It was always understood that I’d go to high school in Lincoln and stay with Aunt Elizabeth. Most of my classmates went to high school in Red Cloud and many of the girls worked for their room and board, cleaning house and babysitting.After Uncle Will died, Aunt Elizabeth didn’t have a lot of money, so she took in boarders. She rented out four rooms upstairs; she and Catherine stayed in the bedroom downstairs with a half bath. Dad paid her $25 a month for my room and board, and this way he could help out his sister while Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Bernice watched out for me.Aunt Elizabeth had a beautiful, red brick home. Uncle Will had been a carpenter and built this nice house. There were oak floors, a fireplace in the corner of the living room, an open, curved stairway in the front and also a back stairway.A reclining chair with oak arms and a little footrest sat in the living room. It had been Uncle Will’s favorite chair. I remember him, white-haired and jovial, sitting there with his cigar and talking about the club.
