Nov. 14, 2016 – Barton, WI – A brisk November wind swept the yellow Maple leaves down the sidewalk along Barton Avenue. Essie rolled over in bed and pulled the heavy patchwork quilt up under her chin.
She could feel the weather changing and this morning she could see the frost on the shingles of the house next door.
Essie tied her robe and clutched the collar as she walked to the kitchen to put on a kettle of water. The hardwood floor creaked under her slippers. She set the kettle in the sink and turned on the tap and let the water run as she fumbled for a wooden matchstick to light the burner on the stove.
Fall was not her favorite time of year.
The darkness made her weary and it had the same effect on grandma. She found her sleeping more often in her rocking chair; her knitting needles in her lap and the ball of yarn, that escaped her apron pouch, resting in the middle of the floor.
Essie had been putting in long hours at the store as Deb changed displays at Over the Moon from an orange-and-black Halloween theme to reds and whites of Christmas.
Hank had been busy too as there were several orders for kitchen cabinets and a large dining room table that had to be finished in the next two weeks.
During the course of the work day Hank would often take a break and mosey to the gift shop to see if Essie could slip out of the storefront window for a bit.
Often times Hank would run into Deb. He felt she was running interference but he found if he could charm her a bit and get her laughing he’d have an easier time catching a couple minutes with Essie.
“Did I ever tell you the one about Sven and Olaf and the chickens,” said Hank as he leaned against the door frame.
Deb was paging through her inventory. “Nope Hank… can’t say that I’ve heard that one,” she said not even bothering to look up.
So Hank launched into the time when Sven and Olaf decided to raise chickens. “They went to the feed store and bought 300 baby chicks. Three days pass and they’re back at the feed store asking for 300 more. The clerk asks what happened to the first 300 and Olaf said, ‘They died.’ Olaf got another 300 chicks and by the weekend he’s back again. ‘Now what happened,” said the clerk. ‘Those die too?’ Olaf nodded his head and put his thumbs under his suspenders. “Well… something’s gone wrong,” said Olaf. “Either I’m planting them too far apart or too deep.'”
Deb looked up at Hank who seemed right proud of his clever story telling. Her glasses rested on the end of her nose and she quietly put her pencil down on her tablet. “You done tryin’ to be funny,” she said dryly.
Hank knew she was trying to give him a hard time. “I got one more if you like,” he said with a Clark Gable grin.
“Essie you wanna take a break now with Chuckles here,” she said.
Essie put down her Harper’s Bizarre magazine, hopped out of her chair, took Hank by the hand and danced him out the door. “Be back in 15,” she said… her voice trailing off.
“You are really pushing it mister,” said Essie as the two raced across the road to Otten’s Grocery for a grape soda.
“I don’t think Deb likes you being a wisenheimer.”
Hank was bouncing some change around in his open palm as he looked for a couple dimes for the drinks.
There was nothing like a cold grape soda in the middle of the afternoon.
“You think you’ll be working late again tonight,” asked Hank.
Essie shrugged and rolled her eyes. “You look good sitting in the window,” said Hank.
She playfully batted her eyelashes as she pushed herself up off the stoop and walked past Sandy’s Barton Cafe.
“Do you have time to come over tonight,” asked Essie. “Grandma has been pestering me to clean out the chimney and with the cold nights coming on ….. well, I could really use some help.”
Hank followed quick on Essie’s heels and reached to hold her arm as they crossed the street together. Just then he saw Jeff step out the door onto the front porch.
“Will you get over here we’ve got cabinets to deliver and it’s gonna be dark soon,” he said.
Jeff shook his head as he ducked back inside.
“Sounds like somebody’s in trouble again…,” said Essie.
“Awe he’s just blowing steam,” said Hank. “But I’ll be over later tonight to help take a look at the chimney. Tell grandma I might be a little hungry and beef stew or pie would really hit the spot.”
Build, Boost, & Buy in Barton ornament for sale
If you’re trying to shop local for Christmas there’s a new ornament on the block that celebrates Barton.
The old firehouse on Barton Avenue is now available in a Faith Ann watercolor ornament. The ceramic ornament is available at Over the Moon, 1720 Barton Avenue.
$3 million lottery winner steps forward
“Awesome announcement,” said Citgo owner Scott Sadownikow when told the winner stepped forward.
For the past few weeks Sadownikow said they had been bombarded with pseudo winners and questions.
“There was all kinds of people coming in claiming they won but most were just joking,” he said.
“It’s still exciting and our lottery sales have increased since that ticket was sold and they’re just looking for a little bit of that luck.”
Timblin has chosen the cash option of $2.26 million as his prize. Barton Citgo will receive a 2% incentive of the winning ticket; it will receive $60,000 for selling the winning ticket.
Wisconsin House Woodworks
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Small Town Bait & Tackle
The Sign Shop of West Bend, 1624 Schmidt Road All exterior signage including Banners, Yard Signs, Sandblasted, Illuminated and Monument.
Interior signage including, Engraved, Way finding, and Room Identification Decals include: Corporate branding, Security, Serialized, Safety/Warning/ OEM decals, and Control Panels.
Vehicles graphics for Corporate, City, and County fleets, Recreational and Personal Vehicles, and also Window Decals identifying business name, and hours of operation.
West Bend Glass Block, 1527 N. Main Street