More on the farming community

Before cornpickers, corn was shucked by hand. I only remember helping one year. It was cold, the corn stalks cut your skin and made it itch. It was cold and wet with a light snow. I was probably too young to do much and too young to stay home by myself! Then there were shocks of oats. All those things made a pretty farm, and what places to crawl under and hide.

Barns were a great place to climb around and walk on the high beams. We did not need exercise gyms. We had it all. And you could jump into piles of hay, and sit in corn cribs and make corn necklaces with a needle and thread. There were new kittens under the barn step each year. I would reach under there and pull a fluffy kitten out, until the year I reached under the step and pulled a dead kitten out with maggots in it.! That was the end of that way of catching kittens.

One summer I went down by the creek and across the fence on Mr. Levi's property. There I picked wild blackberries. I finally had enough and started home and there was Mr. Levi following me inhis car. He went ever so slow, Just about as fast as I could run. I was so scared because I knew it was his land and his berries. I ran to the house about half a mile and told mom. He drove up and came to the door. My mother apologized for me and offered him the berries. He said no, he just wanted to see if I got home ok. It scared me, I didn't pick any more berries when he owned the farm next door. And maybe I learned a lesson too.

We had 4-H clubs Showing the pigs and horses were much more fun than making a tea towel. One yeaar we had a 4-H leader who had us square dancing. That was a lot of fun. Her daughter and mine became good friends in later life.. I remember my son had to take a sewing class in Jr. High. He made a down vest and sewed all the pockets shut. His sister rescued him, fixing it for him

There was also MYF on Sunday nights and then Church camp in the summer for a week. Church Camp was on Lake Webster, a church would take their group and rent a house on the lake for a week. The church women would go and cook. WE went to classes and it was hard to sit through Paul's journeys when there was a whole lake of water out there. But they did give us time for both. I went several years. I think it was the last year, that my boyfriend wanted me to climb out the window and slide down a tree so we could take a walk by the lake after dark.
So I climbed out on the roof, and then was afraid of not being able to reach over for that tree. He was coaxing me, Come on you can do it. So I did, but unknown to me They All had it planned and had coated the tree with molasses, and then water pans at the bottom. Oh, I was so wretchedly embarrased and run to my room. Some nice lady,cleaned my sweater for me. And I did live the next day

There were also the community rodeo's The barrel racing was the most fun for me. It was just fun to ride somewhere and have someone to ride with. The whole family rode.