Back Home For Janet and Jeanine

Two of Duane's aunts from his Dad's side of the family are coming to visit him on Sunday and will stop in here as well.  Duane's Dad's family lived on the same Minnesota farm since 1880, and in the middle of the 1950's, my Dad bought a small piece of it.  We had a big, old farmhouse on 20 acres.  We always referred to that place as 'The Farm,' even though it was only 9 acres of yard, garden and woods and 11 acres of field, which my Dad rented out to Duane's Grandpa every year in exchange for beef from the cattle he raised.

Duane's aunts visited him in the hospital and they got to talking about the old house my family lived in.  I found a few pictures on my computer that reference that place, so I decided to do a quick blog post.  It is easier to blog the photos than it is to email them.

This is the house Dad bought from a member of my kid's aunt's family.  It is the only picture I have of the house.

The house was huge.  In the front were the living room and dining room.  To the back of the house were the kitchen and a bedroom.  The bathroom and four bedrooms were upstairs.  I loved that old house even in the winter when it was drafty.  I often would sleep on the big screened porch in the summer.

These are my parents standing in front of the house.

I don't know the name of the bushes behind them, but they are the kind that are filled with tiny white flowers in the spring, typical of those planted in front of many farmhouses of that era.

Along the eastern edge of the yard was a long row of peonies.

I wish I had a color photo of them, for they were beautiful in full bloom with colors ranging from white to deep red.  Beyond them was a narrow farm road going through the woods and dividing the property, coming out on the field to the north.  Janet and Jeanine, if this picture extended further to the right, you would see your Mother's garden.  I remember seeing her out there, planting, weeding, harvesting.

Our garden was in front of the house, between the front yard and the road.

  I think this is where I learned to love gardening, working there with my Dad.

  There was a huge pine tree where the driveway split, going left to my house and right to your house.   This picture in front of it was the first day of school for my sister and me at the two room rural school called Sunnyside.

  Had to be about 1955.  I was in the fifth grade and my sister, first grade.  If you look close you can see a white building in the background.  That was your Dad's garage.

 When my family moved into the house, the kitchen left a lot to be desired.  This was the kitchen sink area.

  My uncle Ronnie and his Dad, Lawrence, came in and remodeled the kitchen.  This next picture is of me at age 15, feeding my baby brother, but if you look closely, you can see that same corner of the kitchen after the remodel.

This last picture is of my parents in front of the big bay windows on the east side of the house.  I have no idea why they are so sober looking, for as I am sure you remember, they smiled more than they frowned.

There was a shelf built in below the windows that you can't see because the couch sits in front of it.  Mother always had that shelf full of African Violets in pots.

 Janet and Jeanine - I hope you have enjoyed this little stroll down memory lane as much as I have.