Soupy's Country Roads

[Soupy_1us]

Take us back .................................To them "Good Ole Days"..
You can even show us some old fishin' plugs that might have been "hand made" by your Grandpa or something....Anything ! Don't have to have a thing to do with fishin' or nuttin' else. Just memories or stories you've heard about your family and home.., be it be funny or sad.....Let's just keep our past alive !


Kinda like what I'm showin' here..... #1 pic. is my mother Ethel Louise (Morehead) Sale and I think,her baby sister and pic #2 is my Dad William Henry Sale..... ... I weren't around then !

This picture of my mom was taken in Louisville, KY around 1936 or so.. And the pic. of My Pap was taken somewheres overseas durin' WW Two so I reckon that was in the 40s

[4rum]

This is great Soupy... coincidentally... I took a spell of whittlin' plugs a while back and fishin' with them. I loved catchin' a fish on a home made plug. I even tried some 'lipped' models... tuned 'em to get 'em to run true and all. It was a great hobby for a while.

Old pi'tures... yeah... I got some...........

Here's Ol' 4rum when he was just a 1/2 pint...................

[Soupy_1us]

Handsome Booger ! even got my bibs on....
I tried that plug thing once too.....I just didn't have the pashunts to do it.

[Soupy_1us]

I had to look hard for this one.. Me (in the white 'boggin') and my four brothers... Louisville,KY 1952.. The last picture that I know of that all five of us were in together at one time. I think they were playin' football in the back yard at this time.............................................. .......I was the football.

[gofish]

that there splains a lot soupy lol.....

[4rum]

Looks like some real first draft picks there Soupy. Can't tell you how much I enjoy old photos and stories about those days. I'm not mad at the present or anything... just a little hurt I reckon that it don't seem to respect where it come from.

I DO like the old cars, old trains (steam engines) old dogs, old friends and young wimmin ! :evilgrin0039:

byeeeeeeeeee

[gofish]

aaaaahhhhhhh memories.....old cars......that a man could actually work on hisself...the sound of the old trains chuggin long with that ole steam whistle...cant ya jus hear it now?nuttin better than an ole dog......aint commentin on the last cause wifeys standin right here lol

[Soupy_1us]

I hope to be postin' some pictures of some of these old river towns in my area.. I'm gonna try to get "New" pics. to show now and then show the old pics. I have found... I know most of these people on here have heard of some of these towns in my area.. Lots of old history... Civil War type, Indians.....Dan Boone......But, I'll try to keep it first hand type stuff.. I never met ole Danny Boone. :)

[Soupy_1us]

that there splains a lot soupy lol.....

Told you , I lived a hard life.... Bein' the youngest of 5 boys....

[Soupy_1us]

I ain't gonna give ya no histroy lesson 'cause I hated history in school... Just some cool pictures...

Caseyville, KY was, in it's time , one of the largest River Ports on the Ohio River.. Located in Western Kentucky.. Today it's just a small town with a church and a boat ramp to the river.

[gofish]

that theres a shame aint it?

[Soupy_1us]

Like everthing else.......................Progress !............ Never did understand how you could take a Boomin' Town and make it a Ghost Town over night......
This county I live in has gone down so far it's scarey.
At one time (in my life time) we had the cross roads to the center on the nation then they put in a "Parkway" about 45 mile east of us......That took care of all the traffic (people too) at one time we had a RailRoad.............everything that came from Fla going to Chicago came thru here.....Now the only thing that comes the same route is the drug trade.......At one time we had one of the largest Prison Camps for German Soldiers and military training camps in the country.. now it's a School (detention center) for the less fortunate.....At one time we had the second largest airport in Kentucky...........we still have the airport but, now it's used for spray plane that some farmer uses. At one time we had the largest Drag Strip in the Mid-Nation all the big boys use to come to The Sturgis Drag Strip on Sundays but, that's gone.. somebody said it scared the pigs and cows..
The only thing we really have left around here is a couple of coal mines and a few "big" farmers that control the whole county............................But, lot of us still have memories of them "Good Ole Days"

[4rum]

Hey Soupy... loved the pics of Caseyville.... how' 'bout throwin' up a thread called "My Home Town"... I bet almost everyone could find a pic of their old home town. I can fine lots through the states History and Culture site... bet others have that in their state too.

