One of my memories during the depression years was when my dad had a job by Big Stone Lake as a gravel checker. It was too far to drive so he moved us down to the Lake. We borrowed Maurice Opsals army tent and settled in. Our folks would fish and I think we had fish at least 2 meals a day. I still like fish. The day we packed up to move Lorraine was missing. Clarice called, "I found her!" She was in the lake face down, but Clarice had her by the seat of the pants pulling her out. I guess she didn't think she needed any air. However, things turned out well after dad lifted her out of the water. Clarice got praised for finding her. I just wanted to stay by the lake. I don't know how long we lived by the lake, probably a couple of weeks, but it was carefree. One those great moments.
Sometimes when I think of the past, there were many, many good things or I thought so anyway. The bad time was when mother died. It seemed like a very lonely house after that. But dad took good care of us and even if we didn't like some of the rules I realize he was doing the best he could. In wintertime, the living room had a glow to it that no fireplace could compete with. We had a hard coal heater with see-thru windows. We had a round oak table dad would have us sit and do our home work at or to write a thank you note to Aunt Margreth if she wrote us. It was a must. Dad would hold us on his lap and read the comic strip and paper when we were little. I don't remember when we learned the Lord's Prayer because mom and dad always had us say our prayers at night and also at meals around our oak table. You wouldn't think that a round table would have a head place for dad to sit at. Wrong. Dad had his place to sit and mother was to the right...closer to the kitchen. The youngest sat in the highchair in between mother and dad. The 2nd youngest sat to the left of dad so he also could help if needed and so on by ages. I liked that old table. It would pull out to a longer table if needed. When it was not needed, we discovered it had a shelf...you know the rest. Anything we didn't like we tried to hide it in there. Sometimes it worked, too. That round table we learned to roller-skate around holding on for safety. We played games, played ping pong...which didn't work too well, we drew and colored pictures and looked at the Sears Roebuck catalogue. When we were outside we would take our sled and slide down the big hill from Pleet's past Opsal's and start over again. In the summer it was roller-skates. When my daughter Joyce and her husband wanted a tour of Sisseton and where we lived, they asked where the big hill was. I told them "Right there!" pointing it out to them. They not only snickered but they laughed! I think it did shrink though, or else you have to be a short kid walking in snow to remember it as I did.
In the summertime Dad would take us to Pickeral Lake. He'd stop at Lohre's Station to visit a bit and then leave for the Lake...but it was always after church on Sundays, as dad worked 6 days a week. If the area around our picnic table had rubbish around it, we had to pick it up... even though we felt we didn't leave it and we just wanted to get in the lake. But it was of no use to argue. We never left papers around when we left either. We had our lunch and afterwards we played in the lake. Dad sat by himself watching us have fun and hoping we wouldn't drown. If he felt we were too daring, he warned us. If that didn't work, we came out...end of that.
Summers also meant the excitement of the carnival. I remember it used to be on Main Street. I remember the Ferris Wheel. Dad gave us each 25 cents for the three days. When it was gone...that was it. I remember a circus came to town but we never even asked for money for it. But we went to look anyways. Dad also always had a Christmas Tree for us. Gifts were very slim, but seemed fine to us. Didn't seem like anyone else had any more than we did. I guess the best thing dad left us was to remember we were never better than any one else and we weren't less than anyone else and to care for each other. I wish I would have had more time to know each other as adults.
