Julie: Thank you, and I look forward to this discussion.
The picture of our homeplace, in the unincorporated town of Lebanon, hard up against the South Dakota line 10 miles west of Sioux Center, was fixed up from its former life. My dad moved it from an acreage by Rock Valley after returning from WWII. Then hand-built a small machine shop, which I thought was the biggest building on earth, second only to our church some miles away. So from that dinky house (dad added an indoor toilet in the mid-50s), nine kids crowded the three upstairs bedrooms. Then, we all left, one-by-one. Mom planted that tree (to my right) when she knew kids would no longer play on the front lawn. Crop spray killed the row of Russian Olive bushes and cherry trees lining the property beginning about 30 years ago. It's a bit more desolate, now, and far fewer cars go by the now-paved road out front.
Lebanon has shrunk from its all-time high of about 54 people to about 8, I think. And no children, anymore. See you tomorrrow...
Julie: Thank you, and I look forward to this discussion.
The picture of our homeplace, in the unincorporated town of Lebanon, hard up against the South Dakota line 10 miles west of Sioux Center, was fixed up from its former life. My dad moved it from an acreage by Rock Valley after returning from WWII. Then hand-built a small machine shop, which I thought was the biggest building on earth, second only to our church some miles away. So from that dinky house (dad added an indoor toilet in the mid-50s), nine kids crowded the three upstairs bedrooms. Then, we all left, one-by-one. Mom planted that tree (to my right) when she knew kids would no longer play on the front lawn. Crop spray killed the row of Russian Olive bushes and cherry trees lining the property beginning about 30 years ago. It's a bit more desolate, now, and far fewer cars go by the now-paved road out front.
Lebanon has shrunk from its all-time high of about 54 people to about 8, I think. And no children, anymore. See you tomorrrow...
Thanks! I have a few other pix of you gazing at your old swimming creek, now just toxic water.
Sorry about the typos. I hit 'send' prematurely this morning in haste.