One of my favorite pictures is this one of my mom and her sisters Rosa, Taty, and two friends taking a dip in Panther Creek near Panola, Illinois. My mom is in the middle. Taty is on the right and Rosa is on the left. Do you see the smiles? Can you almost imagine the sparkle in their eyes? Kids are kids. Water is water. And hot days in the summer just naturally draw the two together.
I love the handkerchiefs tied in knots on four corners that they have on their heads. I have another picture of the same crew on the same day....out of the water. It appears as if they are in their bloomers and undershirts, shaking the water out of their eyes and wringing the last drop from their clothes. I wonder what my Grandmother did when they arrived at the back door, dripping wet and laughing?
I know how hot it is in Illinois in the summer. And we all know the sizzling days we have here in the Ozarks as the hot and humid weather makes us yearn for cool water and soft shade. This picture was taken in 1920. And I do believe I could go down to the creek here at home and find a similar scene any day. Kids in the water. They may not have handkerchiefs on their heads or be swimming in their underwear. But they are laughing and calling and dunking each other under that cool refreshing water. Some things never change.
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