CUMBERLAND VALLEY REVISITED

For those who read the Cumberland story you remember that Jake, the father of the three girls wanted them to marry a Mayberry so the line would stay as close to what had been when they came to America.

He went up north and found some of the Mayberry clan and two of his girls married up with two of the Mayberry boys.

Then there was the third Mayberry boy who said he wanted to get hitched up with Mary the youngest daughter.  Jake promised to give him fifty acres of land with ten acres of bottom land just like the others got if he married her.

He had been working on the land and had cleared off several other acres and was building a house for his bride when she had aged a bit. Time passed and while Mary still had a year to go before she was sixteen, but Dad Jake thought the two of them were getting a little too chummy, and maybe they should move the wedding up a year.

Mama said that she agreed for she saw the glint in their eyes that said its time to wed. They set the wedding to be in three weeks and there was a lot of excitement around Jake's household.  

Luke the prospective groom suggested that since the wedding was in a few days perhaps it would be alright for Mary to go ahead and move in with him for they were almost married.  He said, “My brothers go home to their wives every night and I go home to an empty house.”

Jake said, “Being almost married ain't the same as being married so she won't be moving nowhere until the preacher says man and wife.”

A couple of days before Mary's fifteenth birthday and the wedding day, Jake couldn't find Mary and it was getting dark so he went a looking fer her. He went by Luke's house and peeped into the window. He saw Mary sitting on the bed but Luke wasn't in sight.

Jake went in and started to yell at Mary and said, “You get home afore I take a switch to you.”  Mary said, “Pa we were just talking about the wedding.”  Jake said, “For the next two days all the talking will take place at home in front of our fire place.  

 

Mary told her Ma, “Ma you know this waiting is hard.”

Ma said. “After two months you will be wondering what was the hurry and wish you had a couple of days like before you were wed.”  Luke avoided Jake for the next couple of days only showing up just before the wedding. As it turn out it was a big doings and a lot of people came with gifts and food.

Some of the better stompers wanted the preacher to hurry up so the eating and the dancing could start. The preacher got through the stuff he always said and then he said, "I now pronounce you man and woman, err I mean husband and wife.

Jake's knees were knocking for he now had a wife. Mary's teeth were chattering for she was taking on the responsibilities of a wife and the possibility of becoming a mother like her sisters.

As soon as they were pronounced hitched there was a stampede for the food by the kids with the families following. The bride and groom were left standing with the preacher who exited rather quickly also.

The sisters, brother- in -laws and the parents all gathered around and congratulated them and in a group joined in the festivities. As soon as the musicians were stuffed with food they tuned their instruments and the stomping began.

They called it dancing but it was mostly just stomping. The sipping cider added to the levity and everyone enjoyed the wedding. Time passed and the people lit a lantern to hang on the tongue of their wagon for light. It was going to be dark when they arrived home with still the milking and other chores to be done after dark.

The sisters helped Mary get dressed for the first time in her new home while the brothers teased Luke about becoming a man at last. The lights of each of the homes of the three Mayberry girls were one by one turned out leaving only Ma and Pa still up.

Ma and Pa sat at the table and talked about the future of the family. Pa said there will probably be some grandkids that are girls.

I hope there will be some Mayberry boys somewhere for them.

 

The end