Odds & Ends

In the summer time on the farm, you could look out the dining room window to the hills of the pasture across the road. At least in the late spring it looked as though the hills were covered with a dusting of snow, but that was not the case. They were covered with "bluets", a little white and light blue flower. Very pretty.

In our barn was a Stanley Steamer. It belonged to Uncle Fred and Uncle Arnold, who, before my time, had it in operating condition. Instead of a steering wheel it had a "tiller" (a rod handle that you steered with). The seat had a little railing about 2 inches high. With a good head of steam it could go very fast, and according to my Dad, one could be in danger of falling off! Once the uncles entered it into an antique auto contest or parade in Manchester, and in the process they ran out of water for the boiler, ruining it by the fire underneath, and it never did get fixed, so I never had the pleasure of seeing it run.

Grandpa Blankenburg used to love to take me places when I was little. Once he took Barbara and me with the horses and wagon up to the back Penny lot. I was sitting with him up on the seat. The horses stopped, and I fell down off the seat to the ground right by the horses back hoofs. But they got me back up again without injury, and without me being stepped on by the horse. When Dad found out about it he was furious with Grandpa.

Once Grandpa was driving a team of horses back to the barn, passing in front of the house. I was there (at about age 4), so he gave me the rains to steer the team. Before I could get the hang of it, the horses walked into the bushes.

Another time, Grandpa had come down from Rockville and was getting out the "business wagon" from the barn. He asked me to help him push it out. I was still about 4 years old. He gave me a dime for helping push. I didn't say anything, but I was thinking "I didn't push 10 cents worth!"

Also when I was about age 4, Dad built a milk house to store the milk with ice. The hammer slipped when he was pulling out a nail (he was using used lumber), and got a bad bloody nose. I saw it happen and ran and told Mother.

Now the following happened when I was probably in grade 1, 2, or 3, I think. My sister Barbara had a goldfish bowl that she made into a "terrarium", with dirt, moss, little flowers and things. I found a little baby black snake, and we added that to it. He was my pet, and I used to twine him in and out of the fingers on one hand. Well, I was quite happy and proud of him. So what does a little fellow like me do when he has something he is so happy and proud of? Of course, show it off. It so happened that one day there was a "Neighborhood Club" meeting. Thus our living room was full of neighborhood ladies. I took my pet, wound him around the fingers of my left hand and brought him into the living room to show him off. But to my astonishment, the ladies pulled up their skirts and started screaming and running away. At the time I couldn't understand it, but I'll never forget it.

It was my job to mow the lawns, front, side and back lawns, with an old push reel type mower. Maybe I was about in grade 4, and it was in the depth of the depression. Dad said, I'll give you two cents for the work. I started to complain, but he said "It's two cents or nothing."

It must have been some years later, and there were thistles starting to spring up all over our pasture. My Dad said, "I'll give you two cents for every thistle plant you chop down with this hoe, and five cents for every one that has a bloom". Boy did I ever get to work! I came back a few hours later and said "You owe me $3.45." Dad said "What???!!!" "How many thistle plants did you chop down, and how many with blossoms?" I said "I don't know, I was just counting the money as I did it exactly as you said". He said "Okay," and he paid me.