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aunt naomi

Aunt Naomi’s Story (Part 42)

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The hill to the south of the house carried the most activity of any.  It was on that side that we would sleigh ride in the winter.  We walked to the spring, crossed the creek and went up the hill a way to pick up hickory nuts for mother’s ice box cookies.  Further to the east on the south hill we had a wondrous junk pile.  All junk (not garbage) was deposited there.  We had fun playing in it. Even further south was a wonderful wild cherry tree.  We picked cherries every summer and this was used to make jelly, juice and even daddy made some wine!

The southeast area was the way we walked to school.  Once we crossed the creek to the south we had a pasture and then woods to walk through.  We had to cross a barb wire fence when we got in the woods, so Mahlon wrapped burlap bags around the barbs so we wouldn’t tear our clothes or scratch ourselves when we crossed.  It was easy to cross if you were with someone.  One person held up the top wire and while you pushed down on the second wire, you had a lot of room to crawl through.  After crossing the “Goetz” creek at the edge of the woods, we had a pasture and then another fence.  This fence was made of 6-inch wire blocks and in order to cross that, Mahlon cut an 18 by 18 inch hole so we could all squeeze through.  There was an incline after that fence and then again pasture.  This was the area where we had to watch for bulls.  When we got through the pasture, it was a short walk through the woods to reach the back yard of the Oak Grove schoolhouse lot.  The entire walk may have been two miles, but I am not sure.

Aunt Naomi’s Story (Part 43)

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The chicken yard was on the south side of the yard, also the woodpile and chopping block (used to chop wood and chicken’s heads off).  We would gather kindling, and carry in split wood with the red wagon.  Daddy would split the wood just the right size to fit in the wood burning kitchen stove.

The west pasture land was full of rocks and goat weeds.  We had to help pick up rocks for days and put them in piles.  The goat weeds were terrible and we had to pull them for days and days.  One day we were pulling and Lolly felt dizzy so she got to stop.  It was very hot and she may have had too much sun.  Another time in that field, she got bitten by a scorpion.  It was under some rocks and boards that she was working around.

Aunt Naomi’s Story (Part 44)

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Before the back porch was turned into a family room it was a wonderful place for storage, playing and work.  We had a porch swing there that the entire family enjoyed.  The washing machine was used there and wash was hung on clotheslines along the south and west of the house.  If the lines were full, we used the wire yard fence to hang them.  In winter we hung them out and they froze.  We could sit on the porch swing and try to catch sparrows that had built their nests up under the eaves by throwing salt on their tails. (We were gullible.) After the wash was done, we used the water (nothing was wasted) to wash down the porch and cistern rock.  The cistern got slick when it was wet, so we could “swim” or skate on it.  Under the porch was a crawl space.  Usually the kittens were born under there and we had to crawl in that spidery, snakey place to get them.  One time there was a cottonmouth snake around the cistern rock.  We had to be very careful after that.  The gutters from the house brought the rain into the cistern rock and this was pumped up and carried into the house for cooking, cleaning and washing.

Aunt Naomi’s Story (Part 41)

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We had a barnyard between the barn and the west side of the house.  Cattle were passed from one pasture to another through the barnyard.  Machinery was stored there and our driveway form the main road (Route H) came right up to the yard gate.  Actually, the front of the house faced North, but that entrance was seldom used.  When the weather was dry the dusty barnyard was a good place to “build roads” for our play cars.  We built roads and cities and drove our cars on the fine dust.  Close to the barn the dirt was filled with little depressions.  These were the homes of the “doddlebug.”  If you put your mouth close to the depression and called doddle, doddle, doddle many times, a bug would come up to greet you.  They are dark gray and about ¾ inch long.

To the north of the house was a small field that was used for pasture, calves and an orchard.  We had pear, apple, and peach trees at one time.  There was also a large area of spearmint growing there.  We used to crush the green leaves to get the flavor out and make the best spearmint tea… both cold and hot.