No I didn't have a special nature place that I went to explore, but in our grade school, in early spring the teacher would take the kids in school to a woods close to the school and look for wildflowers.
Did you ever go skinny-dipping?
Yes I did once, in a small creek about a couple of miles from my home.
Did you ever make mud pies?
I don't remember if I ever made mud pies.
Did you go barefoot in the summer?
No I didn't go barefoot in the summertime.
If so, relate an experience about stepping on something.
I have no experience of stepping on anything.
Tell about a bike you had.
As I lived in the country and the country roads were dirt, I didn't own a bike. It would be hard to ride a bike on dirt roads.
Tell about your first very own car.
The first car that I owned was a 1929 Model A Ford. I paid $110.00 dollars for it. When I got home with it I borrowed $1.00 from my brother so I could put some more gas in it. I was very proud of it.
Did you ever have or make a swing?
Yes I had a swing when I was in my childhood. It was under a big cottonwood tree. I and my brothers and sister really enjoyed it.
Tell about something you thought was very beautiful.
The thing that I thought was very beautiful was a rainbow. If I remember right, I saw a triple rainbow one time.
Describe an outside game you made up.
I don't remember if I made an outside game, but I did have a miniature golf course, that I fixed in our barnyard. It was real nice and a friend of mine played on it, and he really liked it. I still have one of the golf clubs now. It is a hedge stick, sort of shaped like a club.
Describe an inside game you made up.
I didn't make this game up, but the inside game we played was a person would think of some item or color of something in a room and describe it, then the other person would try and guess what it was.
What kind of fireworks did people have when you were a youth?
When I was a youth we had all kinds of fireworks, there were torpedoes, 1/2-inch long to 4-inch long firecrackers, cherry bombs, sparklers, roman candles, sky rockets, spin wheels, also we had caps for cap guns. I still have my cap gun.
Tell about Independence Day traditions of your childhood.
During my childhood the 4th of July or I.D. was a great day. We always had a Sunday School picnic on our church lawn at noon. Had lemonade and ice cream also which was a treat to us kids. In the afternoon we had a S.S. program, at night we had our fireworks at home or at a friend's place. A great day always.
Do you have a special July 4th that you remember most?
The special 4th of July that I remember most was when I lived in Wichita, the year 1941. We got the 4th of July off from work at Beech, and a friend of mine and I drove home to my folks in Essex, Iowa to spend the 4th. My friend's folks lived around Essex also.
Did you ever go to carnivals or amusement parks? Where?
Yes I have gone to a carnival. It was in Shen. Iowa. When I was a youth a group of young people from our church went to a Young People's Bible Camp, one evening after services a bunch of us went to an amusement park, it was called Arnolak Park. It was in northern Iowa. That week was a great summer outing.
What kind of rides and games were there? How much did they cost?
There were different kinds of rides and games, but I rode only one and that was the roller coaster. That was the first time I rode one and it was quite a thrill. I didn't play any games. The cost I don't remember as it was when I was a youth.
Tell about any State Fair or County Fair experiences.
The experience I had a a county fair in Clarinda, Iowa was when my oldest brother, my Dad and I were there. I spent some money on a spinning wheel, when it stopped on a certain number I got a cheap tin whistle. My brother told my Dad that I gambled. Boy was I ever afraid. But my Dad didn't punish me.
Tell about going to a circus.
When I was a youth, I and a friend of mine went to a circus in Shen. Iowa. It was a Tom Mix Circus. Tom Mix was a well-known cowboy star in my day.
Tell any favorite summertime memory.
The favorite summertime memory is that I would play with our dog Jack.
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