WINNIE

The sun was not shining and it was late afternoon on that late spring day. There was no hint of a storm. It was just a gray sort of a day under a cloudy sky. Often the spirit seems depressed at such a time. When the bright sun of spring smiles down on the earth everything seems to spring to life and the birds burst into song and soar above, but at the cloudy times the mood seems keyed to a more somber note. Perhaps this was an omen because the family gathered at the Tasco depot were very quiet. The team hitched to a home built wagon stood nearby. The baggage was on the little cart, ready to be taken aboard when the Jitney made its daily five o'clock stop along the westbound route that would terminate at Oakley, Kansas. After an overnight stay it would turn around and retrace the route to Salina. It carried mail, express packages and passengers. Winnie was leaving home. She would board that train and ride to Colby where she would board the Rock Island's Rocket and proceed to Denver. Winnie and Vera spent a summer in the Black Hills with brothers Julius and Robert. So you can understand that she had been away from home before. It was different this time. She was leaving forever. Oh, of course she would be back for a visit. As it turned out they would be few and far between. She was going to Denver. There she must have a job to support herself while she was enrolled in nursing training. High hopes were expressed there on that platform while waiting for the train. Who can predict the future? What seemingly unimportant event can change the course of history and so it is with life. The train arrived and she went aboard and except for brief visits our paths did not meet again. What happened to her? How many mountains did she climb and how many dreams and hopes were laid aside because they were out of reach. This is an account of her life as I recall the events. It will be brief because my knowledge of it is limited. During World War II half the world separated us. She did not become a nurse. The years passed and she supported herself for many years as a domestic worker. She often sent small amounts of money home. Her help was welcomed because we were in the depths of the drought and depression of the thirties. Eventually she married a Mr. Chase and I believe she was the breadwinner of that union until he died a short time later. Somewhat later she married Walter Rossi. They were operating a cafe in Kansas City when I went to enlist in the U.S. Navy in the fall of nineteen forty. I ate at that cafe while waiting for passage to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. During the war, she and Walter together with James and Rosa Gibbs (another sister) went to Oak Ridge, Tennessee where they sought employment at a federal project. I am not sure of the details but it is supposed by the rest of the family that they could not get clearance because of some former record. Everyone seems to be hazy concerning the details. Winnie and Walter moved to St. Louis. They lived on both sides of the Mississippi in the St. Louis area. He is buried at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery in that city. Winnie worked at a garment factory for many years. Once again she was widowed. She was a member and faithful worker for the Salvation Army for many years. I believe that she found a home and family in the spiritual fellowship within the Salvation Army. In all the sixty years that elapsed from the time when we parted at Tasco until she died, a stable family home was not hers to enjoy. s—- She gave freely of herself to those who needed her and she was at her assigned post as a member of the Salvation Army on the day before her death.
Surely God must have welcomed her and said to her "Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." Her body lies beside her husband at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.