At the Farm

In 1957 Dad bought 20 acres of land with an old farmhouse, located 10 miles south of Willmar. This land had originally been part of the Eddy farm. There were 9 acres of field that Dad rented out to Henry Eddy each year in exchange for beef that Henry raised, and the rest was woods and lawn. There was an apple orchard, a large garden space and a large lawn surrounding the house. It was the ideal place to grow up. My sister and I went to Sunnyside School, a two-room school a mile and a half away, and became active in the local 4-H club.

It was there that we learned the value of a hard day's work done well. By the time we moved to the farm, as we always called it, Mother was showing the adverse effects of the arthritis that would eventually cripple her. She could still do many of the household chores, but when it came to canning and freezing produce from the garden and orchard, she wasn't able to do much of it. I learned how to care for a garden, can vegetables, make pickles and relishes, and make jams and jellies. I remember that we had a large rhubarb patch along one edge of the garden, and we froze rhubarb and made rhubarb sauce to can. One year, the apples in the orchard were abundant, and I made countless apple pies that were stored in stacks in the freezer, and canned pints of the best tasting cinnamon flavored crab apple pickles that I have ever had. I will have to see if I have Mom's recipe for those.

As a kid, I was less than happy doing these chores as well as house cleaning when Mom was having a bad spell and was unable to climb the stairs to the upper floor of the house. But as an adult, I was glad that she taught me so much that helped me tremendously when raising my own family.

It wasn't all work, and we enjoyed country life. Some of Dad's nephews would come to stay with us in the fall and go pheasant hunting, and other relatives came in the summer to visit. I especially enjoyed visits from Dad's brother Kenneth and his wife, Hazel. Hazel had a way of making a kid feel special and always had time to really listen. She thought that everything we did was just wonderful! And she brought presents!

To this day, I much prefer country living to the city living that I am doing now. There is nothing like the peace and quiet of a country setting, and being able to actually see the stars without the interference of street lights. And there is also nothing like standing on the front porch of a farm house with your Dad, watching summer storm clouds roll in across the fields. Especially when your little sister is cowering in the basement!

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