The Dandelion Garden
by
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A large crowd waited in line at the Palace Movie Theater downtown to see a brand-new movie called The Sound of Music. Mr. and Mrs. Hubble attended the movie with us. She, of course, shed tears at the ending. The very next day, Mrs. Hubble ordered sheet music of The Sound of Music songs for the choir to learn.
As we exited the theater, it was dark outside. Our singing of Do-Re-Mi ended with an abrupt confrontation on the sidewalk. A police officer was questioning a group of three people. One of them was elderly and carried a cane. They were Black.
“Just walk on by,” Mrs. Hubble suggested to us.
I heard the officer say, “You should know that there is an ordinance banning Negroes from being west of Holbrook Street after dark.”
“It was light when we went inside,” explained the Black man.
“I assume you know when it gets dark,” the officer berated.
Back in the station wagon, Jeff asked why the Negros could not be out after dark.
“They can be out, just not on our side of town,” said Mr. Hubble.
“Will they get arrested?” I asked.
“Probably not arrested,” Mr. Hubble responded. “That is, if they cooperate. My guess is that they may get a citation.”
“What’s a citation?” Robin wanted to know.
“It’s a ticket they’ll have to pay.”
“Just for going to a movie?” I exclaimed. “That’s dumb.”
“It’s a way to keep everybody safe,” Mrs. Hubble explained.
We arrived home after the movie, and the Hubbles headed back to their farm. Mom was anxious to take the bedding off the clothesline. She came inside with a basket of sheets and blankets.
“Warren, did you take down the green and white striped blanket?” she asked, dropping the basket on the couch.
My dad gave her a strange look. He had never touched laundry on the line or anywhere else.
“Becky, David, did you remove the striped blanket?” We hadn’t.
“What could have happened to it?” Mom asked aloud.
“Maybe the wind got ahold of it,” Dad suggested.
“But it’s not windy,” she pointed out.
“Maybe it was the Shadow Woman,” Jeff proposed.
Mom gave him a sideways glance. “Go get ready for bed.”
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About the Book
The year 1965 in Wakely, a small county seat in southeastern Kansas, is one filled with mystery, secrets, and discoveries. Eleven-year-old Becky Raines and her family have lived in this commuinty for three and a half years. A pastor’s family, she and her three siblings are expected to be good examples for other people.
As Becky experiences everyday life in a small town, other issues make their appearance, from the Shadow Woman who scurries the alleys at night, to Mrs. McAdoo who continues to take advice from her long-deceased husband, to the racial tension, the Vietnam War, and the space race of that year.
In The Dandelion Garden, a historical fiction novel, colorless, grainy television news reports transfer into the school yard, the sanctuary, and even into a little girl’s vision of a dandelion garden until shadows disappear and nothing seems black and white anymore.
About the Author
Barbara McLain grew up in Wichita, Kansas, during the 1960s alongside her three siblings. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she pastored churches in many Kansas towns. McLain captured the attention of congregations and clergy peers when she wrapped her sermons around stories of a small, fictitious Kansas town. Retired, she teaches public speaking at the local high school. She and her husband, a retired physician, live with their dog in western Kansas.