Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years.
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Tom and Hettie Tracy
In the early 1900s, my grandparents, Tom and Hettie Tracy, were part of a group of Marysville couples who did a lot of things together. They had parties and dinners and things like that. And every time it was Hettie and Tom’s turn to entertain, the group could expect something a little “different.”
For example, in 1908, they hosted a formal dinner party for the group. It was in late October, so Hettie had Tom bring in a couple of corn shocks and set them up on the front porch along with some pumpkins and gourds. Then she had him build a split rail fence in front of the front door.
When the guests arrived, they were all dressed to the nines. The women were wearing long fancy dresses, like the one my grandmother is wearing in the photograph with this column. Nevertheless, to get in the house, they had to climb that fence. So the ladies all had to hike up their skirts and climb over the wooden rails. There was a lot of laughing, and it was just the kind of thing they expected when they went to Hettie’s house.
But my favorite was a party they held a year or so later. It wasn’t a dinner party, but all the guests knew there would be a lot of good things to eat. They also knew the house would be decorated in some special way, like Hettie always did. But she had other plans.
Instead of having the party in the house, Hettie decided to have it in the barn behind the house. It was a new barn, complete with a concrete floor. The walls had been finished with wood paneling … the perfect place to throw a party. Hettie and Tom brought in tables and chairs, and they decorated the whole place. Invitations to the party were mailed in advance.
On the evening of the event, a bit before the party was to start, Hettie put her hair up in curlers and changed into the dress she was going to wear. It wasn’t one of those fancy party dresses. In fact it was an old, plain dress that she often wore when she was cleaning house. Then she sat in a chair in the living room and waited for her guests to start arriving.
When guests stepped onto the front porch, they could see that the house was dark inside and there were no decorations in sight. This seemed odd to them, but they knocked on the door. Hettie went to the door with a surprised look on her face. She said, “Hello,” and then there was a bit of a pause. Then the guests said that they were there for the party.
At that point, Hettie said they must have misread the invitation because the party was next week. There was some embarrassment, and the guests turned to walk back down the steps. That’s when Tom appeared laughing at the corner of the house. He explained the whole thing and led the guests to the barn.
When the last of the guests had arrived, Hettie joined them all in the barn with her hair still in curlers and wearing that same old house dress. It was going to be another fun evening for them all.
Those wishing to contact Bill Boyd can e-mail him at bill@davidwboyd.com