Posted November 27, 2020 / Henry Guyer

Seeing that it was the Marshal, Gideon wiped his hands and walked over to the man. Holding out his hand, he smiled, "Well, Marshal, what can I do for you on this fine evening?"

“Well Pastor, it’s a matter of what you can do for a young lad, Weedy. ‘Spose you know of him, name’s actually Porter James. Ma was Chloe James, now his pa, might well be Daniel Porter. We don’t know. What we’re looking for is any record of his birth. I get that right Addy?” He took the lead thinking it might be easier on her if he did.

Posted November 28, 2020 / Adelaide Chappel

"Parson," Addy nodded to the man, explaining, "got a telegram Christmas Eve that Weddy's ma had been killed in Whitefish, all that trouble with th' blizzard an' whatnot. Not sure why she was there, we hadn't seen her in near a week." And sadly, that hadn't been alarming. "I kinda didn't want ta tell th' boy durin' th' holiday, an' then things got put off an' all."

She honestly hadn't wanted to tell anyone, but she'd finally admitted that she had to, so she'd gone to the law...Speed.

"Just wanna do right by th' boy, so we're tryin' ta find anything on his folks. He don't really know much, an' we're not even sure what true names are." Then she added, "He's with me now, an' ya know there's several folks in town look after him, too." He was never going to be wanting for needs nor guidance.

Posted December 1, 2020 / Henry Guyer

Speed stood back just enough so that the Parson and Addy were having the direct conversation about young Weedy, and what his future might hold. but he did venture a question;

"Do you know if any of the records from the church in Whitefish were saved, as the building was spared."

Posted December 2, 2020 / Adelaide Chappel

Addy nodded slowly, mulling over what Evans had said. "His birthday's in August," Addy observed, a detail she'd forgotten, although that didn't explain why his mother wanted him christened. Still, when things had settled down, she'd see to it that it was done.

Speed's suggestion about Whitefish's records sounded like it had merit, but it was a long-shot at best, that the records had survived, that they had been salvaged, and that there was anything to do with Weedy.

Posted December 3, 2020 / Henry Guyer

Addy nodded slowly, mulling over what Evans had said. "His birthday's in August," Addy observed, a detail she'd forgotten, although that didn't explain why his mother wanted him christened. Still, when things had settled down, she'd see to it that it was done.

Having the birth date would be a huge help, at least when they got to the courthouse and their records, he was hopeful that something would turn up somewhere for Weedy. But the question remained, who was this undertaker, Silas Grimm, was and what his authority, if any, was in so far as Weedy was concerned. A wire from him with those questions would answer those questions.

Speed's suggestion about Whitefish's records sounded like it had merit, but it was a long-shot at best, that the records had survived, that they had been salvaged, and that there was anything to do with Weedy.

Posted December 6, 2020 / Henry Guyer

Pastor Evans took a little while to think about Speed's suggestion before answering, "Yes, there was a box of papers from the church. I only received them a day or two ago. There are only two elders from the Whitefish church left here and they decided to wait until the winter thaw to head back up there to collect what they could. We were going to go through them all sometime next week but I can take a quick look now. If you'll just wait a moment, I'll go and get them."

Speed looked at Addy and smiled, with a wink and a nod, “Thought maybe there was a chance, since the building itself was spared. Gotta be hard on those men, the loss of everything they had worked for, but then that’s true of all those folks, the good and the bad.”

A few minutes later, he came back with a large crate. "Thankfully, they were able to rescue a couple of the ledgers and record books but there are also a pile of papers that haven't been sorted through. Unfortunately, Pastor Collins was not a very good recordkeeper. It was a shame that he was killed in the tragedy."

“Pastor, you should have let me carry that box.” Speed stated. “A sad thing, the loss of all those folks and their Shepard too. Mother Nature can be cruel when she’s a mind too.”

After placing the box down on the floor, he sat down on a pew, "I think if we all pitched in together we might be able to sort this mess out and hopefully find something."

“This looks like it’ll take a while, let me run to the office and leave a note, in case.” Speed said, “Be right back.” And out the door he went, headed to the office where, when he got there, he wrote a quick note and tacked it to the door.

It struck him then what his note said; “At the church with Addy Chappel.” He laughed at what some might think, pulling off his hat on his arrival.

Posted December 8, 2020 / Adelaide Chappel

Addy was certainly relieved that there were still some surviving records from Whitefish, but when Evans suggested they all help going through the papers her nose wrinkled up. "Can't read, Parson, so I don't know as I'd be much help in that regard." She shrugged. "I do know my letters some, so I could maybe try an' find th' patterns yer lookin' for?"

Finding letter combinations would be slow for her, but she could do it, and she supposed that every little bit might help. And she was most assuredly resolved now to learn to read proper, and not just 'saloon' and 'feed'!