More from Henry and the Great Society

"Esther would often read aloud from "Snowbound," if the snow was drifting against the house, or "Kidnapped," "Treasure Island," or the favorite of the boys, "Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn."

"There were tea parties by Hilda with her dolls in the sideyard shade in summer with clover and honeysuckle trumpets to suck the sweetness from, or perhaps a few green apples with salt and some wild berries for dessert."

"Then there was her (Esther's) kitchen-her domain-marked in every corner by the special touch of her own tastes, with its own indescribable fragrance that was a mixture of apples and spices, coffee and tea.....There was baking; fresh fruit pies, or pumpkin or spring rhubarb. During supper at the round table there were excited cries as eager noses sniffed her fresh hot rolls...their faces scrubbed with melted butter, shimmering in their lightness like dancing girls on opening night"

"Henry liked to tell Esther that they had everything they needed, and with food and raiment and shelter they had found the true secret of contentment, as the Bible says. Henry, on their long walks through the fields on a Sunday afternoon, would remind Esther how God's word says that godliness with contentment was great gain and that by this standard they had gained a lot."