Comments on my last post caused a flood of memories to come back about our old house.
As I said , my folks didn't have enough money to build a house on the farm. A house was badly needed because the old house was far too small and it was in very poor condition. My Dad was great at putting things together that would work. Sometimes things he made didn't have much quality but the house was well built except for the foundation.
The house was moved in from another farm . Some of the old house had to be torn down so that there was space to work on the new house. So 2/3 s of the old house was torn down . The one third of the old house that was left was used for Mom and Dad's bedroom and to store all of our clothes.
Okay here's where it gets tricky. There were going to be quite a few workers over the summer and they had to be fed. So all the kitchen stuff was moved into a granary. This would be a 12' by 15' wooden structure that was used for storing grain. So all summer my Mom cooked and served meals in the little building. Now remember , this place did not have running water or electricity. The running water came when I was sent to the well to get water. It was our kitchen and living room for the summer. Sometimes we were stuck in it for a few days when it rained. Part of one wall was taken out so that there was enough light for Mom to work.
Okay , with most of the old house torn down and the kitchen and living room in a small wooden building. What happened to the kids? Of course, Dad had a good plan to get a bedroom for his kids. Yes, you know the little wooden granary. We had our beds out in a grain bin all summer and loved it. We were a rough bunch of kids so some very basic shelter was fine by us.
Many neighbors helped Dad do the work to build the house . The house was ready to move in about Sept . before it got cold. It was nice to have space for everybody. When the furnace was lit on one of the first cold evenings it was very comfortable.
For a ten year old kid it was a very exciting summer.
I can well imagine how excited you kids were. And how tired your mother and father probably were by the time the construction was finished :)
ReplyDeleteI think every generation is getting softer. Even my parents' generation did a lot more physical work than my generation did. And my father's mother cooked in a logging camp where his father worked as a logger. My dad lived there for a couple of years in his teens and helped her by sweeping and washing dishes. She didn't have a break all day. Up early to start breakfast and bread. When breakfast was over, she started lunch. When lunch was over, she started supper. Seven days a week. For a bunch of loggers (probably a dozen or so, if I recall from what my dad told me). And I think I have it hard if I have company for a day or two, cooking on my electric stove with hot and cold running water! Soft. Yep.
In some ways we have it soft but we have things that our parents didn't have to put up with. They had no TV? They had more time to do things that were active. No cell phone to chase them.
DeleteThat is a wonderful story of your childhood Red. I enjoyed it very much. My father-in-law's old home in the Depression years in North Dakota was built of railway ties. The family lived in this small home and brought up nine kids. Reading your story reminded me of his old stories fondly. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI don't think those people complained very much either.
DeleteGosh! I wonder if my kids will have memories of us taking 7 years to renovate our home in Illinois. We had contractors build the outside of the house and we did all the interior work with the help of friends.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine what fun it must have been for you as a young boy to be sleeping out in a granary. I'm so glad you have such fun memories to smile over. Your parents sound like really amazing, hardworking people.
They were hard working but it was stressful.They were always looking for something better.
Deletebeautiful memories dear red !
ReplyDeleteso glad you could remember and share them with us
your parents seem such amazingly wonderful people who lived life without luxuries yet were strong and positive enough to provide you all the basic comforts of life :) i found it heartwarming story indeed
you were content child to stay happy and grateful for what you have .so were we ,i remember our first roof was built with wooden sticks and mud ,when it would rain hard the roof would drip ,mom would place pot under the dripping water
we never found that problems hard to bear or to be ungrateful as now days we see people who have everything even a luxurious living yet always complaining ,this is so unfortunate
I like the description of the roof. It was that way here but in my grandparent's generation.
DeleteGreat story about your house. I'm sure your mother was very happy to move into the house after managing in the small house through many summers and winters.
ReplyDeleteIf you talked with your brother/s they'd have their own memories of the first and second houses.
You boys must have had the time of your lives sleeping out in the grain bin!
Quite an insight into living out on the prairies all those years ago.
Alphie
The big house was a benefit for all of us.
Delete...what memories!
ReplyDeleteLots more too!
DeleteHello, what a wonderful story and memory of your childhood. I am sure everyone was happy to move into the new place before winter. Your story reminds me to be thankful for running water and a warm house. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteThe interior was finished through out the winter.
DeleteWow. What a time. My hubby grew up on a farm without running water and hydro! The tales...
ReplyDeleteIt was a very different technology and style of life.
DeleteThis is a great story. I can see why it seemed like an adventure to you as a young person. Thinking about it today, though, it seems awfully rough. Great story! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was rough but we were used to that and knew nothing else.
DeleteThe neighbourliness sound just like it used to be here on the Scottish Islands years ago.
ReplyDeleteYes, people really helped each other.
DeleteWhat a great memory. I loved reading about the summer your childhood home was built and how you and your family spent time in helping make that happen. What a time it must have been.
ReplyDeleteIt was busy but once it was finished we were very happy and comfortable.
DeleteMy father was a pretty good carpenter- to the point where he should have gone into that line of work, but probably didn't have the patience to apprentice for it.
ReplyDeleteHe built two sheds on the property where I grew up, or to be more precise, rebuilt the shed after a tree fell on it.
Many people had a variety of skills at that time. They could do a bit of everything.
DeleteYou sound to have had a really wonderful childhood.
ReplyDeleteLike everybody else , there was some good and bad. We were very adventurous.
DeleteWhat wonderful memories and stories about family and the making of a lovely home.
ReplyDeleteWe tend to remember only the good things that were fun.
DeletePeople that went before us were a lot more resilient and resourceful. They had to be, I guess, but life must have been hard for them, nonetheless. As you say, for you as a child, it was all pretty exciting,
ReplyDeleteLife was tough. We don't want to think about how many died of things that are not an issue today. Tuberculosis for one.
DeleteHi Red, I love it when you share these old memories. Have you ever thought about writing a book? :-) Well, you could pull several chapters right out of Hiawatha House. Best regards from Seattle where we are possibly going to see the first snow of the season this coming weekend.
ReplyDeleteI realize that much of this could be pulled out and put into a book. You are sending that weather around on a low that will blow up against our Rockies and give us lots of snow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story! Living in the grain shed! Your parents were very resourceful. I guess people had to be, living in a remote area in the days when products and services weren't readily available.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventure! A lot of work, for sure, but so many stories come out of this.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your dad was a hard-working practical man. Funny how his son pranced around a school classroom, dealing with reading and arithmetic etc.. I wonder how your dad would have thought of that. I think he would have been proud.
ReplyDeleteGreat recalls...you made me remember the summer we all slept in the basement because of a remodel:) We made it work...an adventure! Kids are pretty spoiled now a days:)
ReplyDelete