threshing machine was driven by a gasoline engine, which was lent by a neighbor.
There was also a milk shed where milk was separated; a wagon barn; a wood house; a hen house; an ice house; and of course, an outhouse (a two- holer). In the winter the ice was cut from a pond, hauled on wood sleighs and packed into the ice house. Each layer of ice was covered with sawdust. The ice cakes were about sixteen square inches. The ice kept fairly well in the summertime. It seems to me that we did not have ice stored every year. Maybe the conditions were not always good for cutting and hauling it. For instance, if there was great depth of snow on the pond, I would think that it would be almost impossible.
My first remembrance of winter was snow banks so high around the house thatasasmall ehildIeould not see overthemwhenllooked out the windows. It was not always possible to see out the windows either as they were usually covered with very thick frost. There were no storm windows at the time. In the late fall the house was banked with seaweed that was hauled up from the shore by horse and cart. The seaweed was packed around the base of the house to a depth of about a foot and a half. This, along with the depth of snow, helped to protect us from the bitter winds and from the frost getting into the house more than it did Iooking back on those days, I sometimes wonder how we survived. I remember how loudly the house would crack from the frost and I remember the frost standing out in bands on the wallpaper in the bedrooms. Of course, at that time we were use to it and did not complain as people today would.
There had to be three stoves kept going during the cold weather. There was a round base burner in the hall which burned hard coal. It gave out a nice, even heat and it was a pleasure to look at as weu. It had a set of doors that had isinglass windows in the centre. The coal was put in the stove from the top and when it got hot and turned red, it emitted a red glow which could be seen from all around the stove. The kitchen stove was banked so that it would stay on all night or so we hoped. The third stove was in the dining room but it was usually allowed to go out before the last person went to bed Most winter evenings we spent close to the hat.
We had no radio or telephone then. We belonged to the poorer class. Some of the neighbors were in the silver fox industry and were more affluent. It did not take long for them to be able to afford ears and radios. Our nearest neighbors were about a half a mile across the back fieldsandthemainroadwasamile fromthe house. So, asehildrenwe learned to make our own fun and games and played closely together.
It was a big treat to be taken for an evening to visit one ofthe' neighbor families and listen to Amos and Andy on the radio. The men sat together, talked and smoked their pipes. The women usually knit and chatted together. The children usually played in another room by themselves. Iater lunch was served and usually consisted of goodies different from what we had at home. Shortly after lunchtime the men lit the lanterns and went out to the barn to hitch up the horse for the
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