Wanted: Shopkeeper by Sophie Dawson publish April 24,2018
Chapter 1
Silverpines, Oregon
Late May 1899
Dear Mrs. Messer,
Thank you for responding so quickly to my inquiry. Please, once more, accept my heartfelt sympathy to your loss. I know what you are going through as I lost my beloved Lucy this past January. It is my hope that we can help each other through our grief.
I will reiterate what I told you in my previous letter about myself. I am thirty-four years of age. I have been involved in merchandising from a very young age as my father owned the general store in Stones Creek, Colorado. Upon his death my siblings and I inherited Cutler’s General Store. Enclosed you will find the newspaper clipping detailing this transition. I am standing farthest to the right in the photograph.
You may wonder why I am interested in moving to Oregon when I am established in Stones Creek. The answer is two-fold. The town holds many fond memories as well as family and friends. These include all my memories of Lucy and her loss has dimmed my desire to remain in the community. As the third child of five there is also limited opportunity for growth and advancement within the family business.
If you accept my offer to become your husband I will sell my part of the business here in Stones Creek. I have many years of experience in all aspects of running a mercantile. I believe we could be partners in continuing the success of your business.
There is no need to send funds for travel to Oregon as I have not only savings but will have the proceeds from the sale of my portion of Cutler’s General Store.
I have included a letter of reference from Pastor Noah Preston who has known me my entire life. You mentioned in your letter the desire for a faithful Christian husband. I hope this lays any worry you might have on this topic to rest.
I look forward to your reply. I believe I could be in Silverpines within two weeks of receipt of your acceptance of me as your husband to be. With God’s help we could aid each other in our grief and I know I can lift the burden you carry of your family and the mercantile.
Awaiting your response.
Sincerely,
Clayton Ryder Cutler
Millie laid the letter on the kitchen table where she was sitting. It was nearly ten o’clock at night, the darkness lit only by the oil lamp she’d carried up from the mercantile she and her family lived above.
She was exhausted. With four children ages from ten-year-old Fern down to eighteen-month-old Abe to tend and the mercantile to run there were simply not enough hours in the day to do all that needed to be done. Add her grief at the death of her husband, Sherman, during the terrible events at the time of the earthquakes that hit Silverpines in mid-April and Millie was simply existing, trying to keep up. Each day was harder than the last. Tears of grief and exhaustion came nightly when she finally climbed into her lonely bed unable to face one more of the many tasks that needed to be done.
The devastating earthquakes hadn’t taken only Sherman. Both married and single young men had died in the collapse of the Pike Silver Mine with the first quake in April and the mudslide at the Timber Town logging camp the following day after the second. The deaths left many young single women and widows in venerable situations and no descent men to give the protection of marriage.
Within days unscrupulous men began arriving in Silverpines trying to swindle the women out of the businesses their husbands and fathers left behind. There were offers for purchase a far below the value of ranches and businesses. Men hired to repair damaged buildings who did shoddy work and expected to be paid premium wages for it. A man who came to town and set up a protection syndicate. This was what caused Millie to attend the meeting at Betsy Pike’s home in mid- May.
At the meeting Betsy had explained how she’d advertised for a husband in the Gentleman’s Gazette, a pamphlet which posted for Mail-Order-Brides. She’d met her new husband, who was also Silverpines’ new town marshall through her advertisement. Millie knew she needed help with the store as well as with her children. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day to do her chores, tend the children, mind the store, and learn all that was necessary to run the business.
Of all the responses she’s received, the one from Clayton Ryder Culter had impressed her the most. Rather than ask a lot of questions about the mercantile, he’d expressed his sympathy for her loss and asked how she and the children were coping. He’d told of his willingness to move to Silverpines and help her managed the mercantile. At the end of his letter of inquiry, Mr. Cutler included a short prayer asking for God’s protection over her and her children and His will so she would know whom it was she should accept as her new husband and helpmate. His letter had shone with the light of the Lord in answer to her prayers for His will.
Millie carefully folder the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. She picked up her fountain pen and put it to paper asking that Mr. Clayton Ryder Cutler move to Silverpines, Oregon and take her as his wife.
Dear Mr. Cutler,
I offer my sympathies for your loss and accept yours for mine. I do hope this letter relieves you somewhat of your grief and helps you look to the future with hope. I am now.
