One

Around October 22, 1919, we lived on a small farm near Mushigum, Michigan.  I was about five years old. 

            The few highlights to me that I remember were getting into mischief.  We had a horse that kicked at everything that went past him.  I liked to run past his back end and slap him on the legs just to see him kick.  He missed me every time because I came from a different direction each time.  My father spanked me but that didn’t stop me. 

            The next time I’d run through under his belly and he’s squeal and kick with both feet.  Missed again!  But my father didn’t miss with the stick!

            One day I found out a chicken ran out of breath before I did.  So I started chasing chickens.  I dug a hole about eight or ten inches deep, big enough to set a chicken in.  Then I’d chase one down, set it in, covered it up to its neck, so only the head stuck out.  Looked funny to me, so I chased another one down.  By then I thought it was a good idea so I kept on going until I had about six chickens done, with only nineteen to go when I got caught.  Boy, I sure got the stick that time.  It was funny to me, watching Father spade chickens up.  I guess he must of thought I was hard on his chickens.  I don’t know, maybe I thought I could grow chickens.

            Things were quiet for a couple for weeks. Then I started thinking about chickens again. 

            I picked the old rooster and chased him down.  I held him by the neck just to see him jump around and flap his wings.  Mother heard him making a racket.  She told Father and soon I saw him coming.  I kept my hold on the old rooster’s neck and took off around the house.  I outran him two times around the house before he caught me and my fun ended once more.  I hide that stick two or three times but Father always seemed to have a spare.

            One day Father found out I liked to carry the wood into the house for the stove.  So one weekend he’d split enough to keep me busy the whole week!  I could only carry one or two pieces at a time.  It took me about two weeks to see that he was doing it just to keep me busy.  Soon he was carrying his own wood again.

            I still went back to slap the old horse once in a while, for kicks.  I also used to like to put a can over the cat’s head and then hit it with a stick just to see it run into everything trying to get away. 

            My brother Frank was four years older than me.  He used to tell and show me how to do things that he didn’t dare do.  I guess it took me about a year to figure out why the family thought he was such a good boy and I was such a little rascal.  I’d tell Mother and Father he told me to do things but they wouldn’t believe me.  Then Frank would say that he’d beat me up if I didn’t do what he said.  I guess I thought I was just stuck.

            Things kind of went along normal for a while for a couple of boys on a farm.  It was a small farm.  We had only one cow for own milk.  I was always trying to milk the cow but could never get any out.  I kept tipping over the three-legged stool while trying.  That would scare the cow and then she’d kick at me.   Got me a couple of times. 

            After trying for a couple of weeks, I finally started to get milk.  I didn’t know it at the time but I worked myself into another job.  It really was my brother’s job but he was always making me do his work whenever he could get away with it.  We were always doing a lot of fighting and I was always getting beat up.

            One day I found a nice big black snake under the porch step.  I held it by the tail so it couldn’t get away.  My brother and Mother were afraid of snakes so for a while I was well protected.  Mother said she’d tell father so I said I’d eat the snake so I’d die. 

            By now the snake was around my feet and I was standing on it.  That’s when I found out it could pull me along.  Then it got away

            Father told me that the black snakes did not bite and liked to lay in the sun on big rocks.  I’d sneak around and plug the snake’s hole in the ground while it was on a rock.  That way I could always catch him.

            Mother always looked me over pretty well when I came in because one time I brought in a snake in a pail.  She didn’t seem to think much of that. 

            Mother and I used to see the snakes when we went to pick wild blackberries and blueberries.  I was always looking for bird nests and different kinds of bees and birds.  I used to see rabbits, groundhogs.  Once I seen a fox but I didn’t know what it was til I got home and told Father I seen a red dog.  He told me it was a red fox.