It was a difficult summer

Sargent Central High School

It was the summer of 1963.  I had just finished my sophomore year of high school.  I felt I was in for a long summer and it turned out I was correct.  Ronald/Glorine and Janet/John had been away from home for a long time.  I so looked forward to their visits but for me they came not nearly often enough.  I was at the age where I was still an immature adolescence but yet was beginning to look towards the future.  Ronald, John, Glorine were all teachers and Janet had her 2 year degree.  For some reason I took that as maybe I should be a teacher but for some reason I did not want to do that.  Joan/Ron were married and lived in Fargo.  Dave, I think, lived in Fargo and it looked like he may be a teacher also.  It was just Helen and I at home.  

I had begun to realize that Dad was NOT a farmer.  Oh, he earned his living by farming but really he was not at farmer.  He was a hunter, a professional photographer and then farming was something he had to do to earn a living.  I was at the point of almost being embarrassed about our farm and our antiquated way of doing things.  I did not dare tell my friends at school that showers were so important after sports because we had no shower or tub at home.  There was no way I was going to share that our winter toilet was a pail upstairs and our summer one was a three holer.  Would I tell people that I had to shave in a tiny cubby hole like place off the kitchen?  No.  All that was going through my mind but really the problem was I felt like I lived on an island in the ocean.  We were 25 miles from the school and in the summer I pretty much had to live for visits from siblings and then the farm work.  I admit I tried to avoid farm work whenever possible.  

I did have an idea that may make the summer more interesting.  I had fashioned a golf hole in the ditch by the mailbox in the past.  But I thought I needed to expand!  Bert and Eleanor lived a half mile north of us by the lake.  Their pasture was the land between our farm and their buildings.  Bert grazed his cattle so that his pasture was BARE.  That would be a great place for a 3 hole golf course.  I did not ask Bert if it was OK I just started planning my golf course.  I fashioned three flag poles out of old sticks, nailed some clothes to the top and headed north to the pasture.  I dug a hole for the first pole and stuck it in.  I then stepped off 100 yards to the second one and did the same.  To make a kind of triangle I stepped off, this time, 150 yards to the third.  Pesto, I had a 3 hole golf course with short grass, and cow pies to go with it!!!  I spent much of my summer doing these things:

• wishing Ronald/Glorine would come visit
• wishing Janet/John would come visit
• wishing Joan/Ron would come
• wishing Dave would come home for a time
• hitting the golf ball to my 90 yard hole by the mailbox
• playing golf in Bert's pasture and losing golf balls in gopher holes
• AND doing farm work when I had to!

The summer seemed like a long one and almost daily I would count the days to the first day of football practice in August.  The expectation of a fun football season and basketball season kind of saved the day so to speak.  I knew I would be starting on the football squad as I had the year before and I believe, as a sophomore, I had more tackles than anyone.  Basketball was another story.  I was sure I would be the 6th man on the team.  The class ahead of me had some great players and as it turned out we went to the state tournament in the spring.  I would shoot baskets by the barn and my shot was really good but the weeds and dirt did nothing for my dribbling skills!

In spite of my thoughts and dreams for the up coming high school season the summer dragged on.  I knew that my siblings had more important things to do than to visit us but really they did not come home often enough in my estimation.  That coupled with my increasing uneasiness of our farm life made the summer drag on and on and on.  

Fall finally came and school, or should I say sports, saved the day.  Our team won the conference championship and I was voted captain for the next year.  Basketball ended kind of not so good but we did get 5th place in the state after being voted #1 in the polls several times.  During those school days the farm, the antique ways of Dad and the aloneness of siblings off living their own lives kind of got put in the background.  

Enough for today I think.