I am pleased to accept your willingness to move to Silverpines and become my husband. I do want to reiterate that I have four children. Fern is ten-years-old and has accepted the burden of caring for her siblings since the death of their father and my needing to work in the mercantile daily. I wish to lift that from her young shoulders. Reuben is eight and very precocious. Opal is four and has been quite despondent since the tragic events. Abe is only eighteen months. It grieves me that he will not remember his father who loved him and the rest of the children so deeply.
Your experience with the family’s general store is welcome as I find that, though I often worked alongside my husband, I know little about the management. That as well as the repairs and other issues that have arisen since the disaster have me looking forward to your arrival.
Please send me a telegram as to your arrival as the long distance telegraph lines are still inoperable. Only recently was the railroad repaired and begin its regular schedule.
Thank you, again, for being willing to make this move and take on me and my children. With God’s help we will build a successful marriage honoring both your wife and my husband.
Sincerely yours,
Millie Messer
Clay reread the letter though he knew it by heart. He only hoped Millie had the same optimism when the train arrived in Silverpines. He had told the truth in everything he’d written in the letters he sent her. It was the volume of the omissions that worried him. He had no one to blame but himself if she rejected him on sight. Pastor Noah had warned him he risked everything if he didn’t appraise her of his situation before he arrived.
Clay looked up at the ceiling of the railcar. Lord, you Called me to come and in this way. I’ve always trusted your Callings but none have required this amount of faith. I have so many doubts. You’ve always been faithful in making each work out and I know You will this time too. Forgive my doubts. Please make the meeting go well. Amen.
The conductor’s call of, “Silverpines, next stop. Silverpines, Oregon in ten minutes,” pulled Clay out of his prayer. He looked down as a small hand tapped his knee.
“Pa, that’s where we get off, isn’t it?” Grace, his five-year-old daughter asked, her eyes shining with excitement and the curiosity always present in her gaze.
“Yes, Pumpkin. It’s where we get off and meet the family we will join ours with.”
“And I’ll have a whole to town to explore.” Grace lifted her ever-present magnifying glass to her face, her eye enlarging as the lens was pressed close.
“Yes. Now, help me gather our things. First, go make sure the boys do the same.”
“Yes, Pa.” Grace ran to the seat behind to relay the message while Clay sent another pray up that an explosion of TNT wasn’t waiting for him at the Sliverpines train depot.
Silverpines, Oregon
Late May 1899
Dear Mrs. Messer,
Thank you for responding so quickly to my inquiry. Please, once more, accept my heartfelt sympathy to your loss. I know what you are going through as I lost my beloved Lucy this past January. It is my hope that we can help each other through our grief.
I will reiterate what I told you in my previous letter about myself. I am thirty-four years of age. I have been involved in merchandising from a very young age as my father owned the general store in Stones Creek, Colorado. Upon his death my siblings and I inherited Cutler’s General Store. Enclosed you will find the newspaper clipping detailing this transition. I am standing farthest to the right in the photograph.
You may wonder why I am interested in moving to Oregon when I am established in Stones Creek. The answer is two-fold. The town holds many fond memories as well as family and friends. These include all my memories of Lucy and her loss has dimmed my desire to remain in the community. As the third child of five there is also limited opportunity for growth and advancement within the family business.
If you accept my offer to become your husband I will sell my part of the business here in Stones Creek. I have many years of experience in all aspects of running a mercantile. I believe we could be partners in continuing the success of your business.
There is no need to send funds for travel to Oregon as I have not only savings but will have the proceeds from the sale of my portion of Cutler’s General Store.
I have included a letter of reference from Pastor Noah Preston who has known me my entire life. You mentioned in your letter the desire for a faithful Christian husband. I hope this lays any worry you might have on this topic to rest.
I look forward to your reply. I believe I could be in Silverpines within two weeks of receipt of your acceptance of me as your husband to be. With God’s help we could aid each other in our grief and I know I can lift the burden you carry of your family and the mercantile.
Awaiting your response.
Sincerely,
Clayton Ryder Cutler
Millie laid the letter on the kitchen table where she was sitting. It was nearly ten o’clock at night, the darkness lit only by the oil lamp she’d carried up from the mercantile she and her family lived above.
She was exhausted. With four children ages from ten-year-old Fern down to eighteen-month-old Abe to tend and the mercantile to run there were simply not enough hours in the day to do all that needed to be done. Add her grief at the death of her husband, Sherman, during the terrible events at the time of the earthquakes that hit Silverpines in mid-April and Millie was simply existing, trying to keep up. Each day was harder than the last. Tears of grief and exhaustion came nightly when she finally climbed into her lonely bed unable to face one more of the many tasks that needed to be done.