GREAT work Soupy.... I'm likin' this........................

[Soupy_1us]

Let's see how far this thread goes....People might git tired of just me and you posting. :)

[Timotha7]

Nah, even if we don't post behind it, still great to see the pics read

[4rum]

I'm not sure... I might have posted this already... good place for it here though. This is the first school I attended. One room, pot-bellied stove, outdoor jons.

[Soupy_1us]

I've seen that one before I think...or I might have dreamed it... But, still like seein' it.. Ya got me lookin' for more old pics. now...

[gofish]

progress.....they tore down my first school......still an empty lot...only thing still left is the concrete filled poles by what used ta be the play ground....still got a bloodstain on one from me lol

[Soupy_1us]

Lots of people will say ....Yep !..... Had to walk 5 miles to school in the snow and it was up hill both ways....
I agree.... walkin' to school was a long walk for me too...'cause I hated it so much....
But, when I think about what I did on the way to school..........Makes my heart warm right up.....
Besides, meetin' the purtty little neighbor girl and walkin' her to school and carrin' her books for her and talkin' all that sweet stuff to her (keep in mind we were 9)...She'd talk about her new Barbie doll and the clothes she got and I would brag about the baseball game I played the night 'fore... The home runs I (didn't) hit and the plays I made.....and the games we (didn't) win ....This weren't too bad.
Until you'd run into the town bully......see ya with all her books (and Barbie Doll clothes layin'on top of her books) in your hands !.....Mom always wandered why or how I couldn't get to school with clean clothes on......Sometime before we'd git to the play gorunds me and that bully would hit the dirt......This happened 'bout three times a week.......Boy, I was glad she moved away...........The bully not the neighbor girl.
She'd whoop me about two times a week......
Anyhow.... My longest walk weren't goin' ta school.
It was after I'd done something wrong ( like fightin' that bully at school.....boy, I was glad to see her move away).......When I got home.....mom would tell me that the school teacher stopped by to talk to her and was tell'in' her about me fightin' at school..........I can still hear it now...................... BOY, YOU WAIT 'TIL YOUR FATEHR GITS HOME !
Then about 5 that PM he'd drive up.........I could here him and mom talkin' in the kitchen.............................Then ...............them dreaded words !.................SON !..........COME IN HERE !...........................blah,blah,blah........ ..........................(now for my longest walk)................................GO GET ME A SWITCH !
It weren't that far to the ole Weepin' Willow tree we had out back but, it would take me 'til dark afore I'd get back in the house............Guess I was hopin' that he'd forget where I went or something.....
But he didn't............................................ ..................................

[gofish]

thems some memories id rather fergit......worst ones were from grandma though,had the way of makin ya feel real small then gittin ya with the strap on top of it lol

[4rum]

Sounds like we all had some very similar experiences growin' up. I walked to school, had a fine young lady to accompany me, and got my britches dusted on a reg'lar basis too.

BTW Soupy, I have a Tumble Creek Tale comin' up on these lines, I think you'll appriciate the similarities there too.

[Soupy_1us]

You know........................now-a-days thinkin' back...................them walks weren't so long after all...


Can't wait for your Tumble Creek Tale.......I know it's gonna be 'nother good'un .....

[gofish]

lookin back theres some people that worked fer terminex that had ta been saints.....back then they had big "bugs" on top of theyre trucks/vans an round here had a competitor called arab......us boys would go by in the afternoon on the way home,open the office door an yell....hey terminex ya got a bug on yer truck....call arab!.........tellin ya they were saints.....never once did they yell at us boys,jus laughed.....even gave us treats once in a while...bet that wouldnt happen nowadays,have the police waitin on ya the next day

