The house on Newland Dr. was mostly built by my father with some help from friends. I don't know the square footage, but it was a comfortable house for a family of four.
It consisted of a Living room, a very small formal dinning room, (originally) a very small kitchen, two bedrooms connected by a long hall with the bathroom off the center of the hall. In addition, there was a long breezeway down the right side of the house extending halfway around the back portion of the house. This breezeway was enclosed with several windows on the outside walls.
As mentioned the kitchen was originally very small when I was the same. Papa took out the backwall and extended it into the back breezeway spaxe behind the kitchen. Therefore there was room to sit at a decent sized table in one portion with food preparation taking place in the other part. I'll note here that the renovation of the kitchen was a major event. First of all somehow a mouse got killed in the construction area and stunk so bad work had to be stopped until it was located and disposed of-most likely it was taken into the back yard and thrown over the fence. The second event dealt with the time of year this was happening. It was early summer I think and the flies were very bad that year. Since that part of the house was open to the outside for two or three days the kitchen was flooded with so many flies we couldn't eat there, so during that time we had an extended picnic outside where there were fewer flies.
There was a long concrete front porch with a couple of rose bushes in front of it. Of course the front door was located here. It had a skeleton key lock that was rusted and inoperative by the time I knew what was going on. Thus, our house remained unlock for a few years. Then, for reasons unknown to me Papa got out the penetrating oil and got the lock working again after buying a skeleton key from the five and dime store. A little later Papa bought a deadbolt lock. The odd thing is no one ever tried to break into our house while we lived in it. As soon as we sold it and someone else moved in they were burglarized almost immediately. I guess everyone knew we were too poor to have anything valuable enough to steal.
Showing posts with label My Life-Child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Life-Child. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
504 E. Newland Dr
I grew up a mile off of Hwy 77 on East Newland Drive in Robinson, TX. The house number was 504. Our home consisted of a house and fifty one acres of land. My father bought the land after World War II with a loan granted from the GI Bill.
The house was located in in the front center of the property on the top of a hill. Our yard was about one and a half acres bordered by a barbed wire fence. There were two large Cottonwood trees to the left of the house with another one just behind the house on the left corner-right in front of the back bedroom my brother and I occupied. Also on the left side of the house were four or five pear trees. And, a single Mulberry tree stood guard over my parents bedroom in front of the house. In spite of my father's efforts to plant more trees that was it. Every time he planted a new tree some farmers cow got out , came to our yard and ate the tree down to the ground.
About a hundred feet or so behind our back fence was a small tin barn where my father kept a few cows and calves at various times when I was young. Mostly all I remember of cattle was an old milk cow and a couple of calves.
Further back on the property was a stock tank-a hole bulldozed out of the ground on a side of the hill with the dirt pushed up to form a rim to hold the water on the lower side of the tank. I had lots of adventures there as a kid. And, there was always fishing.
The rest of the land was covered with weed mostly. However there were lots of Indian Paint Brushes, Blanket Flowers, Black Eyed Susans and so forth in the spring. And, there was a system of gulleys where much fun could be had as a child.
The house was located in in the front center of the property on the top of a hill. Our yard was about one and a half acres bordered by a barbed wire fence. There were two large Cottonwood trees to the left of the house with another one just behind the house on the left corner-right in front of the back bedroom my brother and I occupied. Also on the left side of the house were four or five pear trees. And, a single Mulberry tree stood guard over my parents bedroom in front of the house. In spite of my father's efforts to plant more trees that was it. Every time he planted a new tree some farmers cow got out , came to our yard and ate the tree down to the ground.
About a hundred feet or so behind our back fence was a small tin barn where my father kept a few cows and calves at various times when I was young. Mostly all I remember of cattle was an old milk cow and a couple of calves.
Further back on the property was a stock tank-a hole bulldozed out of the ground on a side of the hill with the dirt pushed up to form a rim to hold the water on the lower side of the tank. I had lots of adventures there as a kid. And, there was always fishing.
The rest of the land was covered with weed mostly. However there were lots of Indian Paint Brushes, Blanket Flowers, Black Eyed Susans and so forth in the spring. And, there was a system of gulleys where much fun could be had as a child.
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