Today is nephew Craig Schafer’s 59th birthday. Just thinking about this fellow as a squirrely youngster brings up a whole bunch of memories.
At a time Carrie was a toddler and I was due to have Kevin in July of that summer, Orlin’s brother Frank and his wife Gloria would ask us to take the boys, Frank and Craig, for a week or for weeks on end. We had them stay with us before Kevin was born and they were also on board shortly after he was born. That would have been in 1968, making Craig going on just 11 and I think Frank was three or four years older than Craig. These two fellows were turned loose on our farm. It’s a good thing there were 160 acres. Our small farm home seemed to expand and everyone was comfortable, just not with a lot of privacy sometimes.
Anywhere there was an engine or a motor, you could find the boys. The activity that could have been on the end of a shovel, rake or fork did not interest them in the least. If these two were awake and moving, needless to say, it did take both Orlin and I to keep an eye on these two.
We had young calves in the grove west of the farmyard and one day when Orlin was busy in the barn, the boys had the rider lawnmower, using it as a scooter, doing a Hee Haw with the young stock. Me and my big belly, with Carrie following behind, beat feet to call a halt for that bit of entertainment. Electric fences are great, but not for four legged calves running hell bent.
The summer of 1968 drove home the point: town boys with lots of curiosity and energy can keep the farm hopping. There were many good times as the boys learned how to be a part of the family. I do remember Frank, holding Kevin when he was just a few weeks old. Frank loved holding Kevin and he was very good abut it. I would wonder where Kevin’s socks were and Frank would fess up that he had taken them off so he could hold Kevin’s feet in his hands. He couldn’t get over how tiny they were. The boys didn’t have much contact with small children. Tender moments such as that did happen quite often. The boys would take time to give Carrie rides in the wagon until her eyes told them a nap was coming. Often Craig and Frank would read to her so I could get things going in the kitchen for a meal. We won’t go into the amount of food these two boys could go through.
Orlin and I did get through the summer as we were, for the most part, a family of six. I don’t think Frank and Gloria had a clue as to what our days entailed. Hmm.
Oh, for the memories of that summer. I was still learning about having babies and taking care of them, while also getting a first hand dose of what young boys can add to the mix.
