Hello everybody hope everyone is doing great. We all have memories we hold onto in various ways. Sometimes there held in our mind or hearts. Maybe through pictures or simply by seeing something again. Today I tell you about the home I grew up in.
My parents moved to the Midwest in 1973 from Upstate New York. The first two years they lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My father wasn't a big fan of city life and wanted a more private and quiet place to call home. So they bought an older home in the country that use to be a dairy farm in the 1930's. The house itself was built around 1900. The first picture above is the property shortly after my parents bought it in 1975.
I just love this winter shot of the barn, fence,and hay bales. What is not seen very well is a wind mill. It contained a water pump with a well beneath it. I got into trouble a few times climbing up it, mom didn't like me doing that, haha. Who is that kid in the red snowmobile suit? Well he's much older now and is the author of this article :). There were a few other outbuildings that were on this property. There was a chicken coop, machinery shed, and a garage.
We used the barn primarily for storage. We did raise two pigs in it for a short while. My father also tested the mink business for a season or two and set up harvest room in it. We stored a lot of hay in the hay loft and since we had no use for all of it he sold some and gave some to our neighbor who had horses.
My fondest memories of that barn was the hay loft. Inside the barn there was a built in ladder to get up there. It was good sized and up in the loft was two basketball hoops. I played up there with my siblings and friends. I remember bringing up a hand drill one day and drilling holes in the wall to have some peep holes. I drilled three sets, one for me and two for my younger sisters.
Other things I remember about the barn is the history it left behind. You would always find old rusty things. Some things that were left included old hunting traps, a hand crank corn sheller, pitch forks, few pieces of machinery, and many others.
We did use the chicken coop and raised a dozen or so chickens for a few years. We stopped raising chickens due to wind storm that caused a lot of damage to it. Plus I think my father was done with chickens and it was about the time he started gardening. Oh that acre sized garden had everything to include sweet corn, snap beans, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, carrots, onions, strawberries, zucchini, squash, and many others.
The garage pictured above contained two areas. One side had a parking side that also had plenty of rafter storage. The other side was a work shop. Only the workshop had had concrete flooring. Some years later it was torn down and my father built a new garage.
It was often friends of my father came over. Some were neighbors, co-workers, and other acquaintances. There were a few times they would have big get togethers. The front yard is huge I know this because it would take over 3 hours to mow all at once. That was using both a riding and push mower. If the riding mower was not working it was done in sections usually over two days.
Here's a few shots of our front yard. There was so much room and we tried to take full advantage of it. The first photo I share is my two oldier brothers, my father in the distance, my sister and myself. This was in 1978, my youngest sister wasn't born yet. I do remember playing this game of Croquet for the first time. I use to play catch all the time whether it was with Frisbee, football, or baseball.
The yard had plenty of trees. We had some apple trees as well. Another great thing about the property is we had a nice size grove. Oh the woods, when I was around 12 I was given the privilege of using my father's rifle and shotgun. I hunted a lot of small game in the that grove. Mostly rabbits and pheasants. I did shoot a couple of racoons one time. This was because they were infected with rabies. One time while shooting at a rabbit I felt something spray all over my jeans. If you guessed it right it was a skunk. Let me tell you not a pleasant smell memory.
A lot of modifications happened to the house in the eighties. One of the first things done was upgrading to aluminum siding. Also the old wood shingles on the roof were upgraded to asphalt shingles. Also during this time my parents had upgraded to central air and heating. No more window A/c and no more loading wheel barrows full of wood in the porch for the fire place.
One thing I remember well is when my father installed a patio door on the house. I thought that was super cool and it was nice having another entrance and exit to the house. My father also made a cool looking party deck. We had a lot of barbecue style dinner on that deck. Not long after that a nearby town's water pipeline extended to us. That was a glorious day no more well water 😁 Not long after that my father created an extension to the deck that lead to swimming pool he made out of some refurbished tin roofing that came from the mink sheds he tore down.
A summer a few years after the exterior make over, the house was jacked up to have full size basement poured underneath it. Prior to this we had an old storm celler only accessible from the outside. It was tiny and cramped when we went there during tornado warnings. Once the basement was finished I was the first to volunteer to have my bedroom down there. It was super cool in the summer time but a bit cold at times in the winter. Overall I liked the experience it was kind of my peace cave down there.
