Piano

You are right. Once in a while a rancher will still turn up an old cast iron piano frame, prairie fires have long since destroyed the rest of the piano. You have to wonder, who would cram a piano into a covered wagon? Well, people who had no conception of conditions they were about to experience. When they looked to the horizon west all they could see was short grass prairie as far as the eye could see. When the bearings on the axles began to wear what do you abandon, the heaviest non-esential thing you have. Probably hurt.

The fortitude and stamina of those folks who ventured forth in a covered wagon in search of a better life never ceases to amaze me. I wonder what I'd think I couldn't live without if I were to leave on a journey like that? Or how quickly I'd learn that I could live without it?

I find the whole subject very interesting, as my first 'real' job was with the postal service. It's ironic to note, when I was working for them, we still had mail cars on trains, where mail was worked in transit. We also received mail by truck, and being in Missouri, I remember one mail truck did come in from Ft. Smith, Arkansas.........the route hadn't changed. Just the mode of transport.

The only thing I find surprising, Gandle is how well paid the riders were, especially if they were young men, and boys. $25 a week was the salary of a government worker for a Federal office. A male teacher made about the same for a month's work.......with females earning an average of $12.00 a month. The more things change, the more they stay the same. LOL.

Janette Oke is one of my favorite authors.
I especially enjoyed her "Love" series.

As I read these books, I often wondered the same thing...what would I value the most if I had to pack up and leave.

I've recently experienced such a lesson in my life journey.
'Things' are just that...'things.'