[Soupy_1us]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just to remind you ....I hated it.
But, I had some of my best times goin' to and comin' home from there.
Besides gittin' whooped two or three times a week ( by that bully.... dang her hide) I had little chores to do on the way...
It was about a mile or so from my house to school, ifin' I took the long way, (and I did most the time)... Walkin' through the west side of this little town that I lived....There were several houses on my route that had them little old ladies livin' in them......You all know what kind of ladies that I'm talkin' 'bout....Them kind that'll holler at you ifin' you walk through their yard... I can still hear them voices now...Hey ! GET OUTTA MY YARD ! ya little brat ! Well, this would go on for a week or two then one day you'd hear : "Hey! Sweetie come 'ere... I "need" you to do something for me.....Then this is where I get my chores.....Carrin'water from the well,packin' coal from the coal houses or just takin' out their trash.......I guess ifin' I had kept all them nickels I got doin' that , I'd be rich today....but, bein's I was 7 or 8 , them nickels didn't last long... One reason is they had them grocery store right across from the schools.....Them kind where you could buy your lunch or bubble gum, whatever you needed at 7 or 8 years old....Them little stores where you get a hamburger or hotdog at lunch or play the pinball why you waited for the bell ta ring...
I guess I fell in love with more little girls at them stores than I can count.....Springer's Grocery, Mrs Hart's Grocery and the famous Westside Grocery, that's where all the football players would hang out after school or you could take a cab,catch a bus and get your lunch all in one little store.
They're all gone now......Can't even see where they stood anymore... 'cept for Springer's... I think somebody lives in that building now....
I reckon we all had our favorite little spots like that.....Boy, these young'uns now-a-days don't know what they're missin'....
Well, I'm home from school now......Time to get me a can of worms and head for the creek.

[Illinoisgiller]

When we lived in town for a while ,there was a gas station close to school. We would get a bottle of Coke and a bag of Planters peanuts to pour in it . We thought that was some fancy drinkin.:party0045: They also sold Near Beer. We didn't dare drink that before school though. :confused0018:lol 1/2 of 1 percent alcohol. lol Mike

[Soupy_1us]

Coke Cola and Peanuts.......................................I can taste 'em now......Moon Pie to chase it down with.

[wewamohawk]

Yes Your All Right Them Were Long Walks To Get The Switch ;;;maurice

[4rum]

Hope this ain't too much out of place... got it in an email yesterday.

WHICH GENERATION ARE YOU?


"Hey Mom," one of my kids asked the other day, "What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?"

"We didn't have fast food when I was growing up," I informed him . "All the food was slow."

"C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?"

"It was a place called 'at home,'" I explained. "Grandma cooked every day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it."

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levi's, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears AND Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 11, but my grandparents had one before that. It was, of course, black and white, but they bought a piece of colored plastic to cover the screen. The top third was blue, like the sky, and the bottom third was green, like grass. The middle third was red. It was perfect for programs that had scenes of fire trucks riding across someone's lawn on a sunny day. Some people had a lens taped to the front of the TV to make the picture look larger.

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called "pizza pie." When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.


I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents. I had to get up at 4 AM every morning. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.


If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.


Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?



MEMORIES from a friend:

My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to "sprinkle" clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?

Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
Real ice boxes.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.

[4rum]

Part two.............
Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with table side juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7.. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16 Hi-fi's
17 Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19 Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Washing machines with wringers; and washtubs for rinsing

[Soupy_1us]

Our Washing machines with wringers; and washtubs for rinsing was out in the back yard... Had to carry water out to it every Monday morning

I remember all of the above....And I miss 'em.


NOte: Metal Ice Trays and tongues don't go together.....or if they do ... they stay together 'til somebody pours water on it.

[gofish]

remember em all but only used 21 personally....gues that makes ME the young pup on this one lol...

