A Place Called Eden Read online

  A Place Called Eden

  R.H. Hull

  Austin Macauley Publishers

  A Place Called Eden

  Dedication

  Copyright Information ©

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27Final

  Dedication

  To my lovely wife, Lucinda, and our beautiful daughter, Courtney.

  Copyright Information ©

  R.H. Hull (2020)

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

  Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Ordering Information:

  Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

  Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

  Hull, R.H.

  A Place Called Eden

  ISBN 9781645754992 (Paperback)

  ISBN 9781645754985 (Hardback)

  ISBN 9781645755005 (ePub e-book)

  Library of Congress Control number: 2020916551

  www.austinmacauley.com/us

  First Published (2020)

  Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

  40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

  New York, NY 10005

  USA

  [email protected]

  +1 (646) 5125767

  Chapter 1

  Jacob was a natural for his life on the vast acres of Fall Meadow Farms. He was still well-tanned from working in the fields the summer before, and his tall slender well-muscled body reflected the hard work in which he was engaged throughout the year. For some people, living on a farm located in the center of Kansas would equate to a rather lonely existence. But, the relative isolation of Fall Meadow Farms did not bother Jacob. He had been living here all of the eighteen years since his birth and he loved this life.

  Being the only son of this farm family meant that his father placed a great deal of responsibility on Jacob’s young shoulders. He was not only the lone male representative of the up-coming sixth generation, he had been the chief hired hand for the variety of farm work that was required throughout the year. As early as age 15 years, he had also been put in charge of managing the labor of up to four other hired hands. The additional help was needed since their farms consisted of a complex operation, totaling a little over 2000 acres of land. So, his responsibilities had continued to increase over the years and thus his feelings of commitment.

  Sixteen-to-eighteen-hours per days, six days per week were not uncommon, particularly during the summers. However, even during the long hot days and short nights during wheat harvest, Sunday meant church, and the only necessary work on that day involved milking the cows morning and evening, feeding the cattle, making sure the baby calves and the hogs were well-fed, and nothing else.

  On the long hot days in the fields after wheat harvest as he drove the tractor and listened to the drone of the engine, while he plowed his share of the stubble fields, Jacob endured the heat and dust by writing poems, songs, and stories in his mind. He dreamed of love and pretty girls who he had met in school. It helped to pass the long hours while the diesel engine of the tractor blew hot wind back onto his face and body that made it even hotter than that produced by the sun.

  Since this day happened to be Saturday and he did not have to drive to school, it was a day generally set aside for routine work around the farm. And, in that regard, he was able to relax a little in their spacious country kitchen and enjoy the good breakfast that Ruth Swenson, his mother, had prepared for him. In their way of thinking, a good breakfast was a man-size meal of hot cracked wheat cereal from the grain of their farms, three thick slices of home-cured bacon along with two eggs fresh from their hen house, two pieces of toast from homemade bread with butter and jam, and a large glass of cold whole milk from their dairy.

  As Jacob was finishing his breakfast that morning, his father, Milo, came into the kitchen to tell him that he wanted him to drive one of their pickup trucks to the feed mill in Eden, Kansas. The truck had already been loaded with corn and oats, and he was to have the grain ground and mixed with molasses as feed for their dairy cows.

  While in Eden, Jacob was also to go to the Eden General Store, one of only two stores in that tiny Old Order Mennonite community, to buy some supplies for their dairy, and some bottles of soda that would be placed in the milk cooler where 10-gallon cans of milk are stored at 38 degrees before they are delivered to Select Dairy in town where it is processed to be sold in grocery stores. The bottles of soda are kept there for Jacob’s father, Jacob, and the hired hands for something cold to drink on hot days of work on Fall Meadow Farms.

  The truck that Jacob was to drive was the oldest of the six that were available for use on their farms but it was his favorite. It was the one that was only used for brief errands such as the one that he was to carry out that morning since it was not particularly highway worthy. But it was still appropriate for driving on isolated country roads. So—ready for an adventure on Saturday morning that would take him away from working in the fields—Jacob climbed into the vintage pickup truck.

  Jacob liked the old 1957 Dodge pickup that he was to drive that morning since it didn’t seem to matter how it was driven. The two rear fenders were partially missing as a result of large bulls hitting them during cattle drives to their pastures ten miles north of their main farms, and the two front fenders were rusted beyond their intended use as a result of being driven in muddy corrals to take hay to the cows. Therefore, the headlights did not work, and so it could not be driven at night. And, the brakes required a lengthy distance in order to bring the truck to a complete stop, particularly when carrying a heavy load of hay or grain. So, only those who were familiar with its idiosyncrasies were allowed to drive it, Jacob being one.

