Woman With A Message

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February 13, 1912

From 8-year old Hilda’s diary (referring to a song mentioned in her February 11th entry):

I begged Alma to teach me the song about the bear. She said that she didn’t know any song about a bear but I said she did know it. Didn’t she remember, the one they sang at the church party and she sang it there and knew all the words. The little bear’s name was Gladly and he was cross-eyed. Then she laughed and said that the song wasn’t about a bear but about all troubles and sorrows that the devout people are willing to bear for our dear Lord. Then she wrote it out for me. The name of it is “Gladly A Cross I Bear.” So I said that if the song wasn’t about an animal, I wasn’t interested in it and she didn’t have to teach it to me. Alma said it was very naughty of me. Maybe so, but I didn’t learn the song.