[Soupy_1us]

As I was growing up (or gettin' older, never have grown up).. We had chores to do...
I have already mentioned carryin' coal ,water and trash for the little old ladies that was on my way to and from school...
My mother worked for a small motel (local) and most of the time wasn't home when I got in from school..There was always a small list of things for me to do on the kitchen table when I walked in the door.
#1 on that list: Change out of your school clothes... This was a "MUST".!
#2 was to peel some tators and soak them for supper, take the chicken outta the frig.
#3 Mow the yard ...if needed...at least pick up the sticks that have fallen out of that big ole Maple tree we had in the front yard....
#4 Do YOUR HOME WORK before you go play !
Now this #4 was the hardest thing for me to do...
I didn't care if it was Math ( back then it was Arithmetic) English or Geography ...I hated doing it....So I'd go scribble something down on some paper and head out the door...DONE ! (For you young'uns out there now... This is why I ended up gettin' my GED when I was 33 years old and that was a lot harder than stayin' in school)
So much for the chores...........................Time for football ! Seems like every kid on that end of town done there chores and homework at the same time 'cause we'd all meet down in the "big yard" (neighbor's yard) about the same time.
Back then I was a little big for my age (well fed) so I was always pick first when it came to choosin' teams.. The two girls were pick last....
Ifin' nobody was sick or gone to music lessons , there was always about ten kids there to play ball..
We would get our teams up and then "toss the coin" (if we had one) to see who had the ball first...
Everybody new the rules... The blacktop road on the left was out of bounds and the big Oak tree on the right was out too... The goal lines where somebody's jacket or shirt on one end and the big Locust tree was the goal line on the other.... You get four downs "Period" no first downs.... (yard wasn't big enuff) any anything goes .....
I reckon I seen more bloody noses and broken fingers on that field than I ever saw on a real football field... But, nobody cared....We called them "Trophies".. Went to school the next day with a black eye..... "How'd get that"? .. PLAYIN" FOOTBALL ! Man them girls shore liked to hear that....
But, mom and dad didn't ..................That's where the Whoopin's would come in.....Not for gettin' the black eye or bloody nose......but, mom would find my "so called home work that I didn't do".....
So for the next two weeks there would be one player short on that "Football field"
Man , I hated the word "Grounded":confused0024:

[gofish]

been there dun that soupy!! biggest war injury playin backyard football was a goose egg the size of a baseball an a concussion :confused0018:.......no more flyin tackles lol.....strap THEN the groundin.....hard ta remember wich hurt worse lol

[wewamohawk]

sounds like you guys had loads of fun until your mother found your homework then you would hear the word grounded ;;;maurice

[Soupy_1us]

Just weren't no fun sitting around the house for two weeks, watchin' out the winder at them guys havin' fun playin' football.

and waitin' for them welts to heal up from that willer switch..

[4rum]

You know... I often wonder why the Good Lord took the chestnuts and left them dang willers:confused:

[Soupy_1us]

I think it had something to do with his sense of humor !


Remember the "Weepin" Willer"... Now I know where it got its name.

[4rum]

By cracky... I 'blieve you might be right about that!:icon_biggrin:

[4rum]

This is where I grew up............. an actual log house, chinked with good 'yaller' clay (some cement on the front from later years).

[Soupy_1us]

Looks like home to me !

[wewamohawk]

you guys are right it sure looks like home ;;;maurice

[Soupy_1us]

I can't find any pictures of the first house I lived , in Sturgis Kentucky but, I do remember it well....
Back in them days when I first started out on this journey called "Life" , we were in Louisville, KY back in the early 50's.
We lived in one of them "Low Rent" Housin' places called: "The Projects" with the name of "LaSalle Place". The ironic thing about this, the name "LaSalle" was French/Indian for "Sale" and that just happens to be my last name.
We didn't stay there long after I came around, reckon it got full with us five boys and mom and dad. So we moved South.
We came down to this little town in Western Kentucky in or around fifty four, I was about 2 or 3 years old..
Mom and dad couldn't aford to buy a house down here so we rented...
We rented to only thing we could find at the time...
A "BIG OLD HOUSE" house in the middle of downtown Sturgis, ky called : "The Old Hopgood Place".
Now folks back then didn't want nuttin' to do with this old house reasons unknown to us at the time but, we figured it out after a while.....
It had like 6 bedrooms in it and no gas, barely had electricity,old wood burner cook stove in the kitchen,fire places in every room,but, did have runnin' water and indoor facilities (nuttin' fancy at all) And it was "BIG" ..
Two stories high, had the back porch that went dang near all the way around the house and one of them balconies on the upstairs level that went all the way across the back (or side) of the house with the carved round post that was holdin' that part up. Even had one of them "Spiral Staircases" inside to go up stairs.
I can still remember mom carryin' the "Fire" in a small "ash shovel"from one room to the other in the winter mornin's to get them "fire places" lit .
Reckon it had a bath tub too but, I never got to use it (as you can see in that pic.)
The reason why them folk in Sturgis back then didn't like that ole house wasn't 'cause it was so big, it was because it was "Haunted"!!
Yep, haunted....it still had some old guy dressed in one of them long white sleepin' gowns , walkin' around that place almost every nite. He never did hurt nobody but, he would just go from room to room lookin' for something or somebody..
Can't tell ya how many times I wet the bed 'cause of him...'cause everytime I'd get the urge to go that's about the time he's come walkin' through the house... Weren't no way I 'd get up in the middle of the night just to go to the bathroom.
But, the old place was located in a good spot, weren't but one block from all the stores in town.. Even had the old "Picture Show" right across the alley from it. ( that burned down while we lived in that old house)... Reckon you'd call them some of my "good ole days".
Like that ole house, they're gone now..

