All of her life, Florence Walrath showed a sometimes reckless thirst for challenge and adventure, a fearlessness about work and responsibility, a toughness and determination. Her response to adversity was to battle right back.  Her world gave her the opportunity to develop and strong and much-admired character. At age 60, she learned how to waterski and at 102, she was always badgering her friends to take her to the lake to go swimming. Everyone who met her spoke of her toughness, ferocious work ethic and passion for new experience.  Her journals are very skillfully put together, they show the path that led her to a rare and fully lived life. And the very fine line in her life between joy and tragedy, life and loss:

“The following year (after she got her horse Violet) there was a man named Capt. Eddy who had a camp at Hedges Lake. He wanted to put on a show of local talent in front of the grand stand at the Cambridge Fair. Blanche and I at once signed up with a group of girls from Salem, Cambridge, Shushan, Hoosick Falls and Greenwich. We only had a month to learn and get the show in shape. Captain had trunks of costumes sent up from New York City. I picked out a blue for the follies and we all had alike for the drill we were in. He was a strict man and took no fooling. Either you worked or out you went. I wanted to be in it so bad I forgot to laugh which was my weakness. The dance and songs we sang was the high light of my life. The drill due to my size almost got me toss out. 

 I was the one who marched out just to the right space to let all others fall into a V shape. I walked out without counting my steps or looking back to see when to stop and if all were in place. The first day I walked too far and boy did he tell me off. He said if you can’t do this, I’ll put someone in your place. I was mad and with tears in my eyes I decided I would show him who could do it, me. It was easy once I got started. We had two shows a day, one in the afternoon and one at seven-thirty at night. In between the shows we could go out on the mid-way. They all gave us rides and we played their games. They thought of us as one gang. After the week at the fair, Capt. Eddy gave us a dance. The gang each asked a partner. We received no money but I’m sure we had unforgettable memories for the rest of our lives. The only thing was after learning those dances, it was too bad we could not go on to other places, but then we would not be local talent.

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Somewhere along the way, Uncle Frank Qua moved just north of us. He had a step son, Rexford, a very good looking blond and smart. It seemed as though he never had to study. At the age of sixteen, Rexford was taken sick.  They did not pay much attention. They came to our house that day to fill silo. That night he was worse and they took him to the hospital, which had just been built. It turned out to be a ruptured appendix and no cure back then. The poor boy passed away. I was shocked that such a young boy should die. The others of our neighbor boys died that fall. Richard McGeoch and Ken Maynard both had appendix. This was very hard to take.”

Next: A painful time, accused of cheating.