Boomer memories #6 of many

The FarmBoy that walked many paths

Kenny Larson, Lawrence Rasmussen, Elf Erickson and Warren Morton were buddies and were all bachelors. On Sunday afternoon they would drive around the various area and look at the crops or machinery for their entertainment. When it was early summer they would go stripped gopher hunting. If there was an event that had machinery or cattle they would take me along to see things. Most of the area towns had events in the summer to go to. Kenny would always have to drive so most of the time two of the guys would come to our place and then they would get in with Kenny and go toward the direction of the fourth friend and travel that direction that Sunday.

On those Sundays I would find something to do and it usually was practicing my baseball throwing or football or basketball or my golfing course. I always had to do the lawn. It was so boring that when I was mowing I thought of all of things. I had noticed several gopher holes scattered around the yard. I filled them up with rocks to about 3 inches from the level ground. I had found over time several golf balls and tennis balls. I didn’t have a golf club but I had a Ted Williams bat. I would use the bat like a putter and hit the various balls I had from hole to hole around the house for hours. I would have different people playing against me assigned to the various balls I had.

When it became football season I would hang a car tire to the highest branch I could find so I would have the longest rope length possible. I would pull the rope as far to the left as I could then I would then run to my football and try to throw it through the tire opening as it swung back and forth.

When it was near winter I would shoot my basketball through a heavy wire I bent in a half moon shape and nail it to the barn wall between the silos as this area was the most protected from the snow and winter winds. For the baseball season I had a slick deal I made a strike zone stand with a net to catch the balls that I would be a strike. If I missed the net I would have to chase farther to get the balls making the effort to get strike’s the least work. I worked out a contest where if I got three straight strikes I got an out and if I walk a batter the opposition got a point. Then I would be the opposition and do the same.

We would raise roosters for butchering and my job was to feed them and chase them into the chicken coop at night if they weren’t all in already and lock them in. One evening after eating a late supper, I was reminded that I still needed to lock the chickens in. I ran outside to finish my chores. I would at times imagine that as I was going to the chicken coop that there were bears and lions hiding along the way and I would escape by making running moves and darting here and there. I was running back to the house and up to the door I went and into the porch I came with a bound just miss being caught by a lion. Birdie our golden retriever usually accompanied me to do these chores. She had crawled up on the back of the couch in the porch and was watching me outside running and coming in. I didn’t see her as I came in the porch. She was so happy to see me she leaped from the back of the couch right at me. The porch was almost dark; I was just getting in the porch in the nick of time avoiding this big lion. I still remember my shock when my dog jump at me.

Our annual one day vacation was the annual trip to the Minnesota state fair. We would get up early enough to do chores and get to the State fairgrounds so we could park in the machinery hill area and under a shade tree for the afternoon shade. We usually got the same tree on the same block by the John Deere pavilion. It was a three and half hour drive and the gates opened at Seven AM. We stayed until 7 PM -8PM and did chores after we got home. Grandma always had enough lunch packed that we didn’t need any fair food. I would hear the race cars warming up and I would walk around the track looking for a knot hole to see through. I loved that roar. I believe by the time I was 12 I knew the fairground like our farm. We had set times to meet and eat something but other than that I didn’t sit around. I always had bags and bags of literature and free stuff that lasted a month later for things to look at. Machinery Hill was 80 acres and I think the whole fair grounds were 240 acre’s.

Blog by Conrad Larson for Blogger and www.loveforbookwriting.com and www.myovercoat.com plus Boomertweet on Twitter 7/25/09