Page’s date

“I have a date tonight that I couldn’t seem to worm my way out of,” Page said. “Marvin Wainright invited me to dinner. He didn’t say where, but I kind of said yes.” Page suddenly said, looking at her watch. “I have just enough time to get ready. I’m sorry Babs but I forgot all about it. I had been trying all week to get out of it.”

“Don’t be sorry on my account. I see no reason why you shouldn’t have some fun. Just because my folks won’t let me date yet is no reason why you shouldn’t.” Babs said.

“OK then, but I feel kind of funny about this. I don’t even know why I accepted. Marvin’s parents are associated with my mother at the hospital. They’re both Doctors. Guess that’s what got me in the mess.” Page explained.

“Page prepared for her date while Babs and Beverly continued to research the records for the Hendrix family. Beverly couldn’t work the keyboard or any of the other equipment but she could read what was on the screen and was very good at reading maps from her period in history. Babs found them a little confusing, lacking in detail. Most of the plantation properties were marked by boundaries that usually followed a stream and this tended to get her lost.

“Anyway, the Hendrix place was quite large. Perhaps a thousand acres they raised Indigo, cotton and vegetables. About every plantation in the area raised vegetables for the town. It was a sure cash crop since the town required a constant supply.” Beverly explained.

“In your time there was no refrigeration so they wouldn’t keep long. Our stores have huge refrigeration plants where they can be stored in cool conditions and will keep for several weeks,” Babs explained.

“I wondered about that. Those huge carriages haul in tons of the stuff. I wondered how it could be kept from spoiling.” Beverly looked thoughtful. “We used to store things in a root cellar where it was cool and they would keep for a long while.”

“You’ve seen the refrigerator we have here at the house,” Babs said. “Think of that, only from ten to a hundred times larger. That’s what the huge supermarkets use to store their vegetables. The display cases where they are put out for sale are also refrigerated,” she explained.