Growing Up in North Dakota

the child without her consent, thinking the pregnancy would be too much for her. When Amma became pregnant later with Harriet, she didn’t go to the doctor until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

I only remember two childhood friends and both were friends that I had here when I was in the 3rd and 4th grade. One was Margaret Parnell, whose parents were also friends of my parents. They lived a short five minute walk from our house. Margaret and I would play dolls together mostly – it was when I lived here that I received a gift from my amma that I will never

forget. It came in a package in the mail and was not a birthday or a Christmas gift, but just a gift. The package contained a whole wardrobe of clothes for my doll, including dresses, jeans, a winter coat, etc., etc., all packed away in a little suitcase. She’d made all of these items by hand. They are packed away in a box in the guestroom here, along with a couple of my old dolls. Anyway, Margaret and I would play house and had a wonderful time doing it.

The other friend was a girl named Anita Brooks, and in retrospect, I have trouble believing my parents let me play with her. She lived maybe a ten