When looking back 50 years, it’s easy to misremember specific events. Heck, it’s hard to even remember anything from that long ago! So my memory may be a bit fuzzy and inaccurate. That said, here’s a few things from when I was quite young.
My first memory is of a wind storm. I know it wasn’t the Columbus Day storm, because that happened when I was only 1.
The wind was getting strong and Dad was covering the garage windows with plywood, to prevent flying fir branches from breaking them. I was watching from inside the screen door of the backroom in the house. I believe I was 3 or 4 years old. For whatever reason, I decided to go help Dad. So I pushed open the screen door and started walking the 50+ feet to him. But the wind kept blowing me over. I fell several times before I got halfway there! Then Mom came rushing out yelling, “Daniel JAY Koerner, what are you doing!? Get back in the house now!”It’s kinda funny how I only heard my middle name when she was angry with me. Lol So she carried me back inside. Don’t think I got spanked though.
I remember a few good windstorms. There was a big hayfield to our south and the wind had nothing to slow it down before hitting our farm. One time when I was about 10-12, I decided to make a little wind sail out of 1x2s and plastic. It sorta worked, too! I would run to the edge of the hill by the barn and let the wind carry me 5-15 feet along before I landed again. Kind of dumb but a lot of fun. And I didn’t get hurt either.
Kari and I were a year apart so we did a lot together. I remember us making instant pudding with the hand-beater before we were old enough to go to school. We took baths together until she was 6 or 7. I didn’t understand at the time why she stopped doing that. 😉 We helped Mom and the older kids pick berries, though at first we usually ate more most of what we picked. One time Kari went into the outhouse by the berry patch and got stung by a bee in a private area. She came running out screaming, with her underpants around her ankles. Not funny to her, but it was to the rest of us. 🙂
I was generally a loner, which was hard to be in a big family. I liked to read and go for long walks alone. Many times I would be far from home, when I would hear the dinner bell ring. The rule was that as soon as you heard it, you ran as fast as you could back home. I got in trouble a few times because Mom thought I was lollygagging on getting home. Actually I was just a long ways off!
Us kids all had our assigned chores. They varied according to the time of year and which kid was available. I mowed grass, fed the calves (and pigs, chickens, dogs, etc), raked leaves, picked fruit, gathered nuts, removed fir cones from the driveway, and much more. Dishes were pretty much an everyday chore and so was burning the trash.
Dad taught me to drive the tractor when I was maybe 10. Not easy, when your legs are too short to easily reach the pedals! One time he had me drive up and down the rows of berries, while he stood behind me operating a grape plow. Once I started too fast and he fell off the back. I stopped and he bopped me hard on the head. It startled me and I accidentally popped the clutch, so he fell off again. He didn’t bop me anymore and I drove better after that.
Even though I liked being alone, I also liked sports. Those are harder to do alone, especially baseball and ping-pong. So at those times, I would seek out my siblings and play with them. Had a lot of good times doing that. Dad set up a hoop on the barn and basketball became my favorite. Even if no one wanted to play, I would spend hours just dribbling and shooting. I remember getting chewed out for playing, instead of doing chores. Or Dad telling me I was dumb to be out there playing in the rain or after dark.
Overall I had a pretty good childhood. I did get spanked a lot because I was a very finicky eater and didn’t always get my chores done when required. I never did like getting hugged or any physical contact, really. So Mom left me alone while she hugged the others or they would sit on her lap.
One time I got in trouble for letting Ross scoop the manure from the cows stall, when it was my job. He was using my rubber boots while doing the work. Dad showed up and yelled at me to get in there and help. “But I’m in bare feet!” He didn’t care. So I had to work in the manure barefooted!
But I loved growing up on a farm. There were old buildings to poke thru, the river and woods to explore, fruit to eat in season, games to play, neighbors to chat with. I can’t say that I was overworked, there was plenty of free time.
On Sunday afternoons, we often went for a drive thru the countryside or sometimes to Silver Creek Falls. That’s still my favorite place to go! Though I do remember my oldest brother, Dennis, dangling me upside by an ankle, over a fence by the falls! Dad would rent a trailer and we went on camping trips. We took the train to Minnesota a time or two. In the summer, there would be church camp to go to, along with children’s camp. Church was a large part of our lives and we went at least 3 times per week.
Overall, I would say that I had a great childhood! At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how good it was. But now, looking back, I can see how lucky I was.
iggyvandweller 