. The Indians path (became) the cow path (and then) were widened to form the street. The Indians and then the cows went the simple and flat way. They didn’t go over rocks and hills.

Audrey: Amber, she bops in every other thing. She loves to put books and everything in order. Oh Lord, I think I’ve got a hand. I’m not sure.

Audrey: When we moved to Anthony, Ed gave up school and went to work. He worked for Standard Oil Company of New York. He drove a big truck and loaded it up with gas. He went to gas stations and loaded the little tanks with gas.