American Triumph: 1939-1945: 4 STORIES IN 1 Read online

  Rosa Takes a Chance © 2006 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

  Mandy the Outsider © 2004 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

  Jennie’s War © 2005 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

  Laura’s Victory © 2004 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

  Print ISBN 978-1-61626-824-4

  eBook Editions:

  Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-60742-017-0

  Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-60742-033-0

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

  All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover design: Greg Jackson, Thinkpen Design

  Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,

  www.barbourbooks.com

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Bethany Press International; Bloomington, MN 55438; July 2012; D10003427

  Rosa Takes a Chance

  Susan Martins Miller

  A NOTE TO READERS

  The dust storms of the 1930s are a part of American history that many of us cannot imagine. Sometimes they were six hundred miles wide and lasted for ten hours. Parts of Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas were in the dust bowl. The storms in Rosa Takes a Chance are based on the dates of storms that actually happened in Rosa’s corner of Texas. “Black Sunday” is one of the most famous. After this storm, many families across the Great Plains decided to look for a better life by moving west, just like the families Rosa knew.

  CONTENTS

  1. Words in the Dirt

  2. Dust Everywhere

  3. New Friends, New Hopes

  4. Hurry Home

  5. The Essay

  6. Happy Birthday, Rosa

  7. “Why I Love America”

  8. Sixth Grade

  9. Then Came Spring

  10. Creak and Crash!

  11. Black Sunday

  12. Follow the Fence

  13. Digging Out

  14. Moving On

  15. Get Out!

  16. Good-Bye, Jalopies

  17. Rosa’s Idea

  18. Rosa’s School and Papá’s Dream

  Explanation of Terms

  Spanish words used in the text:

  El Nacimiento The Nativity; representation of where Jesus was born

  Feliz Navidad Merry Christmas

  Hermana Sister

  Hermano Brother

  Hija (“mi hija”) Daughter (“my daughter”)

  Hijos Sons

  Hombre Man

  La maestra The teacher

  Las Posadas A nine-day Christmas festivity

  Mamá Mama, Mother

  Papá Papa, Father

  Rosita Nickname for Rosa

  San José Joseph (Jesus’ earthly father)

  Santa Biblia Holy Bible

  Señor Mr.

  Señora Mrs.

  Señorita Miss

  Tía Aunt

  Tío Uncle

  Virgen Maria Virgin Mary (Jesus’ mother)

  CHAPTER 1

  Words in the Dirt

  If I grow up to be a teacher, I will be a real teacher.” Rosa Sanchez spoke aloud, but no one listened. She sat alone on the cement steps outside her school while other children played. “I will not be a teacher like Señora Gonzalez. We call her la maestra, the teacher, but she does not teach us. She only wants us to play.”

  “Rosa!” Maria called to her friend. “Come jump rope with us.”

  Maria spoke in Spanish, but Rosa answered her in English.

  “No thanks,” Rosa said. “I do not want to jump rope. I want to read.”

  “Why?” Maria asked in Spanish. “It’s a nice day to play.”

  “Speak English,” Rosa insisted.

  “I like Spanish,” Maria answered. She scampered back to the jump-rope line.

  “I like Spanish, too,” Rosa told herself. “But my family is not in Mexico any longer. If I want to go to a real school, I must learn better English.”

  At home, Rosa’s family spoke Spanish. They had all learned a few English words. But many people in Texas spoke Spanish, so the Sanchez family did not speak English very often. They joked in Spanish. They sang in Spanish. They told stories of Mexico in Spanish. Sometimes they prayed in Spanish. The Santa Biblia, the Holy Bible, that Papá kept on the shelf in the big room was in Spanish. Their friends were other Mexican families who also spoke Spanish. Rosa did not have many opportunities to speak English.

  Rosa’s parents had moved from Mexico to Texas with three little boys before Rosa was born. Mamá‘s brother, José, came with them. Rosa was soon born, and ten years passed. Now Tío José had a wife, Tía Natalia. Tío and Tía had a new baby, little Isabella. They all lived together in Dalhart, in the northwest corner of Texas. The men worked in the pastures of a large cattle ranch. They branded the cattle, checked to be sure the animals were healthy, drove them to new pastures when they needed fresh grass to graze, and got them ready to sell at the cattle auction in town. Rosa’s brothers helped Papá and Tío José make sure the cows had food and were safe.

  The cows belonged to the man who owned the ranch. Papá and Tío got part of the profit from selling the cattle. The owner also gave the Sanchez family a small house to live in so they could work for him. Nine people lived in six rooms. It was crowded, but they were happy. Downstairs, the house had a kitchen and a big room. Rosa’s brothers slept on the porch, which had walls and big windows. Upstairs, the house had three bedrooms. Mamá and Papá slept in one room. Tío and Tía slept in another with their baby daughter. Rosa had the third room. Her room was very small, but Rosa knew she was lucky to have her own room.

  Papá and Tío also plowed farmland. They gave the owner part of the money that they earned when they sold the crop. When they had a good crop, they had enough money to buy the things the family needed. Mamá and Tía worked hard in the house. They cooked and cleaned and took care of baby Isabella. Mamá loved to work in the garden behind the house. She grew carrots and green beans and peas and potatoes and radishes and onions for the family to eat.

