A few years ago while taking my grand-kids back to their home in Ankeny, we drove a different way from Marshalltown and went through the small town of Collins. My youngest grandson, Grant, mentioned that he could not imagine living in a really small town or out in the country as there wouldn't be anything to do.
I quickly reminded him that I grew up on a farm and there were lots of things to do. And there was. First of all, our farm was 160 acres and that was a good start.
Each farm building was there to be explored, especially the barn. The hay mow was always exciting to jump down to from the balcony above. Or just watching the cattle having their evening meal of hay and studying their faces-all different just like people. Climbing up to the peak and enjoying the view from atop my world.
We had a cave just west of our house. It once had a house that sat on top and was moved elsewhere and then was capped over. It became my personal hide-out headquarters. A cellar like door led down into my domain and that area provided hours upon hours of play-time.
The grove was great for playing cowboys or Tarzan in the trees. We also had a creek that ran through a corner of our farm with a super deep ravine. It was my Grand Canyon-really cool! Great exploring.
We always had a dog for a pet that was my companion and daily pal. My younger sister for a while had a pony which provided entertainment and enjoyment. Plus, all the livestock kept you going. It was my job to feed and care for cattle that we raised including 4-H calves. On a farm a lot of work and pleasure went hand in hand if that makes sense.
Speaking of animals, it was my job, on occasion, to take a chicken, when chicken was on the menu, and put its little head between two wood stakes and ------ I don't need to continue. You get the picture.
My cousins only lived less than a mile away on connecting farms, plus friends lived also within a mile or two. We had their farms and barns to play in/around. We could swim in the many farm ponds around and at one time our family had a army surplus jeep to drive around in. That was very cool!
In our machine shed, where the dirt was soft from the machinery, I would build roads with my Tonka trucks and earth movers. A Lionel train was set up in our basement and again our house was big enough with a huge full attic that provided lots of space to spread out in especially on rainy days.
We would play croquet on our spacious and flat front yard. We explored Indian burial grounds about one-half mile away. We could explore the culverts under the roads and use as hideouts. We could fish a small creek that originated just north of our farm.
In the winter, when we were snowed in, we would play Chinese checkers by the hour. And, yes, we had T.V. and radio. The winter also provided lots of snow with huge drifts to build "igloos and snow caves" and great sledding.
Then, visiting cousins in nearby Marshalltown provided additional opportunities for kids and urban territory to explore. That was another interesting and cool world.
Living on the farm in the 1950's was not boring! All of the above we did without computers, smart phones, or play stations. I'm exhausted just writing about the experiences! Bored we were not!
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