Heritage Gateways

Osamu Sekiguchi Journals

April 30, 1997

Location: Fullerton, Nebraska - Location: 41:21:48N 97:58:08W Elevation: 1630 feet

Summary: Wednesday, April 30, 1997 (Rainy and Windy Day)

Journal entry: [Translated by Hajime Nakagawa]

We woke up to more rain and wind and had breakfast in the barn. After breakfast we returned to our tent. We prayed and our hearts pounded as we entered the tent. Fortunately, only half of our stuff had gotten wet. Water had settled in the tent. Striking wet tents is distasteful work. We wrung out the tent and packed it into a bag. Thinking of the day ahead on the trail made us blue.

It was still raining, and the wind had not dropped. I was surprised at myself for not minding the wet as the ponchos didn't work well in this rain. Fullerton was 19 miles away. I fell behind my covered wagon because of a backache. I tried to hurry, nevertheless I was left out of view of the wagon. I was not worried because the road ahead was straight. My heart leaped as I, being alone, could sing lustily without reserve. Such an experience might not seem like much but I felt better. My wife and children were picked up by the last wagon of our party, and went on with them. Students from a local elementary school joined the trek today, and were also in that wagon. It seemed like my children really wanted to spend that time with the students.

By the time we reached Fullerton, the rain had become light. However, we didn't know if it would be a heavy rain tonight, so we decided to stay in the two-story storehouse of the nearest farmhouse. My family stayed on the first floor. A couple, Freddy and Elizabeth who came from Austria, and Cathy, who was born in the U.K. and raised in Austria, stayed upstairs. Fortunately it didn't rain, but we had to get through a chilly night.