The basement ended up being our family entertainment location. My father built a ping pong table down there. There was a laundry room which my mother loved because prior to that the washing machine was in the non heated porch. So in the winter she had to go to a laundromat. We had a family room which included furniture and a television. Also there was a bathroom with a shower. That made things easier in the morning with two bathrooms now instead of one.
So through the years there was a lot of remodeling done to the house. My father did a lot of it but a few times it was professionally done. You like the built in book shelf? My father did this but I had a small part in it as I was his little helper:) I have a hobby of making things out of refurbished wood, now you know where I got it from. The kitchen,living room and dining room had three separate remodels. The only place that was not touched was the upper level of the house that had three bedrooms.
Time to tell you about some strange activity. My brother and I shared a bedroom. There was one night as we were both laying in our own seperate beds we heard what sounded like writing/scratching on the wall. Once it ended we turned the light on. What we seen on the wall was a name written in this white creamy substance. It was one of my sister's name.
Another thing that happened at a different time was one of my sisters journals flew off a book shelf. It made a much louder noise than what you would expect. Now I didn't see it fly off the shelf but assumed it did because it was on the ground by the bookshelf. Another weird thing is my sister would not have left it in or near the bookshelf. I can't remember which of my sisters the journal belonged to but something tells me it was the one who's name appeared on the wall.
Did this activity happen due to the original remodel of the kitchen? I think it may have been around this timeframe. My bedroom was above the kitchen. I write now and think about a conversation that I had with 
I tell you I had my best years living in this house. It was a house that presented so many memories especially during the holidays and special occasions.
Alright this picture ties in for two reasons for this article. One being a Christmas I remember very well at the house and two for a challenge I promised to complete. Here you go 
A lot of things music here right? I'm holding a one speaker radio and in the background is a vintage record player of my mothers. Also the good old Tube that served not only for watching but as a piece of furniture. If you look closely on the floor you will see I received the game, "Connect Four." You better bet I put some batteries in that radio, pulled out the antenna and jammed out while winning some "Connect Four" games.
So for the challenge I have to come up with how music ties into this photo and experience. The only thing left to do is share a music tune with you that I was playing in my head and something I wanted to hear on my newly acquired gift.
The song is Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. It was one of my favorite songs at the time. It had a lot of meaning to me. It was the theme song for the movie, Rocky III which I have seen several times. The number 1 reason for liking this song is it was played all the time at the school I attended because the school's mascot is a tiger.
So my mother lived in this house for almost 45 years. She's got to the point in her life when she has to start down sizing. A few years ago she put the house up for auction. She was pleased with the amount she made and used some of it to buy a good sized town house in Sioux Falls.
This is the hard part sharing something sad. The new owners were a young family with a new born. We also found out that the husband is the son of a Doctor, I think a heart surgeon. The winter months went by and my mother heard from our former neighbor that house wasn't being attended to.
Sometime in the spring the new owners had the barn set on fire. The memories I have now are only in pictures and in my head. It's sad to see it in rumbles with the tin roof being it's only identifier. I just don't get it, old barn wood is highly in demand. One could make a good profit off it. If I knew they were going to set it up in flames I would have asked to salvage some of the wood for remeberance.
They weren't done after the barn. The house was burnt down next. I was sad and felt like the air was taken away from me for second when I got the news. The thought of never seeing the home I grew up in was a hard pill to swallow. The only thing worse I can imagine is actually seeing it on fire. Seeing the rubble and what remains of the basement walls makes me wipe my eyes.
My mother had the worst time with this though. I'm just thankful my sister's live close by and comforted and consoled with her. It took great while before she accepted the houses fate. Very understandable she made that place a home!
The only structure that remains now is the four car garage my dad built. That garage was made with a lot of wood from the previous garage, mink shed and chicken coop. I guess that building wasn't too old and it has a use for the new owners. Another thing that remains is the three tall trees in the middle of the yard. There use to be a line of trees at the front near the road and alongside the driveway.
After the barn and house were burnt down. The left over materials were cleaned up and grass was planted above them. The new owners had a large brand new house built on the property. All they ever wanted was the land and probably never thought of living in our old home. I wish someone would have bought the property and lived in the house. It is what it is, you own something you do as you wish with it. So today the location where I grew up remains but without a home of memories.
Thank you for dropping by and reading this far. I appreciate your time and hope you enjoyed some of my experiences growing up in my childhood house. Take care, be safe, and enjoy the rest of the week.
