We would occasionally “pike” on the telephone. This is when you know someone is talking and you gently pick up the receiver hoping they won’t hear the click and invade their privacy by listening to what they are saying. Our ring on the country party line was long, short, long. Each family had a distinctive ring of their own. Central was located in Brazito. Spinster sisters manned the switchboard. They put the long distance calls through.
Attic beads – they were like finding treasure! We picked them up and made bracelets out of them by stringing them with a needle and thread. We had to be careful not to step through the attic floor – we would have ended up in the kitchen below.
After we got electricity, Mother got a Mixmaster. It came with a set of two bowls. I accidentally broke the larger bowl. I really felt bad because I know how much mother loved her mixer. We were able to replace it later on.
Under the stairs in our house was a scary place. Occasionally one of us locked the other under the steps. It was fun to hear the person scream but not to be the one locked in. Same with the outhouse!