  Rosa loved to hear the stories of when her family lived in Mexico. She did not want to give up speaking Spanish. She even wanted to visit Mexico someday. But she would never go to the best school if she did not speak English. Only white children went to the best school. In the Mexican school, children copied the alphabet and learned to read a few words in the morning. Then they played. After lunch they worked on addition and subtraction for a little while. Then they played some more.

  Rosa loved to play, too, but she could play at home. At school, she wanted to learn to read. She wanted to learn about the world. She wanted to learn about history. She did not want to jump rope at school.

  After school, Maria said, “Let’s walk home together.”

  Rosa shook her head. “You go on, Maria. I don’t feel like walking fast.”

  All the other children passed Rosa on the way home. School was two miles from her house. In the winter, if she did not walk fast, she felt as if her nose would freeze and break off
. Now the winter winds had stopped blowing. Springtime was warmer. Soon it would be summer, and Rosa would feel as if she would melt into a puddle.

  Rosa shuffled home, kicking her shoes in the dusty soil. Spring was warmer than winter, but the air was always full of dust. For the last two years, Texas had not had enough rain. Other states had the same problem. Without water, the ground dried up. When spring winds came, they blew the soil away. Papá was already worried that the soil was not good enough to plant a wheat crop this year.

  Rosa turned down the short road to her house. She could see Mamá hanging wash in the backyard. Mamá worked hard to keep everything clean. When the dust blew in, it covered all the floors and walls and tables and chairs and beds in the house. Sometimes Rosa thought Mamá should stop trying so hard, because it was impossible to keep things clean.

  “You look sad, mi hija,” Mamá said. “What is wrong?”

  “Mamá, you must do something about my school!” Rosa exclaimed. “Señora Gonzalez is teaching lessons I learned three years ago. I want to learn new things.”

  “Maybe she teaches these lessons because the other children do not know them.” Mamá pinned one of Papá’s shirts to the clothesline.

  “No, Mamá, I don’t think so.”

  “Then what do you think, mi hija?”

  Rosa stood up straight and said boldly, “I think she is not a real teacher. She does not care if we learn or not.”

  “Rosa! Show respect for your teacher.”

  “I’m sorry, Mamá. But I don’t want to play the whole day at school. I want to learn more than she can teach me. Will you please talk to her?”

  “Rosa, I cannot do that. I am not a teacher. I do not understand education, and I am very busy.”

  “Please, Mamá!”

  “Rosita, not everyone has to go to school. When I was your age in Mexico, I did not go to school anymore. School was for boys, not girls.”

  “That’s not true here in America, Mamá!”

  “Sometimes it is. Even your own brothers see that hard work is more important. Can I feed my children with a book?”

  “I know everyone works hard, Mamá.” Rosa held back her tears. How could Mamá be so mean? “And I would work hard at learning if I could only go to a good school.”

  Mamá stopped hanging shirts in the dusty air and put her hand on Rosa’s cheek. “Rosita, I know this is something you want very much. But it is not something that I can give you.”

  From her basket on the wooden porch, Isabella began to cry. Mamá sighed. “The baby has not had a good nap all day. Your tía needs to rest.”

  Rosa turned toward the porch. “I will take care of the baby.”

  Rosa carried two-month-old Isabella close to her chest all afternoon to keep the baby quiet. Tía was very tired. She had not gotten strong again after the baby was born. More and more, she was tired or did not feel well. Sometimes she coughed all night. Rosa wanted Tía to sleep until supper, so she took the baby outside where Tía would not hear her cries.

  When suppertime came, Papá, Tío, and the boys came in from the fields. They were tired, too.

  Papá and Tío got up before the sun rose every day. After doing a few chores, they woke up Rosa’s brothers.

  Téodoro was seventeen. Papá treated him like a man because he could work as hard as a man. But Mamá liked to take care of him as if he were still a little boy.

  Rafaél was fifteen. He was not as strong as Téodoro, but he loved to be outside. Rafaél hated going to school. He used to spend all day looking out the windows, wishing he could be in the field. One day he told Papá he did not want to go to school anymore.

  Juan was fourteen. He stopped going to school when he was twelve. He wanted to work with the men, and Papá needed some extra help. Juan liked to take care of animals. If one of the pigs or cows was sick, Papá always called Juan to help him decide what to do.

  Rosa sat in a chair, holding Isabella, as her brothers washed up for supper. Mamá was wiping the dust off the dishes. Even though the women washed the dishes after each meal, the plates and cups were full of dust by the next meal. Rosa remembered the dust storms from the last two years. This year, 1934, would not be any different. Already they had seen two small dust storms, and Rosa knew many more would blow across their fields before the summer was over.

  Tío went upstairs to check on Tía Natalia. Tía was too tired to come down for supper. Mamá fixed a plate to keep warm and take up to Tía later.

  After supper while Mamá and Rosa cleaned up the kitchen, Papá, Tío, and the boys went out again for evening chores. Some of the cows had to be milked, and the chickens were clacking for food. When the men finished their chores, they would be ready to go to bed. Anyone who wanted to be a rancher or farmer had to be ready for long days in the fields and pastures.

