Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, July 1944 #16

Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, July 1944, #16
Well, several of y’all has asked me what was it like to live on a little farm way back yonder in 1944. Okay, just listen up and I’ll tell you. First off, and the mostest important part of living on the farm is not being seen…uh, huh, at least not being seen by your daddy. If you think I’m gonna walk out to the barn when daddy is tending to the mules, you’ve got another think coming. Sure as I do he’s gonna put a shovel or rake in my hand. So the way it usually works best for me is to run in the house after school, chunk my books in my room and head for Flat Creek Swamp. Heck, just fooling around or going swimming in the creek sure beats hoeing in the garden or feeding the chickens. But you know you’ve alway gotta show up at supper or dinner, if it’s in the summer, and I can’t eat fast enough to keep from getting a list of chores as long as your arm. Heck, I won’t even get sat down until daddy will say, “Richard when you gather eggs this afternoon, clean the manure out of the chicken house.” And before I can even tell a little white lie and say, “Uh, Daddy, I done cleaned it out….” Daddy will jump in and say something like, “Oh, yeah, Richard and get the garden hose and wash the mules.” Yep, it’s work, work, work, and sometimes I think I’m gonna drop dead…well, it ain’t that bad, but living on a farm will shore nuff keep you busy. But you know, it ain’t all bad. Heck, I swim in the creek in a great swimming hole almost every day, and go fishing, pick blackberries, and just have all kinds of fun. Just thinking about it makes me be glad I live on a farm. Shoot, I might get stung by a bee or wasp and you gotta watch out for snakes, but it’s worth it to run free in the woods.