No Water For Three Years

Marie continues to amaze me with her long term memory. Today she told me a partial story about not having water in Westminster for three years. Fran did tell me he didn't know if in fact it was that long, but I'm sure to Marie it did seem that long even if was not.
 I asked her about where she did her laundry and she told me she had to take it to her parents house and they had to go into town twice a week to get drinking water. They weren't the only ones without water and that there was a shortage of water at that time.

Picture of her three boys
and her daughter also, Marie

Marie told me that the "boys" dug a new well when I asked her how much a new well cost in those days. I assumed it was her brothers, but Fran told me that in fact it was his brothers Roland, Roger and him that dug the new well three foot cylinders at a time until they hit water. Marie told me then the pipes froze and Fran verified that, so they in the end ended up with two wells.
She just shook her head and said over and over again how hard it was without water just to drink. Marie's baking for festivals and other charities were made very difficult because of the need for water not only for the making of the breads, and other goodies, but for the cleanup as well.
Marie again shook her head and told me how she melted bucket after bucket of snow to only gain an inch or two of water.
At work one day someone let the faucet run and she yelled at them and said, "shut that thing off, don't you know how precious water is?"
How many times do we let the water run when we brush our teeth or do dishes etc.
How fortunate for her that she had three strong boys to not only dig the well, but save hundreds of dollars at the same time.
This story is a short one, but a treasure.  It was whispered to me because Marie seldom talks anymore, but makes her wants and needs known by whispers and hand gestures.
She told her granddaughter this last weekend that she was the photographer of this photo. She said she just put them all on the kitchen table and took their picture. Another treasure.