"Two Times A Rose"

The two Rose’s continued to visit each other over the years, sometimes on the farm in the Yakima Valley, sometimes in Kellogg. Their relationship never faltered.

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Both Rose’s started families. Rosie B had the first child – a daughter, Beverly born in 1934, and then Rosie D had a son, Jack born in 1943. Over the next few years, Robert was born in 1944, Gary was born in 1944, Judy was born in 1948 and Kathy was born in 1949. The foundation for their families was cemented into time and to this day still flourishes.

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My memories of going to Grandview to visit Rosie D and her family are treasured moments. Rosie D would pick us up at the bus station, no matter what time of the night it was, no matter what the weather was. We were always greeted with a warm and energetic "HI, how are you doing"? The two ladies would update each other from the moment the car doors slammed shut and it didn’t stop until we got back on your return bus. Ending the visit was always so sad. I didn’t want to leave the Hackney’s – ever.

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Al and Rosie D always made me feel like one of their family. In fact, over the years, I felt that Rosie D was my second mom. She didn’t treat me any different than her children. I was given the same opportunity to do chores as Rosie D’s kids were given.

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Sometimes we got to weed crop rows, for 50 cents a row (we usually only made 50 cents for that day). Gary and I would milk Bossy the cow at night (Jack did it in the morning). I got to feed the chickens, which was a cool job. Al, Jack, Gary and I would go out and change the water routing for the fields. Sometimes we got the real fun job of slopping out the cattle yard, now that was a real crappy job… Stacking hay bales seemed like an endless job; putting them into tall stacks, onto the truck, off the truck and back into tall stacks. Those big water jugs tasted sooooooo good while working. The girls, Judy and Kathy helped in the kitchen and around the house. We always had fantastic breakfasts, huge lunches and dinners fit for a king.

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But, when we weren’t doing chores, we PLAYED. Playing included: riding horses, playing soldiers or cowboys, building forts in the haystacks, swimming in the Yakima River (where sharp rocks and crawdads would attack our toes). The irrigation ditches were usually the best swimming holes because they had clearer water and no crawdads to bite us…. When we played cowboys, Roy Rogers was our hero and when we played war, Audie Murphy was our favorite character to be like. During our teens, we took up hunting birds and rabbits. Lot’s of ammo was shot up but not many trophy game were ever brought back home.

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There are lots of memories I have from growing up together.
 

• One is of driving to Sunnyside to go grocery shopping when the car caught fire with all kids still in the back seat. It seemed like we were in the back seat a lifetime before we all bailed out into the middle of the street.

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• Another memory is putting the pony in the back seat of the car. We had to take the pony to a parade in Grandview. The pony was supposed to pull a covered wagon in the parade. Of course we had to put it back in after the parade was finished.
   

• Jack taught me how to drive a stick shift vehicle. The Hackney’s had a 1941 Chevrolet truck that was the test bed for my shifting and clutch skills. A year or so earlier, the Hackney’s taught me how to drive the NEW FORD tractor.
   

• We would all ride on a drag sled behind the plow horse (black beauty). We rode up to the irrigation ditch to change the water plugs.
   

• When we really felt like a challenge, we would attempt to shoot bats at night in the old potato cellar – ever shot a .22 cal rifle in the dark with only a flash light – try it, you’ll see how brave you are!!!!
   

• The fourth of July was always fun. Al Hackney would put a lit cherry bomb down inside the metal fence post, when the cherry bomb exploded, UP, UP in the air would travel the fence post cap. And they wonder how we kids learn to blow thing up….

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In 1955, my mother and I moved from Idaho to Washington. Much to my disappointment, but it was necessary so that mom could find employment. In between houses in Ellensburg and Yakima (12 different schools over 12 years of school) we stayed at the Hackney home. I went to Grandview Elementary School with Jack, Gary, Judy and Kathy. Because I had just been put back a year, I started fifth grade with Gary. My one semi interesting memory of going to Grandview Elementary was meeting a girl in our same grade during recess. I feel head over heals for this girl – what did I know, she was pretty and I was young… Anyway, I wanted to impress her and give her a gift to show her how much I cared for her. Rosie D got wind of this goofy idea I had. She took me aside and had a mom to son talk about girls and what they can do to a LOVE blind kid. She pointed out that this girl was a gold digger and that I should be careful about what she was asking me to get for her. I will never, never forget the way she explained the situation to me so clearly. It was at this point in my life, I realized that I had two moms and how neat that was.

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Other things I remember from Grandview are the cold, cold winter nights upstairs and the hot, hot nights during the summer upstairs. I will never forget those five pound coffee cans that saved many a trip down the long dark stairs to the bathroom.

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During high school, we would travel to Grandview and Pasco to watch Jack and Gary play football. As the years went along, we would go to weddings and, of course, the annual Hackney picnics at the park.

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Years and years of pleasant memories followed. The journey that all started with two young girls meeting in high school had continued with a lifetime of friendships that are to be treasured and never to be forgotten.

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The two Roses have now left us, I am sure that will be reestablishing that old friendship.

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Both families are sad that they are no longer here to share our lives with them, but it gives great happiness knowing that they are together again; playing Yatzee and bringing each other up to date on what has been going on, just like they did when they met at the bus stop those many, many times over the years.

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I’m sure Rosie D was relieved when I taught mom how to drive. Soon, after she got her drivers license, she started driving over for visits without using that mighty Greyhound bus….

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After all these years, the two Rose’s souls have passed on, the siblings still gather and share all the great moments we shared. Life bestows many rewards and those rewards are forever memories.

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