Well, I reckon that's enuff for today....I'm wastin' daylight (or would be ifin' the sun was up).. I gotta git. I got fishin' to do.

BY the by: That other picture is of me and my four brothers at the LaSalle Place in Louisville,KY after a hard day of "Back Yard Football" (that's me in the white hat) and I told you what they used me for....... Yep... the football.

[wewamohawk]

that was sure a big house you all had back then and a good story about your home keep up telling us when you were young its good reading ;;;maurice

[4rum]

I lived in a house with a ghost too... it's the focus of a 'Tale' in progress so's I won't spill it all here. It was at th' "Squirrel John Cales" place. It's said that he hid behind th' kitchen door to play the fiddle. (Bashful you know). Anyways he stood back there an' played that fiddle so much the shadder (shadow) of his elbow wore a hole in th' wall.:icon_biggrin:

[wewamohawk]

that will be a good story 4 rum i will be looking forword for that one ;;;maurice

[Soupy_1us]

I lived in a house with a ghost too... it's the focus of a 'Tale' in progress so's I won't spill it all here. It was at th' "Squirrel John Cales" place. It's said that he hid behind th' kitchen door to play the fiddle. (Bashful you know). Anyways he stood back there an' played that fiddle so much the shadder (shadow) of his elbow wore a hole in th' wall.:icon_biggrin:


Well, it's that time of year.......OCTOBER......is right around the corner.......and what comes with OCTOBER.......................GHOSTS.....GOBBLIN'S and KIRK !
(just thought I'd throw KIRK in there , see ifin' he's awake or not)...........

HALLOWEEN ! GHOSTS and GHOSTS STORIES.........
Might be a good time to hear some "Real" ghost stories !

[Soupy_1us]

Or we can Post this and move on to something else:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/Soupy_1us/Stories%20and%20Tales/everything.jpg

[gofish]

wondered when ya was gonna bring that one back out soupy lol

[wewamohawk]

i sure t5hink that was real good too just keep them comeing ;;;maurice

[Soupy_1us]

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/Soupy_1us/Project1.jpgBooooooooooooooooooooooo!
The Capt ...
Local Wal-Marts are selling them buy the tens.....
They have banned this mask from the local schools and playgrounds because the kids think it's Santa Clause without his beard, out begging for candy..

[Illinoisgiller]

Gee soupy, we have some younger folks on this site. Don't you think that picture of the capt. is a bit much for the tender eyes? :confused0068::confused0068::confused0068:.lol Mike

[Soupy_1us]

Reckon I should've put a warnin' or something up with that post.

[capt.kirk]

They dun sold out of em here in Connertucky :evilgrin0025: Kirk

[Soupy_1us]

You mean to tell me somebody done bought both of 'em up there !!!!!.

