BOOK TWO: BECOMING TEENAGERSThe five little Bruce sisters had no way of knowing they were in the midst of the Great Depression or that living in a two-room Texas sharecropper's shack without water, electricity or sewar wasn't normal. The Bruce girls were only concerned about two things: their mom's home cooking and her love. Mary Bell Bruce always made sure her girls had plenty of both.When the wind blew it filled their little shack with dust. The sisters cleaned themselves by bathing in a galvanized tub using hog soap and warm water.
Picking cotton was a way of life. All girls picked cotton except the youngest Pod and Gean. They were pulled through the cotton fields on the tail end of the cotton sack.
Walking a mile or more carrying a log for the school stove was no big deal. The oldest kids did it keeping everyone warm.
The sun was the log cabins only light. Extra-large windows let in just e4nough light for reading.
The school accommodated all grades. Your grade determined how close you sat to the teacher. Kids in the first grade sat in the front roll. There they were within reach of the teacher's ruler. Something Pod and Gean soon became aware of. 8th graders in the back roll were expected to help the younger students with their lessons.
These are a few things my aunts, mom, and grandmother relayed to me about living in the 1920 and 1930s. All are based on my relatives' stories.
I was unaware my mom was a hard-core woman's rights person.
Pod Bruce become a foe of the Texas men's jockey club. For fifty+ years women were not allowed to be jockeys. At the age of 15 Pod had not physically matured. With her hair cut, she easily passed for a boy.
Robert Bruce owned a fast quarter horse that Pod loved to ride. At the track Pod registered as a boy and won two races before she was injured and found to be a female. She was a teenager and only received a fine instead of jail time. Pod was barred from all men's horse racing tracks in the US.
Pod continued fighting for women's rights. After women won the right to vote, she ran against a man in an all-male city council and won a seat. She was a strong activist when it came to women's equal rights such as equal pay and workplace advancement. She took a strong stand on sex education for women.
Pod wasn't the only aggressive sister.
Bessie and John moved to California during the California land boom. Their wise investments turned them into millionaires. Tragedy followed Bessie. Her first daughter Teri had a massive stroke and died. Her two-year-old grandson, Little John, was hit by a car and killed, and her 11-year-old granddaughter drowned.
Gean, the youngest Bruce was badly beaten by an attempted rapist. She recovered, got married and help start a new fast-food restaurant. They ended up with a chain but lost it all because of a cancer-causing ingredient found in their food. Geans young husband died of stomach cancer, Low started a successful restaurant in Bakersfield, California that showed a nice profit for years.
Robert Bruce's Washateria became a reality providing a livelihood for his family.
When several of my aunts agreed on a story you can count on it being gospel. White Dog and the rattle snake were one of those stories.
Pod winning the poetry contest against the Hunter girls was another that was repeated many times. It was repeated so much that I now know the first line of the poem "
The woman was old and ragged and grey." Being the nephew and son of those ladies was an experience. The Bruce's survived the Great Depression and at the end of every year, they always celebrated a joyous Christmas. These are the stories of my mom, my aunts, and my grandmother based on their lives.
