|
IT'S YESTERDAY ONCE MORE
Old House
My daughter Rhonda recently published a poem I Remember about her memories of our old house from her childhood and her wish to return to those times. This page is dedicated to her and her precious memories of her childhood. Here is her poetry index http://www.oocities.org/sunshine9937/PoetryLinks/index.html.
Five Angels
I raised five angels in the old house from 1962 to 1971. The first picture above of the old house does not give a true picture of our old house. It was a great farmhouse in need of repair and it was updated several times. The house was originally white with yellow trim. It had a great side porch which was screened in every summer. We stored the screens in the loft over the red barn. I enjoyed sitting on this side porch after finishing my house work and watching my kids play in the yard and in the neighbors' yards.
My dad planted gladiolas in the bed alongside the driveway every summer. Humming birds soon found these "glads". My dad also landscaped our yard when we first moved in. He transplanted several lilac bushes from the diningroom side of the house and made a great border of them along our divider line on the right side. Here he planted beans, tomatoes and summer squash. He also planted a lilac bush near the red pump creating a circular flower bed for me to plant annuals. He tended the climbing roses on the trellises which were topped by small birdhouses where several sparrows made their homes. In the front of the house he took out the old hedges and replaced them with rhododenduns. He then fertilzed the dirt around the cesspool which was on a raised bed with a cement border by the back stairs. Here I planted several annuals.
Here are some pictures of the my angels enjoying their yard. My Mom, "Nana Ola", always called children angels.
Nancy and Rhonda
Nancy
Nancy, Rhonda, Mike and Pat
Nancy, Pat and Rhonda
We also hosted several family cookouts at the old house every summer. My sister Rita and sister-in-law Sharon are shown here with me and Rhonda.
Cookouts
My sister Rita liked to invite my angels to her house for birthdays which started with an excellent home cooked meal. The angels enjoyed her cooking and never left a crumb on their plates. Rita had no left overs.
Aunt Rita's
Meanwhile my husband Ron started to update the house. I enjoyed my new kitchen update the most. Dad had passed away the winter before the kitchen was done. Here are some angels in the kitchen enjoying Christmas. Their Nana Ola always took pictures on special occasions.
Jimbo
Jim, Nancy, Mike and Rhonda
Here are my angels enjoying Christmas with their "Charlie Brown" tree. The tree was called this name because their dad waited until the day before Christmas to buy the tree. The price of the trees went down by then. Needless to say, there was not much to select from and the tree was usually tied to the window frame in the diingroom so it wouldn't topple. The five angels always decorated their tree.
Nancy and "Charlie Brown" Tree
Jim, Rhonda, Mike and Pat
Me, Ron and Aurel
Other Memories of the Old House
My sister Brenda moved into the old house when we did. She had started to date her first husband Roger. She had one bedroom all to herself. She also spoiled Nancy, Rhonda, Pat and Mike. She left the old house to marry Roger. My Dad moved in afterwards.
Brenda and Roger
One day, my dad and Ron went to the dump. In the trailer which we used to pack our trash in, they returned with a "nanny goat" for "Nanny Goat", my dad's pet name for me. Remember the goat?
Mike and Patsy
If bringing home a goat was not enough, Ron outdid Dad by bringing home a baby pig for Rhonda. She had wanted a pet skunk. Needless to say, the pig went back to the farm.
Nana Ola and Peaches
Eastertime was enjoyed by the angels. I always placed cards on the TV.
Rhonda and Pat
We moved from the old house in 1971. My sixth angel Scott was born in New Hampshire in 1972. He never enjoyed the old memories that his brothers and sisters shared in the old house. We made new memories with him in other homes.
Nana Ola and Scott
Here is a picture of my six angels together, taken over ten years ago.
Jim, Nancy, Scott, Rhonda, Mike and Pat
Here is a picture of me and four of my angels all grown up. It's yesterday once more.
Mike, Pat, Me, Scott and Rhon
| 
