Hair frizzled. It was a sweltering dag in Lumberville—long before stores, businesses, or homes had air conditioners. Newspaper headlines declared... HEAT WAVE Pastor Denkins shortened his sermon. The Green Door Restaurant served fruit plates with orange sherbert. Abigail Blue and her little brother, Ralphie, opened a lemonade stand—three cents a glass. On Monday the Palace movie theater closed. It stayed closed for the week. Tuesday was hotter. Officer McGinnis soaked all afternoon in a bubble bath. Lottie Mims took four cold showers. Wednesday was even hotter. The Pettibone sisters fanned themselves with magazines and aprons. Mr. and Mrs. Blue found shade where they could. Lottie Mims wore her bathing suit to clean house. Mike Morello, the mailman, tied a wet kerchief around his neck. Abigail and Ralphie forgot about the lemonade and just sold ice. At five o'clock Mrs. Blue went down to do her cooking on a stove in the cool, dark basement.
