My Pretty Red Jacket

Written by Loraite (Rossman) Teays

 Dec. - 1983

    I was starting High School, in the fall of 1931. I was 14 yrs. Old and money was a little short. An older brother, T.C. was starting his Sr. year, at Lapeer High. He came home from school one day and told mother and dad that he would soon be needing a warmer jacket. (He walked 2 miles every morning- to catch a ride, with a friend, that was driving to Lapeer.) He would walk home the 2 miles in the late afternoon. My parents asked him, what kind of jacket he would like? He said that a lot of the students were wearing red wool ones- both boys and girls. Well, being a Sr. student, he got his warm red jacket and a little later, his girl friend did, also. I was a little envious, even though I was 4 yrs. younger.

     A few weeks before Christmas, I told my mother- I would really like to have a red jacket for Christmas. Mother thought for awhile and then replied, “I will see what I can do.” The weeks went by and nothing more was said about the jacket. I was reconciled to the fact, that my parents would not be getting the jacket for me.

     Christmas morning arrived and there were several in-expensive gifts for everyone under the tree. After they had been passed out, someone said, “there is a big box, almost hidden under the tree, but no name is on it.” Mother looked around and said, “I do believe that is for Loraite.” All my brothers and sisters started clapping and congratulating me. I was delighted, of course, and when I opened the box, there was a beautiful red jacket, of the softest brightest red wool, I had ever seen. It didn’t dawn on me, at first, that mother had sewed it for me, and all the children “were in“, on the secret.

     Mother was a beautiful seamstress, but where did she get the lovely wool material? Well, I later found out that it was the lining from an old silk crazy quilt that had been “retired” to the attic- because the silk pieces had become worn and frayed. Mother had carefully ripped all the silk pieces from the lining and washed and ironed the wool. She then cut out and sewed my jacket. She lined it with an in-expensive plaid outing blanket, for extra warmth. She only worked on it while I was at school, and hid every trace of the jacket, each day, before I would get home. I was very proud to wear that lovely warm jacket for many years and received compliments on it, almost every time I wore it. I was always happy to say, “my mother made this for me.”

                      The End                                                 

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