MEMORIES

written by Mrs. N. M. Wetzel of Corning, Ia., and Mrs. Minnie Luden of Colton, Calif.

As I turn back the pages of memory each year
  My thoughts are of picnics, with loved ones so dear;
I fancy I see them as in days of yore
  As they sat 'round the tables, heaped with chicken galore.
Some came from the west, others came from the east
  We met in the groves and enjoyed the feast;
We had no tin Lizzie to sputter and roar,
  But the team and the wagon were brought to the door,
And baskets and buckets were fitted in tight
  Then came the children, all filled with delight.
We gathered much knowledge from talks heart to heart,
  And when shadows gathered were sorry to part.
And out of this number and into life's strife
  Have gone doctors, teachers, farmers, bankers and many a good wife.
Some have answered the roll call, their life's work is done.
  We cherish their memory, we miss every one.
The days pass so swiftly, many good times we have had,
  Though some days were happy while others were sad.
As time is still fleeting and heads turning gray,
  Let us meet very often, not one stay away.
Let us stop in our work and come back every year
  To greet all our relatives, at reunions so dear.