These are my memories of going to my grandparent’s farm in Washington, Oklahoma, but this is not only my story. It is history’s story as told to me by my Aunt Alvera. These are also her memories of growing up on the farm during the Great Depression of 1929-1939.
Grandma and Grandpa’s house Down on the farm Long ago memories Old fashioned charm The big screened-in porch with A creaking door Timeworn, familiar steps Old wooden floor
Sunday dinner each week Everyone’s here Fresh milk and fried chicken Family draws near
Big hackberry shade trees Out on the lawn Summer’s natural breeze Stretch out and yawn
Hear the children playing Up in the barn Riding in the wagon Telling a yarn
Riding Penny the horse Climb on her back Cousins all in a row Give her a whack
Windmill next to the barn A churn house too Chicken coop for fresh eggs Soft kittens mew Steps down to the cellar It’s dark and damp Canned green beans and peaches Kerosene lamp
Going on a journey Down by the pond Spending time together Forming a bond Sears catalog pages Outhouse in back No matter the weather You’ll make a track Grandma’s soft feather bed Comfy and deep Many stories to tell Sweet dreams and sleep
Years before I was born Mother lived here Times were not so easy 1916 the year
Grandma had seven girls Third was a boy Mother was number five Beauty and joy Alma, Artie, Curtis Were the first three Lavena, Evelyn Mother to me Ola Mae, Alvera My ancestry Doris was the last born The Marti family
Grandma made the dresses All the girls wore Sewn from large flour sacks Not from a store
The Pleasant Valley School Went to 6thgrade One room across the road Good friends were made
Lantern on the table Kids all around Homework and loud laughing Dad, “Keep it down!” School lets out in the fall Cotton to pick Garden to plow and tend Feed all the chicks Many chores to be done Wheat fields to plow Feed the pigs, gather eggs, Go milk the cows. Separate milk and cream Down in the shack The next chore is churning Bring butter back Let the raw milk sour Make cottage cheese Put it in a cheese cloth Give it a squeeze Take the hogs to market When it is fall Bring back oranges, apples Bushels to haul Curing in the smokehouse Smell hickory wood Hanging ham and bacon It will taste good Nine loaves of bread were baked Every other day Mixing dough and kneading Busy, I would say “Aunt” Serena scrubs clothes Out on the fire Boiling our clothes all day Her job for hire Haul water from the well Down the foot path Heat up the iron kettle Now take a bath July 4thtradition Corn on the cob Shuck and remove the silks It’s quite a job Kill the hens for fryers Pick English peas Tomatoes, bread, butter Homemade cottage cheese Afterwards comes the treat Ice cream freezer Turn the handle slowly It’s a pleaser
Good friends and family Have worked and played Many years come and gone Memories made