"Autumn in Missouri"
by Diane Rawls
This time of the year I long to be back home in central Missouri. I had always looked forward to the crisp, cool autumn days when I was growing up there in the 50s and 60s. The memories flood back to me – trees showing off their brilliant reds, glittering golds, bright oranges and their sunny yellows shining up to the clear, azure blue sky.
Those were days to be savored as they would be short-lived
… but there to thoroughly enjoy for a few lovely weeks. I have returned home through the years, from Texas, timing the peak of the colorful foliage to make a visit to my sister, Jody, and my best friend, Connie and family.
Jody and I would take short trips around the area's small towns to shop the antique stores and the Fall Craft Bazaars. We would always have fun together. We'd visit our great aunts, whom we call "The Golden Girls," in the city. We would take a cheesecake and Aunt Bobbi would make her delicious coffee and we'd sit around the kitchen table and talk for hours, making memories and finding out all we could about our ancestors, as they are the last of our 'old folks.' Our Aunt Snooks would keep us laughing with her stories! The drive to the city was always nice … going through the small towns with their towering old oaks showing off their brilliance. Jody and I would reminisce all the way back to her home in the country after a day full of shopping and visiting.
There was nothing like going back to Connie's place out south of town. She would always make sure we'd have a wiener roast on her parents' farm just like we did in our younger years. Her Dad, Joe, would get out the tractor and wagon and we'd caravan down to the holler by the creek bed. Riding in the back of the pickup with the dogs and cows following us was so fun! Connie, her Mom, Belva and Winnie packed the food for the roast … hot dogs and all the trimmings – beans, and chips and of course the marshmallows and all the fixings for the s'mores and apple cider in the cooler. Joe and David would have a nice fire going and we'd all gather around to stay warm and roast the hot dogs and marshmallows. We'd stay until dusk and watch the big, orange moon come up and listen to the solitude of the countryside.
Speculating on how the football season would turn out was always important to the small town. We had a winning team for the area for many years – and still do!! My brother, Raymond, was a great player and I loved going to the games. He seemed to "give the okay" as to whom I could date back in high school in the 60s. My first steady, Jim, was on the team, too! What fun days with Homecoming, chili suppers, bonfires and the annual Homecoming Parade … it seemed as if the entire town would turn out for it! All the classes, clubs and organizations would have a float. Thousands of yards of crepe paper streamers were used to make big flowers and other decorations for the floats. It was quite a competition back then.
As the weather turned cooler, there would be hay rides and barn dances with fresh apple cider or hot chocolate to quench our thirst. Good, old-fashioned fun was had by all the kids of the town and the surrounding rural areas.
Halloween brought on contests for the most creative costumes. We usually made them ourselves with the help of our mothers. All the kids would gather on the town square that night to play 'crack-the-whip' all through the streets of uptown. The innocent pranks played were mostly all in good-natured ways, like getting an outhouse from the country and putting it in the middle of the main intersection by the Square. We'd form small groups and would go to nearly every house in town for candy, with no fear … the innocence of the 50s was so real, and so were the popcorn balls and candy apples!
A favorite spot for me to return to is the covered bridge north of my hometown, especially in autumn. It's picturesque setting is like going back in time. The stream running under it is banked with the many native shade trees of Missouri with a multitude of colors reflecting in the water and soaring to the sky. I still have a leaf from there pressed in a journal of mine … keeping a bit of the peaceful country scene close to me.
In November it would turn colder and the leaves would begin to fall. Raking could be seen in the yards all over town with the thick, smoky aroma of the burning of leaves in the ditches and curbside. I loved walking through fallen leaves in the woods, listening to the whisper of their rustle as I stirred their earthy fragrance under my feet. Knowing this is God's way to insure a beautiful spring, they blanketed the ground. So Autumn was never sad to me, it is a necessary time to prepare the earth to rest during the winter.
Oh, remembering those evenings with the fireplaces glowing as the days grew shorter and shorter and the sunsets turning hues of purple bringing forth cold nights with the hope of a sunny day to follow – time to rest our souls as well as our bodies, preparing for a long winter up in Missouri with the wood stacked up, fall decorations brought out, and looking forward to cozy evenings dreaming of a bountiful Thanksgiving.
Living in Texas, with the sun still scorching the earth and suffering a severe drought, we will have a very drab fall. I will certainly miss returning home this autumn, but the colorful memories will always be with me. Thoughts of my dear friends and family are tucked cozily deep in my heart
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