Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
It was 1915 and Ollie Willingham was a new bride who had moved to Perry County in Southern Indiana. Ollie previously lived in Kentucky with her first husband, John Traylor, and their ten-year-old daughter, Florence. John had worked as a barber until his death from tuberculosis.
After his death, a saddened and financially desperate Ollie and her young daughter moved to Indiana to live with her elderly mother.
While attending a church social, Ollie was introduced to a man named Sherman Willingham. Sherman had never married and was no longer a young man. Ollie was a shy young woman but she clearly was attracted to Sherman. He had such a gentle way about him exuding a kindness never before experienced by Ollie.
Times were difficult for a young widow with a ten-year-old child to rear alone. When Sherman began to call on her, she realized this might be her way of surviving an otherwise hard life as a single woman rearing a young daughter alone.
She accepted his proposal of marriage, and their courtship was a short one. Their marriage, while one of practicality, was also one of love. Ollies wedding dress was one she made herself. It was a rather plain dress made of pink gingham. She tied her hair back with a pink ribbon. Sherman wore his best bib overalls and blue work shirt. He reluctantly did not wear his broad rimmed work hat. They were married and he immediately moved her and her daughter, Florence, to his family farm in Perry County. There was no honeymoon. Folks from these parts didnt take honeymoons. They just returned to the home of one of their parents or to the home where one of their parents had lived while they were still alive.
Moving Ollies few belongings in a wagon pulled by a team of horses would have been more difficult if they needed to travel a long distance; but fortunately, Shermans farm was only about three miles from where Ollie had lived with her daughter and mother.
When her daughter, Florence, was at school and Sherman was busy with his farming chores, Ollie enjoyed roaming the fields and woods owned by her new husband. She loved the open fields and woods which she now called home. She enjoyed the smell of the wild onions that grew in the pastures.
Walking near the woods one cloudy spring day, Ollie saw the sky begin to look threatening and she heard thunder in the distance. She was, at first, unconcerned; but then she realized she was not at all familiar with this farm. She had lost track of exactly how far she was from the farmhouse. The thunder was getting louder and lightning was now visible. The sky was quickly becoming darker. Ollie was getting frightened because she knew all too well the dangers of being out in a lightning storm, but she didnt know where to seek shelter. She was completely disoriented and confused as to which way to walk. She began to run hoping to find some protection from the storm. The rain began to fall in heavy sheets. She could hardly see what was in front of her. She ran frantically into the woods holding her outstretched hands in front of her. The briars and low hanging branches dug into her young tender skin. Her long skirted clothing was soaked and clung tightly to her small shapely body. Her hair, which had been neatly pulled back in a bun, was now wet and falling down around her shoulders.
Through the driving rain, Ollie saw a small building a little further into the woods. The lightning was tremendous and the thunder crashed all around her as she ran toward the small building. She had never known that kind of fear. She came to the small building and pushed hard on the wooden door causing it to open slightly. She called out, Hello, is anyone here? No one answered. Lightning struck nearby. She could wait no more and she pushed the door open and rushed inside. Her heart was beating so fast she had trouble catching her breath. But for a moment, she felt safe from the storm. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim light in the cabin. Once her eyes adjusted, its what she saw next that frightened her even more.
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