Homestead 1 1 7

which gave it a splendid appearance.

A mostly black McClarey range, new with the house, graced one corner of the kitchen with the pipe extending up through the ceiling and into the chimney which began in the room above. The stove was easy to light and an excellent heater and included a much-used warming oven up above which we always called the “warming closet”. The house had no other source of heat and in colder weather the kitchen became the family room by neces- sity. Except for the kitchen and the bedroom directly overhead which got heat from the protruding stove pipe, it is safe to say that the remainder of the house was ordinarily quite frigid in colder weather. A hot iron or brick wrapped in many layers of newspaper and tied with a bag string was often the incentive needed to take off for the outer regions of the house at bedtime in winter.

Shortly after the house was built Dad began moving near it the best of the buildings from the old homestead beyond the railway tracks. First to come was a 12 by 20 structure which he placed just next toihe house where it served as pump house, work shop and general catch all. It was known to us as “the shanty” and was the scene of much activity, conversation and socializing over the years. In one corner stood the ever-faithful pump, reaching a depth of sixty feet and light enough to be used with one hand. Next to come down were the two barns which were set close together to begin a new barnyard. The larger or main barn was 25 by 40 and contained the cow and horse stable: at either end plus a middle or work floor area and granary. Up above were the hay and straw lofts at either end with a flexible middle loft filled in winter but removed in summer. The smaller barn was 20 by 30 with good loft space and was used below to house young cattle and pigs. It was nicknamed “the rink” be- cause for years its main floor area was quite uneven and took in water easily. In the early 40s Dad gave this smaller barn a complete indoor face lift with cement floors, tidy animal pens with sliding doors and a good drainage system. We youngsters watched this project with great interest and loved to work in the place after its renovation. Rounding out the barnyard proper were a small “sost house” with attached pig pen and a trim gable-roofed privy tucked a few feet behind the barn. Near the dwelling appeared in its time a small ice house in which were packed fresh each winter over a number of years large blocks of ice covered with sawdust for summer use. Not far from the dwelling for many years stood a root cellar called “the green-