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Life at Home

Our meals at home were simple but healthy. Usually there were pancakes or oatmeal with cream and milk for breakfast…

During Christmas and on Sundays

During such gatherings

Although Father loved America

Almost all the Landsverks

I especially remember

The music that still lingers in my heart

In early spring’s warm sunshine

Threshing time was an exciting time

The threshing crew of four

Christmas was the biggest event

Then on Christmas even when

There was never a big pile

When Mother was able to

When I was around 14 years Mother became very sick and was in great pain. But I was used to Mother being sick and getting better again. It was Father’s grief and helplessness at the thought of maybe losing Mother that touched my heart. I imagine he felt the need to share his grief with someone. He said he knew he was selfish to pray and hope that Mother would get well again because she longed to go where there is no sickness or pain. He asked me to help Mother all I could. But many a night I realized I had run away to play and forgot to help when I could. I would add a petition to my prayer, “Please, God, don’t take Mother away because I forgot to help.” Our prayers were answered. Mother became better for a while, but she was always too ambitious for her frail health. After some months she got sick again and had to stay in bed for many weeks.

I was getting my first real lessons in housekeeping, as Mother would patiently explain and encourage me from her bed. Housekeeping at that time was different than now. Bread had to be set the night before, kneaded and made into several loaves and baked the next day. Butter must be churned, salted, and put in two gallon crocks, the churn washed and put away, clothes scrubbed on washboard, the white clothes boiled in a boiler which was heated on the kitchen range. Father helped scrub the heavy clothes and lift sheets out of the boiler.

I got quite disgusted at Father sometimes when I had cleaned the house thoroughly, at least I thought I had. But he would find dust on window sills and chaff behind things. I’m sure Mother, too, noticed dust where I forgot to look, but when she knew I had tried my best, she only praised what I had done well. I have a feeling she wiped away the dust that I missed when she was able to and I didn’t see. I remember getting very discouraged and sick and tired of doing the same chore over and over day after day. Sometimes tears blinded me so I couldn’t even see the pots and pans.

I didn’t especially care for school so the winters when I was 14 and 15 I went to school only enough days to stay within the requirements of the school laws at that time. One thing bothered me. My classmates teased and claimed I had to stay home to learn my confirmation lessons.

Ole liked school and learned easily. It was decided he ought to go to high school in Rushford. It meant sacrificing for Father and Mother to do without his help and to pay board or send food along for the week. It wasn’t easy for country kids to stay in town and go to school. the town kids took much pleasure in making fun of the hay seeds and made life as miserable as possible. Getting home on weekends was a struggle. It was necessary to catch a ride on a lumber wagon or bob sleigh or walk. Ole got a bicycle the last years.

By the time I was 16 I had grown big and strong. Mother was much better now. Gunhild would soon be out of school. She liked school but it was considered a waste of time and money to send a girl to high school at that time. She would most likely only get married anyway.

It didn’t seem likely that Halvor would care to go to high school. He didn’t like reading and writing but rather showed signs of becoming an artist. He could draw real well.

Mother and Father believed that work was the best remedy to keep youngsters out of mischief. So they put in couple acres of truck garden consisting mostly of a large strawberry field, potatoes, cattle beets, beans and pop corn. As I helped to hoe those seemingly endless rows, I remember I longed to get away from home. None of our friends had hoeing to do.

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Next chapter: Breaking Loose