Country Roads

I am so fond of the month of February. While officially it’s still not spring, I’m happy with it. My reasoning is simple. There are February dates that are special to me and hold memories of loved ones past and present.

I became a mother for the first time on Feb. 4, 1968, when our son was born in the Salina hospital. My husband was on his last semester at Vo-Tech Drafting School at Salina. We were nervous and though we only lived five blocks from the hospital, we practiced several times driving to the hospital.

Three sisters-in-law of mine, have birthdays in February and of course all are celebrated. Seven of my cousins have birthdays this month, on the Heskett, Garman and Boyles sides of the family. Three nephews were born in February. Some close friends also celebrate their wedding anniversary this month.

Of course, there is Valentine’s Day and I have enjoyed that since I was a youngster. My present husband and I were married on Feb. 23, 2002, on a day when the weather was uncommon for that time of the year as the temperature was into the 70s and sunshiny. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather that day, 22 years ago. Feb. 25, was and will always be special to the Heskett side of my family as it was my cowboy, horse loving, Grand Dad Henry Heskett’s birthday and also the wedding anniversary of Grand Dad and Grandmother Heskett. For several years, the Heskett family would plan a reunion around that special day of February 25, and all of that large family would do their best to attend. Such special times!

Henry Heskett was working for a cattle rancher in western Kansas as a young man. He broke horses, herded cattle and did the cattle chores. At some point of his young adulthood, Daisy Niceshwander, a young school teacher at a neighboring one- room schoolhouse, caught his eye. A year later they were married. They made their home in a small house on the ranch where two of their daughters were born. Within a few months of the youngest daughter’s birth, the family made the move to Jewell County, just east of Burr Oak. They remained in the Burr Oak area the rest of their lives, where they raised, along with the first two daughters, another five daughters and two sons. Yes, there were nine Heskett children in all that later would add to the family scads of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

So now you know why I like February so much. Of course, it also means spring will soon arrive and that’s a big plus.