  Isabella finally fell asleep in Rosa’s arms. The sleeping baby, with her thumb in her mouth, did not wake as Rosa laid her in her basket in a quiet corner of the big room. Rosa went outside. At least the dust was good for something. Each night Rosa went outside and pulled her favorite stick from the ground next to the porch. She used a stick in the dust to practice writing English words.

  When she was smaller, she spelled easy words like rat and cat and hat. Then she learned to spell words like table, farmer, and fields. But those were too easy now. She thought of harder words in her head. Rosa said a word aloud over and over again to listen to the sounds it had. Then she tried to spell the word by writing in the dust with her stick. Rosa knew that if she could learn to read and write in English, she would be able to read many more books. If she could read, then Rosa could learn about anything she wanted.

  Rosa stood and looked at the words she had spelled. Some of them were right. Others were wrong. But she had no one who could tell her the difference. Mamá and Papá and Téodoro went to school in Mexico. They did not know how to read and write the English words that they spoke. Rafaél and Juan made fun of her because she wanted to go to school. Tía was busy with the baby and often sick. Tío was busy with the farm and taking care of Tía.

  No one could help her learn.

  As the sun went down, Rosa got ready to go to bed. Usually Mamá helped her move Isabella’s basket to Tía’s room for the night. But tonight Rosa did not think that was a good idea.

  “Tía is sick, Mamá. If she starts coughing, Isabella will wake up and start crying. Then Tío will have two people to take care of in the night. Let Isabella sleep in my room.”

  “You are a kind girl,” Mamá said.

  Lying in her own bed, Rosa listened to the quick breathing of the sleeping baby. Rosa was sure to be quiet, but she did not go to sleep right away. She thought about Papá’s Bible on the shelf in the big room. Did Papá ever read that book? Did he believe that God could answer prayers?

  “I believe,” Rosa said to herself. “I believe God does not want me to work in the fields when I grow up. He wants me to be a teacher. But how can I be a teacher if I have no one to teach me?”

  Sleep came at last to Rosa. The next thing she knew, it was dawn, and Isabella was squawking for someone to feed her.

  CHAPTER 2

  Dust Everywhere

  Rosa looked at the three hooks on the wall of her room. Her five cotton dresses hung on those three hooks. She was lucky to have five dresses. Before, Rosa had only two dresses. Then Tía surprised her by cutting down some of her own dresses so Rosa would have some pretty clothes.

  Rosa used to like to choose what to wear. Sometimes she borrowed a scarf from Mamá or a belt from Tía to make her dress prettier. It did not seem to matter anymore. All her clothes were covered with dust. Starting in the spring, the winds blew fiercely across the open plains of Texas where she lived. It was almost the end of April, and the winds had been blowing for weeks. But no rain came. The soil was too dry and blew away in the wind. The fields did not have enough soil, but everywhere else had too much soil.

  Wind turned the dirt into fine dust so tiny that it could go thro
ugh even the smallest hole. Mamá tried to keep the dust out of the house. If she saw a crack in the wall, she stuffed a rag in the crack. Old flour sacks went around the edges of the windows. Mamá saved socks with holes and towels and old clothes to stuff into every crack she could find. Rosa thought that Mamá found more cracks every day. Soon she will want to put my dresses into the cracks, Rosa thought.

  Still the dust came. The house was full of dusty clothes, dusty dishes, dusty furniture. Sometimes Rosa thought her brothers should just shovel up the dirt in the house and take it back out to the fields. Or maybe Mamá and Tía could put all the dirt in one room and plant their garden inside the house.

  Rosa chose a dusty red dress and put it on. Mamá would call her to breakfast soon.

  Downstairs, Rosa slipped into her usual chair. The dishes in the sink told her that Papá and the boys had already eaten. By now they were chasing cattle and trying to find something for the cows to eat. With no soil, there was no grass. In the grazing pastures, only tumbleweeds grew.

  “Where is Tía?” Rosa asked.

  “Tía is a little tired, so she went back to bed.”

  “I heard her coughing last night,” Rosa said.

  Mamá did not answer. Rosa knew that meant Mamá was worried. Tía was a little better in the winter. She did not like the cold air, but she did not cough so much. Now in the spring when the winds blew, Tía covered her face with a wet handkerchief. This helped keep the dust out of her mouth and nose. Still, Rosa knew Tía was getting sicker.

  “Eat your breakfast, hija,” Mamá said as she set a glass of fresh milk and a bowl of beans in front of Rosa.

  “Beans for breakfast again?” Rosa whined.

  “Be grateful. Eat them before the dust gets them.”

  “Yes, Mamá.”

  The glass Mamá gave Rosa had a saucer on top of it. If Mamá did not cover the glass, the milk would be too dirty for Rosa to drink. Rosa carefully moved the saucer, took a gulp of milk, and put the saucer back on the glass as swiftly as she could. She was tired of eating beans, no matter how many different ways Mamá tried to fix them. She ate quickly so that she would not be eating a bowl of dirt. When she finished, Rosa put her dishes in the sink.