Way Back When Wednesday

This isn't a story about me.  I've temporarily run out of interesting stories about my past self to share with the internet and all it's wonderful users.  At least stories that would be interesting to other people.  

So this story is about my great-grandmother, Velda Hancock, from our family's Family History blog.  I hope those who are more closely related to her don't mind me retelling this story.  I cracked up when I read this the first time. 

It's fun realizing (sometimes again and again, as in my case) that your deceased ancestors weren't just old people or pictures of old people.  They were fun, interesting, entertaining people! I would like to think that if she were still alive, she wouldn't mind me sharing.

During the winter we needed our fruit trees trimmed.  Clarence was ill so I hired out little neighbor boy aged ten to help me.  He had finished trimming a partly grown apricot tree and done it just like I told him.


After he had gone home, I decided I had better put tree-heal on the ends of the amputated limbs.  So accordingly, I climbed on top of our seven-foot ladder to do it.  Somehow the ladder collapsed and I was left hanging in the top of the tree.  I had trousers on and a wool sweater which went partly over my head as it caught the scratchy, stickery limbs.  I yelled for help.  Clarence was just inside the house, but he was playing the radio and did not hear, so I finally got down by myself.


I was quite shook up as I went into the house to tell him of my predicament.  He arose and went to get his coat. I said, "I don't need help now, I am down."  Just then a neighbor came and I told him of the predicament I had been in.  He laughed as he said, "If I had seen it, I would have gone for my camera."  Fine thing!


The radio advertisement, which was playing said, "If you were in distress and called for help and no one came, what would you do?"  I mockingly said, "Oh I know, I would get down by myself!"

Remembered and compiled by Velda J Palmer Hancock