Our Farm Home

Our house was a simple two story frame house. The outside was painted white. There was a porch across the front. There was always a swing and chairs on the porch with many pots of brightly blooming flowers. There were two front doors. One went into the family room which also served as my parents bedroom. as you entered that door, the stairs were to the right. There was a fireplace along the wall. There was one window in front and another on the outside of the room. The room consisted of an iron double bed, dresser, oak closet, chairs, and a sofa. Mom had a rocking chair and dad a big stuffed chair. The door straight ahead led to the dining room which was filled with a big oak table and chairs with a hutch and buffet. If you went to the right instead of going into the dining room you entered the guest room which contained a bedroom suit as well as an overstuffed mohair couch and chair. This room contained a fireplace in back of the one from the family room. This room is where the other front door opened into. From the dining room to the right was a bedroom which my two oldest brothers shared. It had an outside door. From the left of the dining room was the kitchen which contained a huge warm morning wood burning stove for cooking and heating. There were cabinets for dishes and a pie safe for storing dry foods and cans. There was an outside door which opened to a path that led to the spring and smoke house.

The stairs led to two bedrooms . Each contained a bed and a chest. I shared one with two sisters while my two other brothers shared the adjoining room. The chimney from the fireplace went between the two bedrooms and we got heat from it in the winter. We did not have an indoor bathroom so we carried a slop jar upstairs at night so we didn't have to go out to the bathroom.

Our home was located on a one hundred sixty acre farm. The house was in the valley with land surrounding it on all sides. To the Northwest of the house was a big orchard. The chicken house was to the Southwest in back of the house. The barn where the animals were kept was to the North beyond the orchard. The big barn was half way up a hill beyond the animal barn. That barn is where tobacco was hung to dry in the fall as well as where extra hay was stored, including the farm machinery. To the East was pastureland or fields for growing hay. Farther East was the post offfice and general store, which we could see from our house. Where my dad started and ended the daily mail route. Farther to the West was the elementary school where my brothers and sisters attended. It must have been a mile and a half through the woods and fields. To the South and across the meadow and a big ditch was a sink hole, where we were not allowed to go. It was well fenced to keep the animals out. The garden was grown between the orchard and the house. Often watermelons and cantelopes were planted across the driveway and up the hill toward the corn or tobacco patch. We always had pumpkins, both pie and large ones. Mom loved to grow squash and gourds. The spring was below the house. It was fed from underground and was surrounded by rocks to keep animals out. My dad made a shelf for storing milk, butter, and other perishables in the summer. It was also our refrigerator, just a few steps from the kitchen.

There was much love in this old house. We each felt like we were only children because of the love our parents gave us. Although it wasn't fancy, it was comfortable and it was home. Mom decorated with wall paper and scarves as well as lamps and doillies. She hung frilly curtains from the windows and doors.