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I was sitting here thinking about the small town I grew up in and the people there that influnced my life. So many of them are gone now. How lucky I was to have had them share a part of thier lifes with me. 

That is when I remembered ’Old Grandma Tallier". She wann’t really my grandmother but we all called her that, I think that was what she had aked us to call her. Anyway, she would come over now and then for coffee and sometimes us kids would hang around to hear her stories about growing up in a pioneer family in western Wyoming.  Her family did some ranching and farming and lived some 15 miles from town. What follows is one of those stories, as close to the way she told it as I can remember.

"In the fall there would be a big dance in town. Everybody would come from miles around. It was a very important social event. Most of the folks that lived out around, would plan to go in to town Saturday evening after thier work was done and stay over after the dance for church and a picnic the next day. I remember one year, I was 15 I think, I was full of thoughts of all the boys that would be there and how I wanted to impress them. I had started working on a dress made from a couple of old ones my mother had saved for something. I worked so hard to make it the most beautiful party dress I could think up. Just finished it in time too. Friday morning I tried it on and it was everything I wanted it to be. I was going to be something when I showed up at that dance. I washed it carefully and hung it to dry. when it was dry I placed it under my mattress, straight as I could to press it.

The morning came and we were all up extra early, we had the regular chores to do plus the gettin" ready chores. The tent would have to be packed and the bed rolls rolled and tied, and the food packed.

It was dark before we got ready to go but we ran to wash up and change into our party things. When we started out for town, the stars were bright and the moon was up but on that long wagon ride all I could think about was how everybody would stop to look at me and how pretty I would be when I walked in to the school and the bright lights fell on me in my beautiful dress. Yes, I was going to turn heads.

I sure turned heads alright, when I walked in people started laughing and pointing. I looked down and there I was standing there in front of everybody with my dress on inside out!"