Childhood Secrets and Iris's Tea Parties

When I was about ten, I made friends with Toby Fry, the granddaughter of the Frys, who had the small dairy farm at the corner of 38th Street and 32nd Avenue. One summer day, we were playing Crow (my favorite card game) on their broad front porch when, as can happen on even the hottest summer day in the Midwest, there was a sudden crack of thunder followed immediately by a particularly heavy hailstorm. As the little spheres of ice peppered down, we happily let the hail hail onto our faces and sting our bodies. When it was over, (almost before it started) a thick coating of cold quarter-inch round hail stones was left on the floor of the porch. Mrs. Fry appeared at the front door with a big milk pail and told Toby and me to hurry up and scoop up all the hail and bring it to her in the kitchen, which we did. There, she was rushing around preparing a mixture of fresh cream, (probably double cream from her cows) sugar and some fresh peach slices. This mixture went into a coffee can and a cover was placed on it. Another, larger can (probably a cracker tin) received a layer of the freezing cold hail. The can with the ingredients went inside and more hail was packed all around and on top of it. I remember everyone was rushing around and it was all very quick activity as we worked frantically against time to beat the hail from melting. Mrs. Fry, a buxom, stout, bowed-legged woman, who was singing and laughing and having fun the whole time, poured some rock salt on top of the hail, snapped the lid shut and ordered everyone to the floor of the huge kitchen. There, Toby and I and Mrs. Fry and two other kids who showed up sat with legs spread apart rolling the can to each other. (It got really cold to the touch.) Then, as if by magic to me, the mixture turned into ice cream. We all went back out onto the porch, spoons in hand, sat on the railing and ate the whole thing. Later, Toby and I played doctor in the woods but Iris and one of her girlfriends spied us and threatened to tell on us. I worried about that for a long time. I must say though, Iris always treated me well in general. Mom said that when I came along, Iris was very happy to see me because then she had a permanent and witless guest for her endless tea parties.