Lida sat outside her great Aunt’s hotel, watching the steam engines go by and listening to the clop-clop of horses as they pulled wagons down the cobbled road. She was taking a short break from tending to all her chores at the inn: mopping the ballroom, fixing the cornbread for guests, and tending the fire in the wood burning stove.

Lida had an assiduous nature and always strove to make sure her tasks were done properly and without waste of time. However, today she took a quick respite to daydream about the party she would be going to that evening.

At 17, it would be her first. Her friends had all picked out brightly colored dresses to wear. Lida, being extremely demure, chose a simple, but pretty, dress in a charcoal gray.

“Are you ready, Miss Lida?” Hattie asked as she burst in through the parlor doors and into the kitchen. Mary and Florence were in step right behind her.

“Hattie, I done told you never to come in that way. You disturb the guests having cocktails in the parlor!”

“Oh hush, Lida. You worry too much. Let’s go.”

“I need to put a few more logs in the stove so Auntie can boil water for the dishes,” Lida said. “Then we can go.”

Hattie gave a sigh, but did not bother to argue. She knew when Lida had something to do, she didn’t rest until it was done.

“Let’s take the tracks,” Hattie said when they finally headed out to the party. Daylight was turning into dusk.

“Naw, Hattie,” Lida said. "You know that’s too dangerous in the night.”

“Look, Lida,” Hattie said tersely. “We’re runnin’ late ‘cause of you. The tracks will take 15 minutes off our walk.” Mary and Florence mumbled in agreement.

Against her better judgment, Lida agreed to take the train tracks. It was her first party ever. Why deal with acrimony and ill feelings?

The girls slowly navigated tracks in the dark and talked excitedly about the dance. Lida heard a whistle in the distance. “We’ve gotta get off the track. Train’s coming.”

The girls quickly scurried off the side. In the dark, Lida heard a thud and a gasp.

“Help!” screamed Hattie. She had fallen in the ash pit, a 6 foot trench about 20 feet long between the rails where trains stopped to empty ashes from engine’s fire box when they pulled through town.

Hattie screamed and tried frantically to climb out, but she was too short to grab hold to the top of the pit. The train was getting closer, the whistle more piercing.

Not wanting to appear scared herself, Lida dissembled and refused to let her voice show panic.

“Just give me your hand, Hattie, and I’ll pull ya right out.”

They fumbled for each others hands in the dark. Lida lay down on the rails and hooked her feet under the track to give herself some leverage. She pulled and pulled while Mary and Florence screamed in the dark.

One final pull got Hattie out the pit. They ran off the edge of track to safety as the train pulled to a stop and dropped its load of torrid ashes.