More memories on the Carl and Elma Kobler farm

I love reading your memories Lois. Of course, by the time I was born, things had changed a lot. I was born in 1945, and Granddad

and Grandmother had moved to a house in Penokee. My brother Jerry and I lived in that grand old house until I was a sophomore in High school and Jerry was a senior.

I too loved the attic and spent many hours there.

My room was over the kitchen with three windows with window seats. Actually all the windows had window seats because of the large stones that Great Granddad Kobler cut for the house. I had a walk in closet that I used to play shoe store. There was a large hall closet on the second floor that was great for hide and seek. In fact, the whole house was wonderful for hide and seek!!

The basement had a coal room for the coal for the furnace. There was another room where had a ping pong table and a table for Jerry’s electric train. There were some family names on the stones in the stairway to the basement.

We sometimes had a baby calf in the basement that Dad fed til it could go back to the barn.

An outhouse was still there when we were kids. Handy when we were out playing.

Debbie and I had houses in the trees too.

We often played in the big red barn. I was always worried about the snakes that sometimes got baled up in the bales!!  Dad warned us  not to fall in the hole in the floor where the hay was pushed down to feed the cows while they were milked. Dad milked the cows while he sat on a small one-legged stool. He would put his head by the flank of the cow while he milked. The cats would sit across from the cows, and Dad would would shoot a stream of milk to them!!  The milk was all foamy and and warm!  Jerry and I thought our “cows milk” was much better than city milk!   The cats had little kittens up in the the hay mow, and Jerry and I would try move the kitties up to the house, and Mama Cat would move them back to the barn. I would  try to give the kitties a ride in my baby buggy.

We too often went to the Solomon River to play. There were lots of little minnows there in the shallow river. Thank goodness it was sandy and not muddy!!

I remember Mom talking about worrying about Jerry because he had climbed to the top of the silo. She also saw his hat floating on the water tank!  He must have more than 9 lives!!!

All of my friends loved my slumber parties at the farm house, and many of Jerry’s friends worked on the farm in the summer. They built up their muscles throwing bales.

I remember that old Victrola in the South Room.  We used to crank it and play those old records. I played with Grandmothers treadle sewing machine too.

Those leaded glass windows used to make rainbows on the floors of the living room and the dining room.

What wonderful memories!!