COUNTRYSIDE YARNS
TALL TALE OR TRUTH? YOU DECIDE!
The Turtle Tale
by Janis Stein

Young Leo and Helen Stein made their own fun as kids often did in the early 1930s, a time when dimes were scarce but imaginations, plentiful. Good friends, too, were a treasure money could never buy, and the Stein children spent many an endless day playing over at the Adler farm whenever the opportunity arose.

The Stein's attended Pumpkin Center, the one-room schoolhouse on White Rock Road in Sherman Township, and their daily journey brought with it many adventures as they made their trek under the endless blue sky. Leo and Helen walked first to the Adler's where Annie, Billy and Johnny waited anxiously for their comrades. When the warmth of the autumn sun was replaced by the howling winds of Old Man Winter, Mrs. Adler was always sure to invite the Stein children in to warm themselves by the stove before ushering her own out the door with them.

Before long and, much to the relief of the children, school days turned into the long lazy days of summer. The five children became fast friends over the years, and with a woods to explore and a creek to swim in, rarely was there ever a dull moment. The Adlers' ducks, too, waddled down to the creek that ran through the Adler farm, as did all kinds of wild animals that used the creek as their watering hole.

The creek was known as White River and emptied into Lake Huron near White Rock; it had always been an attraction for the children, the perfect place to skip stones or play with sticks on the water's edge. Turtles, too, were ever abundant, feasting on unsuspecting ducks at every chance. The snappers would drown their prey, first grabbing the duck's neck in its deadly jaws and then holding the bird under the water's surface until its breath was no more. The children learned firsthand nature could be as cruel as she was beautiful, and animals of every species did what they could to survive.

The boys caught all kinds of critters as boys so often like to do, and on more than one occasion, they were successful in capturing a turtle or two before releasing their reptilian friends. A turtle's main defense mechanism is, of course, its shell, and when the boys came near, inside their shells the mud turtles and snappers would go. One Saturday afternoon, Leo and Helen made the one and a half mile walk over to the Adler's home to see if their teenaged friends had time to hang out; indeed, the trio of Adler children was happy to set their work aside and join their friends, so down to the creek they went.

As the boys rushed off ahead, Annie and Helen took their time, catching up on all the things teenage girls like to chat about as they made their way down the hillside to the water's edge. Upon their arrival, they found Leo knee-deep in the water with a grin on his face and mischief in his eyes. With quick hands he reached under the water and snatched a turtle from the bottom of the creek bed. Holding it up for all to see, he carefully made his way to the bank; the group gathered 'round as Leo held up his prize. The snapper was a beauty and heavy, too, measuring about the size of a dinner plate, and Leo was careful to keep his fingers out of reach from the turtle's vice-like jaws.

Be sure to look for the continuation next month when Leo Stein's turtle shows his face once more.

© 2006 Janis Stein