{"id":5440,"date":"2019-01-31T15:03:44","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T21:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=5440"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:55:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:55:13","slug":"aunt-pena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2019\/01\/31\/aunt-pena\/","title":{"rendered":"Aunt Pena"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 1. Miller’s Bluff, Bourbeuse River<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Aunt Pena<\/h1>\n

by Dale Grubaugh<\/strong><\/p>\n

My great Aunt Pena [Peenee] Ringhiesen Stovall wasn\u2019t my great aunt when I first met her.<\/p>\n

She lived on the Bourbeuse River near the old Hog Trough Bridge in Gasconade County, Missouri, and was a neighbor to my Uncle Sidney and Aunt Mildred.<\/p>\n

As a youngin\u2019 I spent one week every summer with Uncle Sidney and Aunt Mildred. Mostly Aunt Mildred and I fished in the river \u2014 when we weren\u2019t gardenin\u2019 that is.<\/p>\n

One morning we were a sittin\u2019 at the breakfast table and Aunt Mildred announced that \u201cPeenee\u201d was comin over to go fishin\u2019 with us. I was kinda anxious about the news because no one had ever gone fishin with us before and I wasn\u2019t sure I liked the idea of sharing \u2014 with a stranger \u2014 my fishin\u2019 time with Aunt Mildred.<\/p>\n

But afore long, Aunt Mildred announced that our guest was a-comin\u2019 up the road. Now, this little fellar wasn\u2019t prepared for what I saw. I was expecting someone in a car or truck but No, Sir! I saw what looked like a man a-walkin\u2019 down the road. I thought, Surely this isn\u2019t the person we are goin fishin with!<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5438″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]But, shore \u2019nuff, it was Peenee. She had on men\u2019s pants, mud boots, a checked-flannel shirt and an aviators\u2019 cap on her head \u2014 with the flaps down! Her only resemblance to femaleness was the gingham dress worn under her shirt and over her pants.<\/p>\n

She also had a pair of plastic rimmed glasses \u2014 you know the kind that looked like cat\u2019s eyes \u2014 perched upon her strawberry nose. She walked like a man, long strides with a slight gimp, but strong and determined. The fishin\u2019 poles that she was carryin\u2019 were just a\u2019 waving as she came down the road.<\/p>\n

She was a sight to behold!<\/p>\n

Pena walked right through the back gate into the yard and straight into the kitchen. She started talkin\u2019 the moment she hit the door! I wanted to run and hide, but as soon as she saw me she commenced to talkin\u2019 to me like she had known me all my life. Pretty soon the jitters were gone and I was ready to go anywhere with this strange-lookin\u2019, loud-talkin\u2019 lady. We became great fishin\u2019 buddies.<\/p>\n

Pena had a 14-foot wooden john-boat with locking oars kept on the river.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5437″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]First thing, she taught me how to row that boat. She said iff\u2019n I was gonna fish with her, I was gonna learn to use the boat. That way if she couldn\u2019t go and Mildred wanted to go fishin\u2019, Mildred and I could use the boat.<\/p>\n

Besides, Peenee said, \u201cIt\u2019s good fer a boy to learn how to row a boat. Gives \u2019em muscles and good sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

I learned a lot from her about river fishin\u2019 and such. She taught me how to find night crawlers, green sand worms, how to use a sein to gather minnows fer the crappie hole and small perch fer the trot lines. She taught me how to set trot lines and limb lines. Once we even set jug lines made out of empty bleach bottles.<\/p>\n

Even though she owned a couple rods and reels, Pena\u2019s favorite fishin\u2019 pole was a 12-foot hickory stick with woven thread fer line. That\u2019s what we fished with most of the time. I still think a stick pole is the most fun way to fish in the river.<\/p>\n

Pena wasn\u2019t afraid of anything as long as it had legs. But, she was scared to death of snakes.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5436″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Once, when we were a fishin\u2019 along Miller\u2019s Bluff, an ole water snake slithered off the bluff and landed in the boat with us.You never saw such goin\u2019s on! Afore long Pena, Aunt Mildred and myself were all in the water and the snake was captain of the boat.<\/p>\n

Well he must not have liked being a captain with no crew because he came a slitherin\u2019 over the side of the boat and into the water with us.
\nThere was more yellin\u2019 and screamin\u2019 and carryin\u2019 on, but the snake had had enough and swam on down the river.<\/p>\n

