A Penny a rock?
Daddy decided it was time for us kids to have a "hot dog party" the day he surprised us with this huge 36" (diameter) commercial hot-dog cooking machine that twirled around as it cooked the dogs. The Party's Theme: collecting rocks . . . lots of rocks . . . and each rock thrown into a designated area would be worth a penny a piece to the finder!
As you can imagine, this successful spontaneous summer party was very well attended by all of our elementary school friends who lived within walking distance, cousins, aunts and uncles included.
What a party and a fun time with kids racing around yelling and screaming with delight. As evening approached, each one of us had enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of hilarious and exhilarating party events inluding the comraderie of young and old, a weiner roast, a dollar or two for the piggy bank and lots of smiles.
Preparing our back and side yards was so much fun! And soon to become a reality was Dad's famous tomato and vegetable garden, Uncle Paul's peach, plum and apple trees, the evergreen trees that border the property first as little twigs, but later to grow at least 35 feet (we ordered 100 for $1.00 from Oregon from a Sunday newspaper advertisement), and finally the grass and the flowers (of course).
Wonder where Daddy acquired that carousel hot dog cooker, each hot dog doing its own circular dance as the carousel whirled and flashed, the inspiration for the stone picking party. Everyone was there -- Uncles & aunts, all our friends, teenage Grace (our neighbor), Cousin Charlie and his friends. We cleared the yard of its stones and made way for Dad's vegetable garden that would soon be the centerpiece of our back yard, for the apple trees that Uncle Paul would soon plant, and for the flowers that would light the life of our grandmother, our grandfather, our aunts, our uncles, all survivors. It was the most fun that work ever has been!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love your title! And thank you for conjuring up the memory for us.
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