  The drive to Eden, Kansas, was only six miles on a single country dirt road south of their main farm. The five other nicer trucks were used for heavier farm work and for driving to town since they could hold larger loads, were newer, and had a better appearance to represent their large and prosperous farms.

  Jacob felt good being able to drive to deliver the grain to the feed mill. He liked the Eden River Mennonite people who lived and worked there. He had known many of them since early childhood, primarily since most of the younger ones had attended the same two-room country school he had attended through the eighth grade. He did n
ot know any of them well, however, since their community was rather closed to those who were not of their religious and cultural heritage.

  Jacob and his mother and father were not members of the Eden River Mennonite church, and were therefore considered ‘of the world,’ that is, not truly members of their immediate community in the mind of the Old Order Mennonites who lived there. That seemed odd to Jacob since his family had farmed in that county since his great-great grandparents settled there in the early 1860s. But, not being of their conservative Mennonite Order, he was still ‘of the world’ and that had to be expected.

  Although the drive to the feed mill and grain elevator from their farm was but a short six miles, it gave Jacob a chance to get away from the regular Saturday farm work for a little while. To Jacob, it was a mini vacation, and greatly appreciated. The relief that Jacob felt when a brief escape from field work did occur may not be appreciated by those who haven’t worked on a farm during hot summers in America’s heartland where temperatures can reach 105 degrees and higher, and with humidity that keeps the skin wet and sticky throughout 16-hour days in the field.

  Almost as important as the knowledge of the trust that his father placed in him, was a feeling of independence as he drove down the long driveway of their farm and then turned south past the familiar rows of sturdy Osage Orange trees that lined the road. Those were the trees that grew along the sides of roads in that part of the country, standing side by side as though they were sentinels standing guard to protect the fields and farms. Those Osage Orange trees, or sometimes called ‘hedge trees,’ were planted after the dust bowl days of the 1930s. His father had told him that those sturdy trees were given to farmers as large seedling bundles by the U.S. Government to be planted along the roads to control the winds of Kansas and Oklahoma that caused dust to blow from the fields during the Dust Bowl Days. Many of them continued to grow to well over 100 years of age.

  Chapter 2

  As Jacob drove south on the familiar rough dirt road to Eden, Kansas, the coolness felt good as the wind blew through the windowless doors of the old pickup truck. After driving the six miles down that bumpy road, and as Jacob approached Eden, the landmarks that were first identified consisted simply as more trees, a few rather small white houses, the tall grain elevator, and the tall roof of the three-story Eden General Store that sat near the center of Eden, about a block from Highway 61 that went north and south past the west side of that tiny Mennonite community.

  The Eden General Store was not entirely visible until he drove up to the grain elevator. Except for a small grocery store, it was the only real store in Eden, Kansas. Apparently, those were the only two that were needed in that community. The Eden General Store was owned by the Eden River Mennonite Church, and was founded nearly seventy-five years earlier to provide supplies to the members of that conservative Mennonite Order so that they would not have to drive into one of the larger towns nearby where they would have to interact with people who were of “the world,” as they called them. A farmer by the name of Abraham Yoder had volunteered to work as the manager of the General Store. He owned a small farm, and could use the extra income that the job could provide, although the amount that he was paid by the Eden River Mennonite Church was still quite small.

  Generally, those who came to Eden, Kansas were simply passing through, lived there, or were here as Jacob was, to bring a load of grain to the feed mill and grain elevator, or perhaps to purchase basic items from the Eden General Store such as dairy supplies, gardening tools, or other basic needs.

  When Jacob arrived at the feed mill and drove into the dumping area, he parked the front end of the truck on a motorized lift and walked around to the rear of the truck to open the tail gate so that when the front of the truck was lifted, the grain would pour from the back of the truck into the holding and processing bin to then be ground and mixed into feed for their dairy cows. In about a day or two, a large truck would bring the mixed and processed feed to their farm to be poured into an enclosed holding bin in their dairy barn, ready to parcel out to the dairy cows to eat while they were being milked twice each day—early morning, and in the evening. The feed was always fortified with vitamins and minerals to help the cows produce greater quantities of high-quality milk than they would have if they were only fed grass or hay.

  After signing the appropriate papers and passing the time of day with the men who worked at the grain elevator, Jacob drove on toward the Eden General Store. The tall three-story general store was housed in a large grey building that obviously had not seen paint for many years. The sign announcing the name of the store was so faded that virtually only those who knew what it said could read it.

  The town was truly a remnant of what Eden, Kansas, had been in its earlier days. Before highway 61 had been built on the west side of town, it had been a bustling community. When the highway had been built some fifty years earlier, the drive to larger nearby towns for groceries, clothes, and other necessities became easier for the farmers who lived in the surrounding area.

