Chanhassen was Sal's mother. Chanhassen is an Indian name that means "tree sweet juice," or maple sugar. Hence, her nickname "Sugar." Sugar had long black hair, was a physically strong woman, and was not afraid of hard work. She enjoyed living on the farm because she could be close to nature and she could be outdoors. She attributed her love of nature to her Indian heritage. Her great-grandmother was a Seneca Indian and Sugar was proud of her Indian heritage.
Sugar's parents are the Pickfords. They are prim and proper people who never laugh. They are too "busy being respectable" to have fun or enjoy life. They are extremely conservative and stiff; they stand straight up and wear starched clothes. Because Sugar grew up in the Pickford household, the environment had an affect on her. She has low self-esteem and always feels as though she is not good enough. She compares herself to her husband and his happy-go-lucky family, and she feels inferior.
Sugar becomes quite depressed when her baby is stillborn. She is grieving and can't stop the feelings she is experiencing. Her solution is to go away. She wants to go to Lewiston, Idaho, to visit a cousin she hadn't seen in fifteen years. Sugar thinks her cousin will be able to tell her "what [she] is really like . . . before [she] became a wife and mother." Sugar doesn't feel brave or good. She wants to "learn about what she was."
Sugar leaves Sal a letter explaining her departure and takes a bus to Lewiston, Idaho. She sends postcards to Sal along the way telling her that she loves Sal and misses her. Then, the bus has an accident in Lewiston, Idaho, and Sugar is killed.
