A terrified woman in a basement, dinner at the Dunkles, a fall from a swing and a picture show. In other words, just another holiday in historic Lincoln, Nebraska.
A collection of photos taken at the Burr Arthur Dunkle residence sync perfectly with Artena Arising's account of July 4th, 1923:
But before this hilarity in the Dunkles' apple orchard, duty called. Artena and her friend Mary Powers were prevailed upon to visit a frightened church member.
"After breakfast Mary and I went over to see Sister Zink, as she was down in the basement in bed with a pillow over her head. She said she was so frightened she couldn’t be anywhere—only in the basement. I told her she should exercise her faith and not give up to such a little thing as fireworks. She is a lady who has not been raised in a city and she is very frightened of fireworks."
Given the miniscule population of 1,300 souls in Artena's hometown, we can only assume Sister Zink was a bit of a ninny. Was Artena soothing or blunt with her simple advice?
The missionaries then headed to the Dunkles. Photos show a wooden, hand-churned ice cream maker, trees, and flowers, one of which Bessie Steinagel pins under her collar. Artena and Bessie wear matching outfits—I am convinced these are the "burnt-orange linen dresses trimmed with white" that they made a month earlier. (Look at Bessie's sleeves—only linen wrinkles like that, plus the collars are white.)
"We had fried chicken, salad, beans, rice pudding, cherries, ice cream and cake. We all ate so hearty. They sure make a person feel to home and we had a very sociable time."—Artena Arising
At some point—presumably after this photo—young Silvia Dunkle (the perky, barefoot pixie next to Dave Delore Evans) falls from a tree swing. She is knocked cold. Poor little thing. Nevertheless, the missionaries move on. They go to the movies. Artena calls this "putting the finishing touch on the day".
What's not to love? Fireworks, frightened women in cellars, a concussed child ....whatever. The missionaries are young and happy and have eaten hearty. Plus, the movies. It's all a person needs.
After Party...
I've always felt Bessie Steinagel was Artena's favorite companion, her bestie. They made and wore matching outfits in their 20s, for goodness' sake. They were the same age (and happened to both die around age 85). Artena's description of Bessie's heart-rending departure was what hooked me into the entire book.
But... Bessie remained lifelong friends with a different lady missionary, Alice Grace Garlick—there's a group picture of them together in their dotage. [UPDATE: Alice had married Bessie's brother Herman, whom she had dated before their mission, so they were actually family.]
I don't know if Bessie and Artena stayed in touch; it's really not likely. And it's just not fair.
Photos: FamilySearch.org
Quotes: Artena Arising: Diary of a Lady Missionary, by Artena Christensen
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