by Kay

THE CHAIR


The chair in the corner is from Grandma and Grandpa's dining room set.  We use it when we need an extra seat at our table.  And it is as sturdy now as it was all those years ago.

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When Don, Duane and I were young, Grandpa loved to play checkers with us.  We always sat at the dining room table.  I like to think perhaps this is the chair I sat on while playing.  Grandpa always let us win the first game. Then the next game, after we both made several moves, he would jump and remove all of our pieces without us taking any of his.  We knew he was an expert checkers player, but we kept playing hoping to outsmart him just once, but to no avail.  And Grandpa always chuckled with that twinkle in his eye when he once again took us down.

I always sat at the same place, on the same chair, whether playing checkers or having our Sunday afternoon dinner with our family, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Harriet and Uncle Clarence, and cousins Dodo and Jim. Grandma always sat two chairs to my left. We would feast on fried chicken, scalloped corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade breads and rolls, and of course Grandma's dill pickles.  All through dinner I would eat pickles.  I loved dill pickles and Grandma's were the best.  Grandma would always say, "Kay, you're going to turn into a pickle".

For dessert Grandma served her homemade pies.  When I was served my pie, I would take another dill pickle and place it on the plate next to my pie.  After I ate my pie, I finished off with the dill pickle as I wanted that to be the final taste in my mouth.

I was really happy when Mom gave me the chair many years ago, but had no idea how attached I would become to it.  Images of me on "my chair" at Grandma and Grandpa's always enter my mind when I look at it sitting in the corner of my dining area.  I love it and it is my favorite memento from the past.

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by Duane -


Who ever thought back then that we were creating some of the best memories of our lives, dressing up in Grandma's old clothes, making cards out of cereal boxes, just walking through the pastures and I could go on and on.   I still have pleasent dreams about the farm.




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by Roger -


I remember just one meal at the dining room table, with Clarence and Harriet there of course.   I remember just one item from the meal -- the scalloped corn, because it was so good.   I remember exactly where the scalloped corn sat on the table.



My favorite Paulson farm memory -- and it happened many times -- was lying awake in an upstairs bedroom early in the morning.   From somewhere, a rooster would crow.   I could hear Grandma in the kitchen, working with the wood stove.   It seems like I heard the bacon sizzling.   I could hear the announcer on the radio which Grandpa had next to his chair at the dining room table giving the farm report.   Grandpa would sit a little hunched with his head down, leaning towards the radio.

Other memories of the upstairs bedrooms:

The mattress I slept on was soft and saggy.   The quilts were musty. The air was incredibly fresh.   The night-time was pitch black.   In other words, it was all perfect.

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by Kay -


The Paulson Farm Kitchen

The kitchen was a gathering place.  There always seemed to be a lot of hustle and bustle going on.   Grandma seemed to be at her wood stove cooking a lot of the time and we always had breakfast in the kitchen.  I remember waking up in the upstairs bedroom hearing the bustling sounds downstairs and the smell of eggs and bacon cooking, all fresh from the farm.  I was always afraid of missing out on something so would get downstairs as quickly as possible.  There was never lack of chatter.  Uncle Clarence was usually there too and he was a real talker.  Even if he had eaten something at his house he might have something more and certainly more coffee.   Once the men filled their bellies they headed out to the fields.  

At noon the men came back from the fields for lunch.  There would be a big spread of homemade bread, jams and jellies, sliced tongue and other meats.  No one ever went hungry on the farm.

I remember the kitchen as a happy place. Coincidentally, my place at the dining room table was the same as where Roger sat.  It was the perfect place to sit.

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by Audrey -


The smell of bacon at Grandma's always got me up in the morning. Then went downstairs to eggs, bacon, and toast, served on her colorful dishes.  

I remember arriving at the farm, spilling out of the car and going straight to the rhubarb patch for a rhubarb stalk.  Then walking into the house past the firewood bin and into the kitchen to find the cookie jar just inside the door.  She made the best chocolate chip cookies.  

And that corn casserole was delicious.  Served with roast beef and mashed potatoes with gravy for Sunday dinner.  And pie for dessert. Don't know how so many people fit around the table in that dining room which wasn't very large.

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and.. Pam wrote -

Same upstairs memory sharing a bed with Audrey smelling the bacon.  I still picture Grandpa at the radio when I happen to hear a farm report.

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and.. Roger wrote -

The huge raspberry patch with many rows, where we picked. The raspberries with cream.   The water basin just inside the kitchen door with the dipper.   That water tasted so good, especially with the air being so fresh.

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