Friday, September 4

Memories

Last Sunday I was invited to my aunt's for a wedding shower. Her oldest grandson will be married in September. It was certainly pleasant to visit the old stomping grounds of my childhood.


This is the house I grew up in. When Dad bought it, it was just a two bedroom hired man's shack. He worked on it for years to change it into the ranch style home that it is today. On the left of the porch is a bedroom that he built onto the house.

The chimney is the one that Dad built when he put in the fireplace. It is the same one that I bounced my Indian Rubber ball off of when I was young. We also had red, white and blue rubber balls that we bounced there.

The old cement verandah is no longer part of the house...at least not the one that was there when I was young. The house has changed over the years since Mom sold it. None of the trees were in the front yard. The terrace had to be mowed and I was often the one that did it. I really didn't mind. In fact even today I would enjoy mowing the lawn. I love the fragrance of freshly mown grass or hay. Today this house is owned by my cousin.

Right next door, to the left of this photo is the house in the photo above. This was Grandma's house. The trees weren't there when I was young. In fact, my aunt's front lawn was Grandma's vegetable garden and one year Aunt May grew flowers in this area for the 4-H Club Gardening Project. The house has changed some over the years, but this part of it is the same. Grandma would stand on the porch and keep her eye on us kids as we waited for the school bus. The stop was right at the end of her laneway.

This is the barn that I loved exploring as a child. The metal silo wasn't there. The barnyard was to the right of this photo and there was a pond there where the geese and ducks spent their time. There were always tadpoles and frogs there. The haymow was at the far end of the barn and this end. The granary was under the haymow at this end of the barn. In the lower section 26 Holstein cows were milked morning and night.

The smaller roof that you can see to the left of the photo was the horse barn. This is where Grandpa kept his team and a couple of extra horses. Punch was a bay and Maud was black. They were well matched. Punch was my favorite...such a gentle giant. I loved to sit on his back when I was little and scratch his ears. He loved it.

The house in the background belongs to one of my cousins. It wasn't there when I was young. All of the area where it stands was pasture and just at the back corner of the barn was the haystack.

The cement silo attached to the barn is the one I went up in (to the very top) when I was six years old. I threw down the ensilage and then prepared to come down. That is where my problems began. That silo is 40 feet and I was scared to death. Uncle Willie had to climb the silo and help me down. I remember how angry he was. To this day, I'm still afraid of heights and I blame it on that experience. I can climb up anywhere, but have trouble climbing down because vertigo sets in.

Fond memories of childhood. What fun my brother and I had exploring the barn and though we worked hard between its walls, we didn't really think of it as work. It was a way of life and we enjoyed it.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my past. Have a safe and enjoyable Labour Day weekend.

16 comments:

  1. It's rather neat to look back, eh?

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  2. Great memories Mary.. thanks for sharing.. my granddaddy's barn was torn down years ago... It's good that your's is still standing..

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  3. I so enjoyed looking at this. What fun going back to your childhood home!

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  4. I love going back to places I remember as a child. But things never stay the same and always seem so different than the way we remember them. My grandma's small house has been tore down and the house I grew up in is no longer standing. But my memories still survive.

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  5. Hi Mary,
    Yes, I enjoyed seeing glimpses of your past! Reminds me a little of mine. I spent summers on my grandparents farm. Unfortunately their barn, and house have been torn down. The memories remain though!

    Nice banner!

    Katherine

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  6. Hi Mary. I enjoyed your post very much. When you mentioned the smell of hay it sent me back a few years. I do love it too.
    I am blessed to live across the street from where I grew up so I can look out and see the hillside woods where my sisters and I used to play as children and later as adults we picked mushrooms and trailing blackberries there. Oh what wonderful memories!!!
    Thanks for sharing and thanks for visiting my blog. I haven't been doing mucch blogging but fall is coming and hopefully I'll have more time for it.
    I'm glad you liked my 'puddle picture.'

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  7. such wonderful memories Mary! I loved your walk down memory lane...I can hear your Grandma calling...;p

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  8. What fun to go back and remember pleasantly. What's that like? :) How has your week been? Could you please email me your phone again in FB? I wanted to call you but I couldn't find your number. This time I'm going to write it in my binder right away. Thanks in advance. :)

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  9. Beautiful photos, Mary! Thank you for this glimpse of your childhood!
    Happy Saturday!
    ~AM

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  10. Did you just close your eyes and let the gentle breeze take you back? I have fond memories of home and grandparents and every time the grandchildren visit us, I hope they will return someday to tell their grandchildren what they remember when.

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  11. What fun we had then..My brother and I did just what you did..but now it is not something that kids do anymore..not enough country maybe...Thanks for stopping by..
    Sandy

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  12. I enjoyed reading about the place where you grew up. It is wonderful that it is still in the family and that it is still there for you to see, not sold to developers.
    Mama Bear

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  13. Hello dear Mary:-) I'm finally free to do some bloggy visits...what a week! lol Seems everything was happening the same week and I had so much running around to do, plus I had to do more canning and pickling. I want to hire a maid! lol

    I so loved reading this post and learning more about your childhood. Also loved seeing the house you grew up in and the places you played in!! I always enjoy driving by the house I was raised in but then it also always feels like it was in another lifetime, doesn't it! I get vertigo going up or down so I'd be no help to you!!! lol

    Thinking of going to NF again the weekend of the 19th of this month...will get in touch with you and find out if you guys want to meet us there again:-) xoxo

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  14. How fun to look back and remember. I love those memories of childhood too. And I am with you on the smell of fresh cut grass or hay...brings back great memories.
    Thanks for sharing the pictures and memories of your younger days. Sometimes I would love to go back to those days. Playing in the streets till our clothes became a sweaty second skin. Rushing to get our chores done on Saturday morning so that we could go out and ride our bikes.
    I am glad your childhood home is still around. What a great place to grow up.

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  15. Mary-I love love all the history in this post-and in the old barns and buildings. Nice that you got to visit and remember.

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