Page 67 - Firehouse Pond

The water was so clear that we could easily see the fish. We brought many a

fish home for supper.

I would not learn to swim until we moved to Iowa. One day my brother

shoved me into the Iowa River and said “swim!”

We could have been the original Waltons from the television show of 1972.
Life was good. We had a farmhouse to call home. The entire family was

there. We were never hungry on the farm. We had the garden, the chickens,
pigs, fresh cow’s milk and my father and grandfather hunted. Compared to
life in Charleston, we had it made. But the work was hard and the winter in

the Ozark Mountains was difficult.

The house was huge. Only one real problem; the only source for heat in the

winter was from several fireplaces and a wood-burning stove in the kitchen.
My grandfather was responsible for ensuring we had firewood and he was the
person that kept the fires burning.

I remember the fireplace in the living room. It did a great job of warming the
room, it also had places for mom and grandma to cook, and several places to
put our clodhoppers to keep them toasty warm.

The fireplace and feather bedding were all that kept us warm on those cold
winter nights in the Ozarks.

We had no running water, no electricity, and no plumbing. Water came from
a well and the “bathroom” was about a hundred feet from the house. We
were one of the few that had what was called a “two-holer”. Yes, it was an

outhouse.

My mother and grandmother cooked on a wood-burning stove and got water

from a hand-operated, water pump. It wasn’t easy for them. I recall some
good eats from that kitchen.