HAL EDDIE BLAINE JACK it because that flower bed looked like blossoms in the desert. Three sets of railroad tracks ran in front of our house. One running east, one running west and the third track was for switching box cars. Long trains of more than a hundred box cars passed by 24 hours around the clock. Brightly lignted passenger trains were also routed through Strawberry. Between the back of the house and the river was a slough filled with slimy water, and it came up every Spring, This slough afforded us many hours of fun catching frogs and tadpoles. In those days toilet paper was not to be had. In answer to the call of nat¬ure, an old battered Sears-Roebuck catalog was the perfect solution. Besides, it gave you plenty of time to day dream over its picture filled pages and wish. There were swarms of pesky flies around in the Summer which would literally cover the ceiling of the back porch. Early in the crispy, chilly mornings, when the flies were half paralized with the cold, Father would sweep them off the ceiling, gather them up with a broom and dust pan and dispatch them in the pot bellied stove. Since there was no central heating this pot bellied stove had to provide the heat for the entire house. We were the first in the town to buy a 'Heaterola' which provided more even heat. Coal oil lamps were used for lighting and It was all us kid's job every Saturday to clean the lamp chimneys with newspaper to re¬move the soot which had accumulated during the week. It was a dirty job and we all hated to do it. Water was obtained from a nearby pump and had to be hauled to the house for the Saturday night baths, which was heated on the stove. This ritual took place in the wash house where a curtain was hung to divide the room, one part for the boys and one part for the girls. MARK KAY 344