The devastating earthquakes hadn’t taken only Sherman. Both married and single young men had died in the collapse of the Pike Silver Mine with the first quake in April and the mudslide at the Timber Town logging camp the following day after the second. The deaths left many young single women and widows in venerable situations and no descent men to give the protection of marriage.
Within days unscrupulous men began arriving in Silverpines trying to swindle the women out of the businesses their husbands and fathers left behind. There were offers for purchase a far below the value of ranches and businesses. Men hired to repair damaged buildings who did shoddy work and expected to be paid premium wages for it. A man who came to town and set up a protection syndicate. This was what caused Millie to attend the meeting at Betsy Pike’s home in mid- May.
At the meeting Betsy had explained how she’d advertised for a husband in the Gentleman’s Gazette, a pamphlet which posted for Mail-Order-Brides. She’d met her new husband, who was also Silverpines’ new town marshall through her advertisement. Millie knew she needed help with the store as well as with her children. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day to do her chores, tend the children, mind the store, and learn all that was necessary to run the business.
Of all the responses she’s received, the one from Clayton Ryder Culter had impressed her the most. Rather than ask a lot of questions about the mercantile, he’d expressed his sympathy for her loss and asked how she and the children were coping. He’d told of his willingness to move to Silverpines and help her managed the mercantile. At the end of his letter of inquiry, Mr. Cutler included a short prayer asking for God’s protection over her and her children and His will so she would know whom it was she should accept as her new husband and helpmate. His letter had shone with the light of the Lord in answer to her prayers for His will.
Millie carefully folder the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. She picked up her fountain pen and put it to paper asking that Mr. Clayton Ryder Cutler move to Silverpines, Oregon and take her as his wife.
Dear Mr. Cutler,
I offer my sympathies for your loss and accept yours for mine. I do hope this letter relieves you somewhat of your grief and helps you look to the future with hope. I am now.
I am pleased to accept your willingness to move to Silverpines and become my husband. I do want to reiterate that I have four children. Fern is ten-years-old and has accepted the burden of caring for her siblings since the death of their father and my needing to work in the mercantile daily. I wish to lift that from her young shoulders. Reuben is eight and very precocious. Opal is four and has been quite despondent since the tragic events. Abe is only eighteen months. It grieves me that he will not remember his father who loved him and the rest of the children so deeply.
Your experience with the family’s general store is welcome as I find that, though I often worked alongside my husband, I know little about the management. That as well as the repairs and other issues that have arisen since the disaster have me looking forward to your arrival.
Please send me a telegram as to your arrival as the long distance telegraph lines are still inoperable. Only recently was the railroad repaired and begin its regular schedule.
Thank you, again, for being willing to make this move and take on me and my children. With God’s help we will build a successful marriage honoring both your wife and my husband.
Sincerely yours,
Millie Messer
Clay reread the letter though he knew it by heart. He only hoped Millie had the same optimism when the train arrived in Silverpines. He had told the truth in everything he’d written in the letters he sent her. It was the volume of the omissions that worried him. He had no one to blame but himself if she rejected him on sight. Pastor Noah had warned him he risked everything if he didn’t appraise her of his situation before he arrived.
Clay looked up at the ceiling of the railcar. Lord, you Called me to come and in this way. I’ve always trusted your Callings but none have required this amount of faith. I have so many doubts. You’ve always been faithful in making each work out and I know You will this time too. Forgive my doubts. Please make the meeting go well. Amen.
The conductor’s call of, “Silverpines, next stop. Silverpines, Oregon in ten minutes,” pulled Clay out of his prayer. He looked down as a small hand tapped his knee.
“Pa, that’s where we get off, isn’t it?” Grace, his five-year-old daughter asked, her eyes shining with excitement and the curiosity always present in her gaze.
“Yes, Pumpkin. It’s where we get off and meet the family we will join ours with.”
“And I’ll have a whole to town to explore.” Grace lifted her ever-present magnifying glass to her face, her eye enlarging as the lens was pressed close.
“Yes. Now, help me gather our things. First, go make sure the boys do the same.”
“Yes, Pa.” Grace ran to the seat behind to relay the message while Clay sent another pray up that an explosion of TNT wasn’t waiting for him at the Sliverpines train depot.