But there we were, the three of us in water over our heads, and me the only one what could swim. I got the two ladies to hang onto the side of the boat while I untied it and pulled it to shallower water so we could get back in. That pretty much ended our day of fishin\u2019.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5435″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Pena was superstitious! If she dropped a fork she was getting company comin\u2019 from the direction the fork was a pointing. If her nose itched she was getting company. If her palm itched she was getting money. If a person shuddered, that meant someone was either talkin\u2019 about ya or walkin\u2019 on yer grave.<\/p>\n

You never spilled salt on the table without pitchin\u2019 a pinch of it over yer shoulder to ward off bad luck. I\u2019ve forgotten a lot of those superstitions and have never really held to any of them, but now and again I find myself thinking about such things when they happen to me. Pena finally became my Great Aunt Pena when she married my Uncle Jones.<\/p>\n

Uncle Jones owned a service station next door to us.<\/p>\n

One day when I went to the station there was Pena. I was glad to see her but a might confused. She was in the livin\u2019 quarters in the back of the station and actin\u2019 mighty peculiar, like she knew something she wasn\u2019t a telling.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5434″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Well, Uncle Jones finally came in with a great big grin on his face \u2014 kinda like the cat that swallowed the canary \u2014 and introduced me to my new aunt. They had gone and eloped over the weekend and I was the first one of the family to know.<\/p>\n

It was kinda exciting \u2014 my two best buddies were husband and wife and livin\u2019 next door to me. I had spent a lot of time at the station because of Uncle Jones but now I was there more than ever! I learned a lot more about my now-Aunt Pena.<\/p>\n

I learned she was a great cook… almost as good as Uncle Jones. She cooked a lot in bacon grease (which is still my favorite way to cook). I also learned she wasn\u2019t the best of housekeepers but that just added to her uniqueness.<\/p>\n

I learned she liked to bake. Her favorite pie to make was an egg custard because it was Uncle Jones\u2019 favorite pie to eat. I also learned she owned more than one dress and traded them in for her boots and pants. I learned she was deeply in love with my Uncle Jones.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5433″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Having Aunt Pena next door was wonderful but short-lived. A year or so after they were married there was an attempted hold-up at the station.<\/p>\n

Aunt Pena was in the stock room and walked out to find a shotgun pointed at her face. She leaped back, slamming the door and tripping. She fell backwards to the floor just as the gunman sent a blast through the door. The attacker got away and was never captured but the damage was done.<\/p>\n

Both Pena and Uncle Jones survived the attack physically, but emotionally they had had enough.<\/p>\n

Uncle sold the station and they moved to a farm on Jakes\u2019 Prairie and then to another just up the road from where Pena had lived before they were married. She was back on the river, raisin\u2019 meat (hogs and cattle), dogs and a big garden. Uncle Jones wouldn\u2019t let her wear her pants but she was back to wearing her boots \u2014 with her dress.<\/p>\n

Recently I made a trip back home… to the river country.<\/p>\n

Passing by Aunt Pena\u2019s home place, I saw her house was still standing (the original house, where she lived when I first met her).[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”5432″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]It looks more like a shed than a house, but that was where she lived. The old asphalt siding \u2014 that symbol of fashion, style and protection from the elements \u2014 was still in good shape,<\/p>\n

The small two-room shanty stands as a memorial to wonderful days gone by and to a simple but hard- fought way of life that some remember but most just read about. I am grateful to the new owners for letting the house stand.<\/p>\n

As I wandered down toward the river, hundreds of memories flooded my mind\u2019s eye. I stood for a while, smiling, laughing, and crying a little, over the privilege of having known such a wonderful lady.<\/p>\n

\u2019Till next time,<\/p>\n

ELIAS TUCKER<\/h2>\n

Originally published May 16, 2010<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”Story Credits”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PHOTO CREDITS: J. HESTON, FEBRUARY 26, 2010, GASCONADE COUNTY, STATE OF THE OZARKS \u00a9 ARCHIVE.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] PLATE 1. Miller’s Bluff, Bourbeuse River [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text] Aunt Pena by Dale Grubaugh My great Aunt Pena [Peenee] Ringhiesen Stovall wasn\u2019t my great aunt when I first met her. She lived on the Bourbeuse River near the old Hog Trough Bridge in Gasconade County, Missouri, and was a neighbor to my Uncle Sidney and Aunt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[937,582,581],"tags":[867,866,864,865],"class_list":["post-5440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ozarkwriters","category-sotoarchive","category-sotofeature","tag-aunt-pena","tag-bourbeuse-river","tag-gasconade-county","tag-hog-trough-bridge","category-937","category-582","category-581","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5440"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5464,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440\/revisions\/5464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}