Good Times

I just had to put this charming picture of Granny Freddie and Grand Pal Opie in the blog. It was taken in 1970, on their front porch. Freda is wearing a red dress. She said it was her favorite color but when she was young a lady did not wear red. Also she wore her nylon hose with a garder just below the knees. Most of the time her skirt tail was long enough to hide them.

Notice that Opie has his house shoes on. He would wear his knee high gum boots to the barn and always change his shoes when he came back to the house. You did not come back from the barn or garden to inside the house. If he did, I imagine, Freda would have chased him out with the broom.

Dogs or cats were allowed indoors. Animals belonged outside. They could stay on the porch or go to the barn to keep warm. They usually had a collie dog to help with the cows. One of the boys brought in the beagle. They kept it and named him Slugo. I was told that, Slugo killed a chicken. That was almost like a death sentence for a dog. But instead, Opie tied the chicken around the dogs neck and let him wear it for a few days. Slugo never killed another chicken. I'm not sure if this was true. But, it did sound like something Opie would do.

The two boys, Jeff and Mark, in the picture are Great Grand Children and also first cousins. Both were born on the same day but one year apart. Mark still loves corn on the cob. I love the way Opie is looking at Mark. My husband gives people the same look. It must be a family trait. They were also alike in a lot of other ways.