Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-09
News From Neighboring Localities
KAMPEsKA AND RICHLAND


Edgar Guest the other day. I had
laid it away in my dictionary some
time ago. Rediscovering it. | rereadl
it also. As / read ii I thought to my
self, why that just about fits my case.
| am changing in my feeling, etc, to-
ward q big snow and blow and the
drifts and all.
When / was a boy the harder it
showed, the harder it blew IN the
deeper the drifts, the keener my pleas
ure,the greater my JOY, the more hi
larious the sport. Those Were the
days of hand-knitted, wooden zeal
wool, tool socks and cow-hide boots, ma
ov%ershoes. / never knew of a pair of
ershes when | was a country school
boy. I was almost through high
school before / ever had on a pair of
overshoes. / suffered more with the
cold in one winter, my feet at least,
than in all The winters since put to-
gether. 1 would stay out of doors un
til my feet would get SO cold that
could hardly walk on them longer
and then, rushing to the house. would
grab the old wooden bootjack Ia very
needful piece of furniture in those
times indeed, jerk my boots off n
stick my feet up to the fire, also of
ten burning wee holes in my socks.
However, / never hao chilblains. The
@fiercer the storm, the greater my de-
light in Drawing it; the deeper the
drifts and the harder the struggle to
wade the better the fun. I remember
once when e%nroute to school, alone,
that / jumped from a tall bank into a
huge drift into which / sank several
of an effort to extricate myself, in
fact. l wasn't a very large boy, but
1 soon discovered / was all right and
could breathe freely under the snow.
The boots would always get soaked
nearly every day. If you We're a care
full lad you would get them q little dry
at eventime and get out the hunk of
tallow and grease 'em up good for the
next day Il used to carry a hard cold,
sore throat and a hoarse voice half Of
the time all winter, caused by the
reckless way we used to tear around
in the snow at school. Coming from
a consumptive, or weak-lunged, family,
it's a wonder l ever survived. But
they say you can't kill a rurt,
Speaking of boots, when / got a new
pair I always. took them to bed with
me, or UP too my "a srrppeofmpb. at least for the
first three or four nights, hen
old place was good enough for them.
Ha. ha. ha. 1 remember distinctly of
one occasion of my having a new pair
of boots. The folks with whom / lived
the years of my boyhood my parents
We're dead were eastern people and
always lived well. ! always could
look forward to a big feed of good
things on Thanksgiving, Christmas or
New Years. We nearly always We're
invited elsewhere or a guests our.
selves upon these days. Jut before a
certain Christmas / had received a
new pair Of the said cow-hide boots. ]
for the night. The next morning, upon
arising 4 conceived the scheme of
jumping into my boots. i stood them
out in the middle of the room, got on
to the bed and tryed 'em out. After
several attempts / gave up and came
down stairs. MY bedroom happened to
be Immediately above the spot in the
room beneath which the table was al
ways set and loaded with dishe and
dinner rpon the occasion. We had
company that time at home. Mrs.
Il Dewey was 4 splendid cook, her din.
ners were worth while. The Inner
was all ready this time and we were
hungry tor at least / was and was
in the act of sitting down when all OF
a sudden down came about a bushel
and a half of h most dirty, dusty old
plaster o ever saw or heard of in all
cleared away and we got the plaster
out of our necks and got a chance to
look at our feed 1t was a pitable
wreack of a dinner that we saw; the
@roast turkey. dressing and brown gra.
Wy, the cranberry sauce. the escallop,
Cyl oySlSlS, lLC ~ PIES lIG ChhSi
the preserves and honey they were all
therel but what a mess there was
We had only a lunch afterwards.
1t ANS to me that self and the
boots We're the cause of the disaster
but, bet your life, / kept mum, sir, just
then at least. However, / was punish
ed quite enough in the loss Of thu
dinner.
Well. the cow-hide boots are but q
memory that we older fellows carry
with us, thanks to the progress Of ely
ilization and humane practice, AND
our zest for the skates, the sled. the
SHOWS, blows and drifts Is abating
which are signs beyond debating
that I {we1 are getting old.
Tho Poem.
I must be getting older
For today it seems to me
the winters are nn,,ch coldar