It was the worst of times and the best of times..

It was the worst of times and the best of times..

I would tell you that I walked 12 miles to school in a snow storm… but truth is.. I walked 2 miles to school, because I didn’t want to ride the bus. The bus would wind thru the two towns and get to the school 20 minutes after I did, walking.

I would tell you, that I had to get up and change the channel on the tv. But we didn’t get tv until 1950’s and my brother and I were not allowed to change the channel.. only the grown ups could do that.  We didn’t get to watch television until 4pm  and that was for Howdy Doody time.  After that the adults (parents) changed to John Cameron Swayze…  for the news.  We only had one ..and then two channels. We didn’t get to watch tv all night.. we were sent to bed at 7 in the winter and 9 in the summer.  And we were outside in the summer until 9.

And I can tell you.. we had chores.  Mine started out with dishes. Then babysitting said brother. As I grew older the chores got longer. Like getting my brother up, give him breakfast, and then I fed the animals while he ate. I had to feed the chickens… Sounds innocent enough.. but it was involved.  Hauling a bucket of water to the shed. Then going into the greenhouse/feed room. .. kick the metal garbage can with the feed in it.  That was to scare the rats or mice out of it. Before I put my arm in there with the coffee can. So they didn’t run up my arm and send me running screaming.   Then it was head to the barn, throw hay over the door… coffee can with oats in the manger, and take down the buckets, fill them and drag them back to raise up and snap in place..  Then into the house, send my brother to the showers while I ate breakfast. My mother’s rule was animals got fed before us. Well, at least me.

Then it was time to send my brother off to school and I headed out for school.  His school was half mile away.

Summer time was clean stalls was added and weeding the vegetable garden.  We had a Victory garden. Every one had one. It started in the 40’s during World War II.  You grew it in the summer and canned it in the fall.  I was jar washer.  My brother had to feed the dogs and cats. Take out garbage. And later got garden duty.

Then there was the washer … wringer type. Which I hated because I would catch my hand in the wringer, as I tried to feed the clothes thru to fall into the rinse water in the cement sink on the other side.. Then back thru the winger, to the laundry basket. Then up the stairs from the basement… to the line outside.. Attaching the wash corners to the line with a wooden clothes pins.  One time, the sheets froze… I was standing there… with the sheet corner in my hand…I wiggled it back and forth.. and next thing I know …it broke off…. My mother was not amused.

Summer time also was haying time.. but I have written about that before.

Now phones were interesting during those days. We were a 6 party line and then a 3 party line. That meant we had to share it with those families. So if we picked up the phone, we could by chance hear our neighbor talking.  To which one would quickly hang up. So when the phone rang.. we had to count the type of rings..  If it was one ring.. space …one ring that was one family.. or two rings.. space… two rings.. one of the other families.. and three rings and then space and three rings it was us..  We were glad when we made it from the 6 party to the one party.  Children were not allowed to use the phones.  If per chance a friend wanted to talk to you..  Their mother would call and ask YOUR mother if it was ok that their child talk to you. And you were allowed ONE MINUTE.. that was it. As a teen, you were allowed to get phone calls that were supervised by your parents. And still only one minute . Oh, and our phone number?  R-23.. because we were the 23^rd family with the name starting with a R.

And God forbid if you ever picked up the phone and listen to the other parties… almost worse than murder… one did not embarrassed thy parents…

Oh, and capital punishment was used often, with children.  Any offense was pretty much met by the paddle on ones back sides.. And no one yelled foul to the authorities.

Later in life I traded all this wonderful world, for one of my own… switching parents to me being the parent.. With all kinds of chores. Sleepless nights with sick kids, meals for all.. and I didn’t gain dish washer for 7 years.. She had to wash dishes, as her younger sister set the table for chores. And then as the kids kept coming the chores were divided up.

Meals took hours to make.. as there were no microwaves.  There were not quickly dinners from the store. Soups, cakes, spaghetti sauce, and etc. were all made from scratch. (for those younger, google making meals from scratch).

I had graduated up to an automatic washer..but still had clothes lines. And diapers… and lots of kid clothes… 

I skipped canning….. as I tried it once. I spent all day blanching tomatoes, putting them into the quart jars with the juice…  sealed them.. boiled them. Took them out.. placed them on the towel and covered……. Only to wake in the morning to not one of them sealing…  so once was enough.

But as I look back on my childhood, compared to the generation now.. I have to laugh.. this generation has no idea how easy they have it.. every thing is pretty well instant.. Instant meals, instant music.. instant television, instant entertainment… and etc…

It might have been the worse of times, at the time.. but as I look back on it.. it was the best of times. 

Kids could play anywhere safely… no one shot kids in schools and churches.. We had dirt road, heck we had dirt..and got dirty.. no one yelled about how we could die from it. We played Dodge ball.. which could have been called bully now.. We drank out of the hose, or the outdoor faucet..  We used our imagination…instead of following a book.  We had animals to take care of.. but we also had animals to love.  99% of us had parents who loved us.. had time for us.. Mothers who stayed home.

Yes, it was the best of times.

What was the best of times for you as a kid?  and what was the worse of time?