I remember we boys slept in the old drafty barn and woke a few mornings with a blanket of snow on our covers.

I remember at the end of one of those long days after getting only one 24 quart crate of tiny berries, Willie picked up the crate and the bottom fell out spilling mushy little berries in the dirt, and Daddy was so mad he stomped them further into the dirt. (He had planned to sell them.)

I remember Vera and me playing in the shade near our first strawberry patch (which we didn’t plant) during our first year on the mountain while everybody slaved away in the field.

I remember my other favorite doll was Judy -- a "walking" doll about 24" tall -- that my mother made several outfits for. (I got this from my parents at Christmas when I was about 10 years old.)

I remember Evelyn babysitting Charlie, Vera, and me out under an apple tree in the orchard on the Springwater place while we were supposed to be taking our summer afternoon nap.

I remember Norman carrying me on his shoulders one day the back way through hills and woods from the Springwater place to the farm Daddy had just bought in Mulberry Hollow.

I remember a little Sophie and a wee Henry hanging onto their giant playmate when Uncle DP came for a visit.

I remember at the Springwater place Mom set one of our hens with duck eggs, and it was fun watching the little ducklings following the mother hen.

I remember at the Springwater place we fed the hogs from a slop bucket we kept outside containing vegetable matter from the garden or leftovers from the table (they ate anything!), we threw meat and grain scraps to the dogs, we threw all kinds of scraps to the chickens including egg shells, and of course milk for our kitties.

I remember on the Springwater place our pigs would cool off in a mudhole near a little stream on the property. (What a mess!)

I remember one of my favorite dolls was Susie - a cloth doll with three faces that could be turned - smiling, crying, sleeping. (My Uncle Fritz and Aunt Lieselotte gave her to me when I was in the hospital in 1951.)

I remember one day on the Springwater place Charlie and I decided it would be fun to chase a cute little piglet around its pen, but since pigs don’t sweat it became overheated and died on the spot. (I blamed Charlie and he got the whipping - shame on me!)

I remember we had cows, pigs, horses, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats on the Springwater place in Oklahoma.

I remember on the farm near Brazito sneaking into the bathroom after bedtime to get drinks of water from the faucet.

I remember the Springwater farm was an awesome oasis on top of Spade Mountain with no neighbors - just forest, rugged terrain, and a field for growing anything along with a garden and orchard.

I remember going up the winding single lane rutted drive along steep wooded ravines was always an adventure getting to and then down again from the Springwater farm when we lived there.

I remember one wintry day early January 1951 we loaded our red International pickup and Mr. June’s pickup with our stuff and everybody and traveled to the Springwater place on Spade Mountain near Stilwell Oklahoma where we lived for 9 months.

I remember visiting some country friends, the Ohlmeiers, occasionally when we lived in Kansas, and we bought milk, butter, eggs and cream from them.

I remember Wanda working in a Kansas City clothing factory while we lived at the June place, and at Christmas she brought us all something to wear (matching sweaters for Arnold, Charlie and me).

I remember having two favorite dolls in my childhood.

I remember Evelyn had the unfortunate experience of being blown over in the outhouse during a storm, which we never let her live down.

I remember there was a big barn on the June place that we boys loved making tunnels through the hay and swinging on a rope to land in a big pile of hay (what fun!).

I remember in high school Danielle ran with the cool crowd at church, who sat in the very back overflow section during Sunday services, apart from their families.

I remember when we lived on the June's place, Mr. June brought us stale leftover unshelled peanuts one Christmas or New Year, but they were a delicious treat for quite awhile. 

I remember in our attic bedroom on the June's place we would keep warm by the stove pipe that came through the attic from the wood stove below.

I remember our attic bedroom on the June's place had a bed sheet separating the boys from the girls, and Willie would would cast creative shadow figures on the sheet for all to interpret and enjoy (what fun!).

I remember living on the June’s place just outside Paola in an old pretty run down house, with Mom, Dad, and Vera sleeping downstairs and the rest of us in the attic.

I remember all us boys snuck through a cornfield to sneak sodas out of a nearby Paola baseball concession stand while it was closed.

I remember sometimes when Mark said the prayer before a meal, he would say -- "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food" -- and he would make "food" rhyme with "good".

I remember Grandpa having toast with peanut butter and banana slices for breakfast and a Braunschweiger sandwich for lunch.

I remember a small strawberry patch in our small garden in Paola, not realizing how strawberries would play a large role in our lives later in Oklahoma.

I remember our house was so small in Paola for our family of 12 that one bed pulled down out of the wall at night.

I remember sitting in church in Paola without air conditioning and they had hand held fans to use to keep cool.

I remember the photos I took all over the Twin Cities to post online in early 2005, not yet knowing that I'd be moving away later that year.

I remember a small hill in our backyard in Paola, and after a rain we would slide down its muddy slope.

I remember occasionally finding "horney" toads in our yard. (We didn't know they were called horned toads or lizards.)