Flashback to 1957

Far Guy and I had a discussion this week about the neighborhood.  We wondered exactly when the old Linnell School was demolished. We think it must have dissappeared in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s.  You could see it from the farm where I grew up …it should show up in photos.  I couldn’t remember any photos.

Then I was looking at an old photo of my baby brother…who will soon be older than me even though he was born second.

The school is above my baby brothers head.  We are standing out by the old lightpole and near the cloths line, the pasture is in the background and the school is beyond the pasture. 

I think this photo was probably taken in 1957…that is how many years ago…sixty if my math is correct.

Today is the day 63 years ago that I became a big sister.  I think I should get an award or something.

Happy Birthday to my baby brother!

My Brother

Fifty-Five years ago today was a monumental day in my life. I was two and a half years old. My brother was born, I had to learn to share my parents attention. He had colic, he made everyone tired. My parents walked the floor with him for many, many months.

I learned many things by having a brother, how to accurately pitch a baseball while he played either catcher or batter. We played "horse" on our improvised basketball court, we practiced game winning free throws for hours. We played badminton in the front yard. We went fishing and swimming together. We learned to hunt and shoot a rifle together. We learned how to ride a motorcycle as young teens. We learned to drive the old farm truck around in the grain fields. We both joined 4 H at the same time. I guess I am a bit of a tomboy..because of my brother.
In the winter we played endless card games like War, and Rummy. Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Sorry, Monopoly and Parcheesi were our favorite board games. We collected Baseball cards together.

When we got older sometimes we were a bit physical with each other, I was bigger and stronger..so I usually won. We would take turns slugging each other in the upper arms..the first one to cry lost. We played a terrible game, where you spit on two of your fingers and then hit the other one on the exposed forearm..welts would line up on his poor arms. We played the horrible pocket knife game (Chicken) with bare feet, both of us escaped any major stab wounds to our feet..either the knife was dull or we were good knife throwers. We had major arm wrestling competitions..sometimes I would let him win those.

My brother loves sports, he lives and breathes football, softball and soccer. In his free time..he coaches, referees and umpires in the rain..because he lives in Oregon..far away from Minnesota. I miss him some days, like today..when I would just like to grab him and give him a big hug. Happy Birthday to my brother! :)

The summer of 1954, our Dad , my brother and me! I was amazed by this photo, I never realized before how much my brother looks like Dad.