The Horse Adjutant doors on the floor, under the welcome mat, that you could pull up to access the underground cellar. That is where we kept the food supplies. At the time there was no such thing as a refrigerator, so we just placed the food into the cellar to keep it from freezing in the winter or spoiling in the heat of the summer. This did a good job of taking care of perishable food, especially during the cold months. The only exception was that once in a while we had to buy a block of ice wrapped in sawdust from Krieger’s if it got too warm during the height of the summer. Our home had all of the amenities that were common for our area in the 1930s. My mom’s pride and joy was her fur- niture. It was made from mahogany and was covered with
Schagrin Family Well
an expensive French varnish. We also had our own well for water. All we had to do was turn the crank to lift the wooden bucket and as if by some miracle, we had fresh water. Having our own well was far better than walking to a common well and carry- ing heavy buckets. Next to the well, we planted a small garden where we grew string beans on long poles, tomatoes, radishes, and onions. They grew well because we had plenty of horse manure to fertilize it and it didn’t hurt to provide a little extra water from the well in the event of a dry spell. It got very dark at night. To counter the darkness we had a few lamps that burned kerosene. Reading by the firelight, sitting near the heat of the woodstove made for a cozy home. My parent’s bedroom also had a wood heater to keep it warm on cold nights. Inside both the heaters we would place a brick to help maintain the warmth. The wood would burn, and the brick would get hot. This added an extra measure of heat for the room once the fire burned out. On the side of the house, we had an overhang to give a little protection for the car- riages. This open-air room had a tar-paper roof. We kept all of our tools under this roof, as well as enough wood and coal to last the six months of winter. The little bit of protection it offered helped keep the wood and coal dry and ready for use while extending the life of the carriage. I thought there was only one thing missing from our house: fruit trees. We did not have a single fruit tree, but at least one of our neighbors, the Gorskis, had a few. My mother used to send me to their home to buy the milk and eggs that they produced on their farm outside of town. I think to this day they still own that place. I remem- ber this family well since I was not such a good boy, and I would steal fruit from their
47
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator