The Old House Speaks

Memories of Cree's Poems as told by GWP:

(Click on picture to make it larger.)

This is one of my favorite poems. My mother (Cree) wrote it as a tribute to the Huber family. Dad (Karl) did the oil painting of the old Huber home just below our cabin up Snake Creek. Uncle Joe Huber (old bachelor) lived there as long as I remember. He was a very kind man, and I enjoyed stopping by for a cold drink of water out of the little stream that ran right by his front door there on the left of the cabin. The old creamery is to the far left. They made cheese and took it to the mining camps in Brighton and Alta to sell to the miners. It was one way they could get cash. Ulrich and Jacob made the three-day round trip, if my memory serves me well. They walked up either Lime Canyon or Snake Creek Canyon, depending on their destination. When my sister Joyce lived in Prescott, AZ, she put Mom's poem and Dad's painting together and printed some copies at the press they owned at the time.

The poem reads:

THE OLD HOUSE SPEAKS
©1985

I'm old and tired and lonely
My boards are weather-worn,
My windows and doors are sagging
I'm deserted and forlorn.

My porch is bent and broken
My roof is almost gone,
But inside there's haunting mem'ries
Of happy days long gone.

I sheltered first a man and wife
A young and happy pair,
They planted trees and tilled the soil
And music filled the air.

The years passed by and children came
I sheltered them by day,
At night I listened to their prayers
I watched them at their play.

There was John and Al and Mary
And Em and Neph and Lize,
Then Joe and Ida came along
To strengthen family ties.

They worked and played together
They laughed and loved and grew,
Their mountain home in Snake Creek
Was the greatest joy they knew.

But time passed by - they went away
Grandchildren and Greatgrands came,
For years their laughter filled the air
They shouted and played games.

Each year the memories of this place
Grew deeper in each heart,
And many a tear was freely shed
When the sad time came to part.

I felt myself grow older
When everyone was gone,
Except the one called Uncle Joe
And he stayed on and on.

He loved the streams and mountains
the Flowers and the trees,
He loved the handiwork of God
The sweet cool evening breeze.

And then one day he said goodbye
And as he went away,
I felt I couldn't stand it
Till he came back to stay.

I waited, but he didn't come
My boards began to creak,
But oh, the stories I could tell
If I could only speak.

Today I'm sad and lonely
Yet, I cherish all the years,
I sheltered the Huber family
and shared their joys and tears.