In 1924 our family lived southeast of Tecumseh. My father was a share cropper. It was about December 20 and we were preparing for Christmas. I was five years old and my little sister was four years old. There was a terrible outbreak of diphtheria in our community. My little sister, Nadine, got really sick with a sore throat so mother treated her with home remedies but she did not improve.
My older sister and I were at school and dad sent our neighbor to take us home. When we arrived, Nadine did not know us.
She died on December 23. Our whole family was quarantined and could not leave the house.
Two neighbor ladies came and prepared Nadine for burial. My daddy took her to the Forrest Hill Cemetery in a horse-drawn wagon in the rain.
The wagon was covered with a wagon sheet.
The neighbor men dug her grave and she was buried on December 24. There was no funeral, no flowers, and no neighbors.
I am 90 years old and I can still remember how Nadine and I would play together and enjoy each other. I know this was the saddest Christmas that we ever had in our family.