  The majority of the 38 residents of Eden always shopped at the Eden General Store for basic items since some of the older retired residents of the Alderman Mennonite Order did not drive cars, nor did they want to drive their horse and buggy on a busy highway. In fact, a number of the older Mennonites of that conservative Order did not know how to drive a car since in their earlier years they had only driven horses and buggies and had avoided cars that they considered to be a sign ‘of the world’ to which they did not intend to belong. So, the single general store, managed by the Eden River Mennonite Church, along with the tiny grocery store survived to the degree that they could.

  Abraham Yoder, the store manager, was a man with a massive chest and wide shoulders and hands who always looked rather formidable because of his sheer size. He wasn’t extremely tall by any means, but the width of his body and his massive chest and muscular neck added to his rather austere appearance. His long beard, broad flat-brimmed black hat, collarless shirt and plain homemade clothes that were common attire of their Mennonite Order added to that appearance of strength and power. Besides being the manager of the Eden General Store and owning a small farm, he was very active as an elder in the Eden River Mennonite Church.

  Abraham and his wife had one son and a daughter. Jacob knew their son, Tom. Jacob attended high school with him, and the two of them were members of the Future Farmers of America club, better known as FFA, a high school organization for those interested in agriculture. Jacob knew Tom well and considered him a friend, but a rather distant friend because of the differences in their religion and heritage. Tom was depended upon to help his father on their small farm, while Abraham cared for the General Store where he was responsible for maintaining it for their church, and taking care of the store’s book-keeping.

  Tom’s 17-year-old sister, Rebecca, helped her father on occasion, stocking merchandise in the store and other such tasks. That work was completed mostly on Saturdays when she was not at home on their nearby farm helping her mother with the Saturday cooking, laundry, and other household chores of a farm family.

  Jacob had not yet met Tom’s sister. He did not even know her name. He had seen her with her brother, at least he thought that it was her, on a couple of occasions after school. She seemed to be about 5' 2 or 3 inches tall, petite, blond, and very pretty in her traditional plain Mennonite dress, and white cap perched on the back of her head with the straps hanging lightly over her shoulders.

  If the young woman Jacob had seen with Tom Yoder was, indeed, his sister, then he certainly wanted to meet her someday. He, however, was hesitant to ask her brother for an introduction since the Mennonite Order to which her family belonged frowned upon their daughters associating with young men who are not members of their church and their culture. Becoming involved in any way with a young man who was not a member of their Old Order Mennonite community, let alone their church could result in young women being shunned by members of their church. If they happened to marr
y a young man who was not of their Mennonite Order, they could become shunned or even in extreme cases excommunicated from their family, which to them would be a terrible fate.

  Chapter 3

  Jacob drove down the unpaved street of Eden, Kansas, pulled up to the General Store, and parked the old pickup truck under a giant oak tree. After he parked, he sat for a few moments looking back over the quaint but picturesque community of Eden. He liked being there in that tiny town. He liked the shade from the big old trees, the coolness that they provided, and the quiet peace that seemed to radiate throughout that community.

  After a few minutes of resting in the quietness of Eden, he left the pickup truck and walked into the ancient interior of that historic building of seventy-five years. As he opened the heavy door and entered the store, he seemed to have walked back in time prior to the 20th century. He noticed the extremely high floor-to-ceiling shelves that were stocked with everything from canned goods, fans, waste baskets, woven baskets, buckets, metal bathtubs, 10-gallon milk cans, galvanized buckets, rakes, shovels and other gardening tools, kerosene lanterns and oil lamps since some of their Mennonite Order did not believe in using electricity. As he looked around, he saw pitch forks, harnesses for horse-drawn carriages that were used by some in their community, saddles, bridles, and many other items generally not found in contemporary stores. Because of the leather harnesses, saddles, bridles, leather harness repair material, the store had a pleasant smell of leather, and brine filled barrels of pickles that he had spied in one corner of the store.

  On the other side of the large room, clothes were available in abundance, some on shelves, and others folded on tables in the middle of the room that were stacked with blue jeans, blue bib overalls, work jackets, work gloves and many other items, including a variety of bolts of pretty cotton print cloth for home-made dresses, denim cloth for sewing home-made men’s jeans and overalls since men’s clothing in their Mennonite order was primarily sewn by hand. Sewing items including many sizes of needles, thread, ironing boards, irons both electric and non-electric, all primarily aimed at customers who are farmers from the Old Order of the Mennonite church were seen in abundance. All items had what appeared to be pretty hand-decorated price tags, obviously created by someone who possessed an artistic touch. He was not aware that Tom’s sister Rebecca was the artist who painted them.