We had a snow day yesterday and are an hour late today. I spent my spare time reading Audrey's book Old Days on the Prairie by Tom Kilian. It is about life in Vilas between World War 1 and World War 2. The author must have grown up about the same time as Grandpa and Grandma T. Vilas's high school closed as he was starting high school so he road the train to Howard and began as a freshman in 1936. I am not a history buff, but found the book very interesting. There was much I did not know about that period in Miner County and Vilas. One halloween kids were out tipping over outdoor bathrooms and the blacksmith shot one of the teenagers in the head and killed him. He served time in the SD pen. Ruskin Park and Forestburg melons are mentioned along with the Watkins man and gypsies. I can not remember there being gypsies in my time. He talked about cutting a plug out of the watermelon to see if they were ripe several times. At a picnic a teenager cut a plug out, filled it with moonshine, and put the plug back in. The kids had a great time pretending to be under the influence if they were not actually so. He also talks about the teacher making him stand in front with the palms of his hands facing up and hitting him with the metal part of a wooden ruler. His hands did not bleed but were swollen up and stiff for several days. I can remember Mrs. Blume doing that to Jim O'Neal in the 3rd grade. Audrey mentioned in the blog that there was another book. I may be borrowing that from her in the future.
Betty
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2 comments:
Ruskin park--don't you remember the end of the school year the elementary got to take the bus over there; we had potluck provided by the parents I'm sure; and got to roller skate all day. They would turn off the lights, and have glittering lights, we'd each get a new summer outfit; and we all came home with blisters. But that was the most fun day of school. KAthie
That's really interesting. There must have only been a few copies printed, because I checked amazon.com. The other title is Tales of Old Dakota.
Sixty degrees and cherry blossoms here near DC. Karen in WV
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