The divorce

During world war two my mothers sister Helen married Beans Garrison, Beans was a nick name because when he was a boy he love beans.
Beans was in the army and off he went to Europe to fight. Aunt Helen lived in Kanasa City , MO. And had a good job. Aunt Helen was the darling of my mothers family.
When the war was over the men came home and daddy bought the farm moma and daddy lived on for the rest of their life. Garrison had entered the war in the last days of fighting so he was away for a year or so after we had settled in our happy home on dry creek.
IN that day we did not have phones, everyone one wrote letters, grandma Gaddy would write mama about every week and mama would write grandma. The same applied to aunt Helen that is the way our mother's family kept in touch.
One day we got a letter from grandma Gaddy stating that aunt Helen would be home that week end and Helen had requested that my father and mother be at grandpas for a family meeting on the following Sunday.
This was strange because we were not the Rockfellows with money and power, also we were not especially close to mamma's family.
How strange but come Sunday daddy and mama and us children went to grandpa Gaddys, we had dinner and visited . My bother Richard and I tried to get even with Hattie Mae , mamma's sister who was 2 years older than me.Hettie had better things than we did because she was the only child at home and she lorded it over on us all the time and we sought revenge by throwing rock and other mean things ever chance we got.
After dinner aunt Helen went to grandpa store and bought everyone a nickel cup of ice cream , the family sat around a picnic table in the yard. I can see it today like it was yesterday. Mama and grandma Gaddy on one side of the table and daddy on the other side and grandpa at the end. We children were floating around the adults in case someone might not want the ice cream.
Then Helen spoke, She said I wanted you all here today to tell you I am getting a divorce!No one got a divorce in that day. We didn't know anyone who was divorced.
I remember Mama and Grandma expressing sound of distress and oh, no! Sounds.
Then Grandpa Gaddy spoke, he told his daughter to go back to her husband and live with him because a divorce in the family was not exceptable.
Aunt Helen said that is the problem, if I don't get the divorce he will.Grandpa was speechless, the only grounds a man could divorce a woman in that day was adultery.
Then my father spoke and he ask Helen some question that I could not under stand, I am sure Daddy worded the question so we children would not be able to understand.
Aunt Helen answered his questions, Then My father took the place as head of mothers family and he told Helen it would be better if she was to get the divorce, there by saving the family from more shame.
My grandfather excepted daddy decession and aunt Helen got her divorce. The only other thing I remember about that day was that when Helen married she had received several Wedding gifts and grandpa told her she must return all the gifts to him and he would return them to the gift givers.
That is how divorce first touched our family and sad to say it has not been the last time.