I can not imagine now, hanging clothes for 7 people and one a baby. Of course, my mom did her wash on the board, so I had it easier than she did. My parents did not have electricity until after I left home. It was installed in 1951. The bad things I remember about my childhood was the cold blizzards, far worse than I have see since then and those hot steamy days with so many gnats and flies, not forgetting the mosquitoes either. I really did not feel we were so poor. I knew we were, but I did not feel that it was so bad. We entertained ourselves by listening to the radio, reading and visiting neighbors each week. Most places that we visited, we played music, such as the piano, guitar, mandolin, violin, banjo and other instruments. Most all of us sang. It was fun and so enjoyable. Sometimes some played cards. We kids played with our friends in the trees and every girl had a playhouse outside. Our car gasoline coming and going was the full expense. I well remember an old Captain's chair with the back torn off that mama used to set her wash tub on. I could envision a grand piano when I looked at it. I painted a keyboard on the top and had MANY concerts on it for several years. I literally pined for a piano. Daddy and mama found an old piano in a community hall in Cherokee. They were trying to dispose of it and gave it to us. Dad repaired and tuned it and it was all mine. We never heated the living room where it sat. During the first winter, I went in there and played "Chop Sticks" over and over. That was all I knew how to play. I remember my daddy, who NEVER got the least hostile, told me if I did not quit playing that "Bleep" song, he was going to get rid of my piano. He finally taught me the notes and where the keys were on the piano and I learned to play on my own. I learned to play "Under the Double Eagle" a song that I heard Gordon Smith play that I loved. Gordon, a bachelor, and his mother lived a few miles from us. They were great friends of my parents. I loved it when we went to their house every week and he would play especially at my request. The Caywoods were all very musical. Daddy could play any instrument that he picked up. He learned to play the piano not long before he died in 1960. He learned while mom worked out and we did not know he was doing it until one day he asked Lila and me to come into the living room. He sat down at the piano while we just sat down and looked at each other. Then he played a beautiful melody by ear and shocked us!! We have a movie of him playing, but no sound. Oh, how I wish we could hear it now! Daddy rarely ever raised his voice to us, but when he did, we respected him and were so very ashamed of what we had done to make him angry. He once threatened to break the only record we had that we played over and over on a hand cranked phonograph. The song was "No Body's Darlin' but Mine Love" by Jimmie Davis. One had to crank the phonograph quite often or the tone was slow and low. We did not care, rather I did not. I just loved music!! 
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Created December 21, 2020
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