Summer Time

Schools out this week. NOW WHAT? Always so much to do-the summer is never long enough. Church camps--Recreational camps--ball games--baby sitting--vacations--Bible School--summer jobs--lawn mowing--etc.

I know it was always a big deal for us. The last day of school meant a picnic for kids and parents. My Mon always had to take a huge bowl of potato salad. She made goooood potato salad and was known for it. Eating wasn't the best though. We got to go down the fire escape as much as we wanted to-all day . It meant climbing back up to the second floor each time we came down the circular enclosed slide. What fun! Now that slide is in the Maurice park and still provides so much fun for kids and even grown ups.

Much of our summer was taken up helping on the farm, although we always had time to walk about 1'2 mile to go fishing in Chester Van Peursem's creek--play with Lucille Jahn in our hay mows--enjoy an open air band concert in the Maurice park ever Saturday night--feed the grain threshers and then have a big picnic at the Sheldon park when the harvest was in. We could go swimming ( about the only pool around) and go skating (just across from the park) while the men settled their threshing expenses for the summer--riding our bikes 4 miles to Strubble to play with Charlotte Mieras--working in the garden and then help with canning food for the winter--taking a shower in the silo shed (no plumbing, but we could shower when the sun warmed the barrel of water that was on the silo roof). riding the backs of our old sows and young calves--climbing on the barn roof--drowning ground squirrels from cream cans of water we would pull in a coaster wagon up to their holes in the pasture--picking up cobs in the pig yard, then store them to burn in the winter--putting corn flakes in and short sheeting mom and dad's bed--eating green apples--washing outside in a gas driven maytag washer and rinsing clothes in 2 tubs of cold water( all the clothes in 1 fill of water)--jumping 2 fences to get to the young chickens to feed them--walking 3'4 mile to bring dad or the hired man their lunch in old gal. or 1'2 gal. syrup cans--climbing trees--going to night ball games and having time to swing in the school swings ,with our heart beats, while they played ball--walking to get the mail about 1'4 mile away and taking time to play with Donna Brink (most of the time it would end in a quarrel)--etc.--etc.

And so our summer's went. Truly, I would not trade any of it for anything in the world. Life was so simple then. Have a great summer.