black bear

The True Story of Jo’s Old Egg Cup

Jo and MPK at Portland,Ore. circa 1922

Jo and MPK at Portland,Ore. circa 1922

When Uncle Rob’s mother “Jo,” Miriam Josephine (Kidd) Mason (MJM), was about twelve years old she and her mother Miriam Phoebe (Williams) Kidd (MPK) lived in Portland, Oregon. They didn’t have a lot of money so one day they decided to go and pick strawberries to try and earn a little extra. The strawberries were at a farm near the base of Mt. Hood.

Jo and her mother picked strawberries all day but toward late afternoon Jo grew tired of the job and wandered off on a path that went into the nearby woods. After she had gone down the path some distance she came to an old abandoned cabin. Curious, she went inside and looked around. The cabin was empty and it looked as if no one had been there in a long time. In one corner there was a cupboard which Jo opened. There was nothing in the cupboard except on one shelf way in the back was an old egg cup. Jo decided the the egg cup needed a better home so she took it an put it in her pocket.

The Old Egg Cup

The Old Egg Cup

She was on her way back to the strawberry field when she came face to face with a black bear! She stood very still and looked at the bear. The bear stood still and looked at Jo. They looked at each other for a long time. Finally the bear turned and slowly walked away. When the bear was out of sight Jo ran as fast as she could back to her mother in the strawberry field. In all the excitement Jo lost her punch card that told how many baskets of strawberries she had picked, but the good farmer trusted her and paid her anyway.

Jo kept the old egg cup for a long time. When she was in her nineties she told me the story and gave me the cup. I decided to write the story down and give the cup to my daughter Deanna Lynne Mason (DLM), and my granddaughter Cora Lynne Becker (CLB) for Christmas 2004. I ate an egg from the cup and I suggest, in the name of tradition, that each subsequent generation do the same.

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