[Soupy_1us]

I reckon, since it's said and done now...
I can tell you guys why my trip to Clinton,Ill....Clinton Lake was a very emotional trip for me..
Years back , I had a friend that I fished and hunted with all the time.. A younger feller but, a mountain of a man..
This man was named Gene Campbell.. , we called him "Tiny" Tiny, as I said was a mountain of a man.. He stood over most every man that I have met in my life at 6'9" tall and weighin' in at approx 425 lbs... Friendly, easy going but, strong as two mules tied together, a mountain man..
Tiny , myself and my son fished these old Ohio River bottoms when my son was just about 7 or 8 years old, he's 34 now, so it has been a few years back....
Tiny came from the Clinton Lake/Champaign area to Western,KY in the early '70s . It's said that he fished that Clinton Lake in his sleep.
For years Tiny could been seen at all times of the day and night, pole in hand heading for the "Hot Water Ditch" or another one of his favorite spots on that lake and around the Salt Fork River area over by Champaign..
He wasn't much for a boat fisherman, reckon the reason was obvious, his size kept him on the banks of most lakes and rivers... He fished that area so much that the local people nick-named him "CatFish"..
It's said that he had some kin folk up there that open one of the first bait shops in the area after the power plant was built..
Tiny came down here (western KY) to see some more of his kin and stayed until his later years, that's when, I reckon that ole lake called him home...
Tiny went back to Clinton, Ill just a few years ago and I heard he died a short time after that....
"Tiny" was a good man and a good friend to everyone he ever met... I know we still talk about him down here in Western, KY... Anytime somebody talks about fishing or hunting, they always say: Do you remember that guy named Tiny?
Well, I can say proudly..... Yes I do.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/Soupy_1us/Stories%20and%20Tales/scan0001.jpg

[wewamohawk]

thats sure a nice looking fish there i would like to get one like that ;;;maurice

[4rum]

Mornin' Soupy... I b'lieve I'da liked Tiny. My kind of folks.

[Soupy_1us]

I know you would have... Ain't met nobody yet that didn't like him.

[Soupy_1us]

Something that most of us has done at one time or 'nother..
Most of my trips were to get to fish in the pond behind her old farm house.. Nope , it weren't her farm... She just rented the old house...But, it did have a nice fishing hole out behind it...
Sunday afternoons, after our Sunday dinners, I would slip off to that pond....( Arrowhead Lake... 'cause it was shaped like an arrowhead)..
Cane pole in hand,can of worms that we dug in the neighbors sewage ditch back home before we got to Grandma's house...Most of you guys remember that ditch.... the one next to the pen that had that "Hog" in it. Anyhow, I'm on the bank of that pond....Bluegill, ole yeller belly catfish and everynow and then a large mouth bass would swim by and get hung on our hooks.
Most of the times we had to run the cows out of the water before we could fish, that's where they would spend most of their summer days when it was hot...And sometimes we even see a big ole water snake swim across that pond.....
Once in a while , the farmer that owned that farm would come up and do some fishing with us.....He didn't really want to catch any fish , he just wanted to get outta the house for a while.....so he would come up and hang out with us kids.....He was a good old feller...
Never did catch the "record" fish from that pond but, we always had enuff for dinner the next day.... and sometimes we'd even catch us one of them big snappin' turtles for the table too.
Seems like a million years ago.....Don't have days like that anymore...Reckon you could say that was the "good ole days" for me.
The only bad part about going to Grandma's house..... was, she didn't have one of them "indoor facilities" as you city folk would call them.....We called them "Bathrooms"... She had runnin' water in the kitchen but, only when you pumped it...And when the time come .... you had to go.............it was to the OUT HOUSE !......I hated that outhouse... Always had them big ole writin' spiders in it... You remember them... Their web was as big as a wash tub and it had some kinda of writin' in the middle of it. Some people I heard call 'em Garden Spiders... ifin' they were garden spiders....what the heck were they doing in that outhouse......
Now ya gotta figure... I was about seven and I weren't really used to the farm life and I had to go..........To the OUTHOUSE...........
Well after a few times of going to grandma's house my mother decided it was a good idea to take a change of clothes for me... 'cause she just knew that I was gonna to get muddy in that ole pond or the pain would hit me and I would have to go to that OUTHOUSE !

Never did like that old OUTHOUSE !