We was a family

By Rennie Phillips

Saw a Western cartoon of a sheriff, an old cowboy on a horse and a pickup with a kid driving and he had to stand on the seat to see over the steering wheel. The caption was of the old cowboy telling the sheriff that the kid was too young to ride a horse so he had to drive the pickup. This was kind of true where I grew up and when I was growing up. The only thing was, we rode horses when we could barely walk and we were driving the pickup when we did have to stand to see over the wheel. Nothing new up there. Pretty much all the kids were doing the same thing.

Marge tells of driving a Scout to school which was probably 5 miles from her folks' house to the country school. No big deal back then. It was all a country road and I wonder if it all had gravel. Many times the old country roads were just two lines, one for each tire. But one other thing was, there was almost a zip and zero chance of meeting someone on the road. There might be two or three cars drive down that road every day. One was the mailman or mailwoman.

Kids did things young back then. It was no big deal. All the kids worked or did something. We didn't have computers and iPads and smart phones and all the rest. There was work. One job of mine was slopping the hogs. I'd fill up two five-gallon buckets with separated milk as full as I could carry them and head to the pig pen. It was say 60 or 70 yards from the house, so it was a good trek without spilling the milk. If you only part-filled them then you had to make another trip. God forbid doing that. Kind of like today and carrying in the groceries. I hook a plastic sack on every finger so that I can get it all in one trip. Usually do too. Mick did the chickens. He'd gather the eggs and shut them in. He had sheep off and on so he'd have to gather them up.

I guess the point I'm making is that since we lived in the country there was work to do no matter what age you were. Marge and I still have chores to do. That was what we called them back then. Chores in the evening and chores in the morning. Back then we had cows to milk night and morning. Just part of the chores. Now we fill the tanks with water so there is an ample amount for our steers to drink. We also give both the yearlings and the two year old steers some grain. The grain gives them a boost in energy but it also helps keep them gentle and familiar with Marge and me. Then I shut up my high tunnels and we both feed our cats and the dog. Marge has her own cats and I have my own.

Back then once we had done the chores Mom would usually have supper ready or close to ready. Supper was the evening meal. We had breakfast and dinner and supper. Never had lunch. Usually had mid morning break or snack and mid afternoon break or snack. Did this all summer. But once we sat down for supper it was dark. And once you had eaten supper along with some dessert you were ready for bed. I'll bet 340 days out of the year we had ice cream at bed time. I almost said 365 but there might have been a few we missed. As a rule we always had ice cream.

Now eating back then wasn't no sit down and shovel it in and you are off to the races. We sat down and visited and ate. We took our time. Even today I'll be the last one eating. Eating was a social event and not just eating. We visited. There was always enough food for an army so didn't have to hurry. The only thing Mom rationed out was bacon. She'd fry so many pieces and then each of us got two or three or four slices. Can you imagine Mom and Dad and two boys tearing into a pile of bacon. We could have probably eaten two or three pounds. Marge and I can consume a pound between us. We love bacon.

So we'd visit and visit. Mom and Dad would have to have a cup or two or three of coffee. Mick and I didn't like coffee but we loved chocolate chip cookies dipped in Dad's coffee. So we'd dip the cookies. Dad would put a healthy dose of real Jersey cream and sugar in his coffee. Almost like syrup. Good dipping coffee. But all the while we would visit.

There were times when Mom would clear the table and we'd play pinochle or pitch. Normally tv wasn't much. Reception was horrible. So we'd play games and eat and visit. There were times when we had homework but normally we didn't. We had some in high school but even then there wasn't that much homework. It was a shock how much homework there was in college.

Gone are the days when everyone milked a few cows night and morning or gathered the eggs every day. Some still do but not many. If you are where you can, I'd have a few chickens. They will probably cost you more to keep them than the eggs will be worth. They are still invaluable. Got an acre or two of grass? Get a goat or a calf. Invaluable! Most won't be able to have chickens or a calf but you can sure sit down and eat together. If I could roll back time the one thing I'd do is have a meal with Mom and Dad, brother in laws Duane and Don and sister in law Linda who have passed on, nephews who have passed away and the whole rest of the bunch. Be fun to enjoy a two hour Thanksgiving meal with the whole bunch.

One other thing that I enjoyed as a lad growing up back then was the fact we did things as a family. All of us milked or did chores or went fishing or to the show or arrowhead hunting or hunting coyote dens or whatever. We all went. All of us might not have enjoyed the whole outing but we all went. We all participated. We was a family. Something invaluable right there. We was a family!