Rachel Clara Ozbun-

"Clara" liked fishing and gardening. Her extensive backyard was always filled with growing things. Her vegetable garden was large, but best of all, she loved the flowers.

One time, when going downtown shopping, she happened upon some goldfish (koi?) for sale. On impulse, she took two fish home with her along with a small bowl. Soon the fish outgrew that bowl, so she started using a larger one. She had a way with all sorts of growing things, including these two fish. Almost unheard of in the conditions she had, the two fish were soon six or seven fish. Oh, she needed a still larger container.

By early spring, she had still more fish. Shreve, her husband and my grandfather, thought that she needed an outdoor "palace" for these fish. Before long, Clara had one--a square fishpond where her growing fish swam happily all summer. By autumn, they were truly "koi." In Plattsmouth, NE, an outdoor pond will freeze over and at times nearly freeze solid. The fish had to go somewhere, so every winter Clara and Shreve had three galvanized large washtubs in their kitchen or in the adjoining hallway.

Some of the koi were golden, but I remember that most of them were variegated color. I don't remember what happened to the koi when Clara and Shreve had to leave that house.

Added later: Clara aand her mother shared a love of fishing as well as that of raising chickens. My mother, Crete, used to tell a story on me. It seems that I was very little, probably around two years old. We were visiting at my grandparents' house and my mother, grandma and I had gone into the backyard. There my grandma had some little baby chicks, all full of fluff. I grabbed one, not knowing this was a different thing than a stuffed toy. My mother said: "Put that down, Mary Ann, put that down. You're squeezing it to death." Of course, I didn't understand. Grandma said calmly: "Now, Cretie, it's just one chick. Let her have it." And I guess they did. Poor chick.

Grandma loved the chickens, though. She had a special pen in their large backyard, alongside another shed. She would buy day-old chicks, raise them to maturity. Almost every time we would come to Plattsmouth (on a Sunday) she would have chicken and home-made noodles. All this was cooked on an old-fashioned wood cookstove. I can remember the box of dried corncobs on their enclosed backporch. These were wonderful for starting a quick fire in the cookstove.

Grandma Clara was a wonder with canaries, too. She had a pair of canaries which after a while produced small ones. Like the goldfish, raising youngsters was not often done by an amateur. I still remember how the canaries could sing. Perhaps that's why she liked to have them

MAH