Summer Recreation Programs

What to do with these kids in the summertime!

The Old Farmer, and most of the rural folk, were active in the volunteer fire department.

Whenever the siren went off they all hopped in their cars 

and headed over to the fire department

to see where to go and get the trucks on the road. Day or night.

But this story is about the summer program for children.

Mothers would drop us off in the morning.

We would find our friends and get into the toy room.

This farmers daughter and her friend would get the pogo sticks 

and play on the front sidewalk.

Organized activities were braiding vinyl cord into whistle lanyards 

and making plaster bowls in stone parking lot, 

decorated with strategically placed stones.

Twice a week we got to go to the local swimming "lakes" or  ponds
to have swimming lessons and fun. We had to have a buddy for safety
and periodically the leader would blow a whistle and we had to hold hands
with our partner and hold them up. Hopefully there was never someone 

without a partner. Happy to say this never happened in my experience.
 

There also was a church program for two weeks in the summer. 

A long bus ride would deliver us to a centrally located church.

We got religious instruction and discussion. And mass. The older kids played ball.

The younger may have raced and played tag. And we juice and cookies. 

The Old Farmer's Daughters would enjoy sneaking off to the corner store
for a snack we would savor while sitting on a ledge on the front of the stone church.

We were bad   : 0