Milford chronicle., 1949-09-02
Rumpus Rooms

rro THEIR ATTRACTIVE home
my neighbor and his wife are
adding an addition. rumpus room
for their boys.
That room, sizeable one, has a
floor especially constructed for
dancing. The room will be equipped
with phonograph. radio. televsion.
a screen and protector for movies,
movie cameras to produce films
showing people. their friends, and
places and scenes they have vis-
tied.
AS l have watched the work
men erect that play place for
boys Of this generation II
served 10 recall for me che
various rumpus rooms ! en-
jOyed in the boyhOOd Of my
generation. There were several
Of them for different seasons
of the year. Some of them did
not then associate with play
time, but as look back at
them now they all provided
boyhOOd recreation.
Chief of the summer runpus
rooms was the swimming hole in
Longs creek. 1t was mile from
town, a place where no girl was
permitted within seeing distance.
There were no automobiles. BIZ
cycles, Scooters or roller skates
for transportation. We boys ran
the mile to the creek. but we in
variably walked home.
Another summer rumpus room
were the wild berry patches. OF
course Mother would always want
to can or make jelly at inopportune
times, but just the same, we en-
joyed the picking, the races to
fill the pals, and especially the
eating times in the winter months.
Still another was the family garden
with weeds to be pulled and, when
rains did not come at needed times,
the water to be carried from the
well that there might be potatoes.
beets, turnips, beans and other
root or vine crops, an essential
part of the family larder for the
winter. And they were appreciated
as good eating and compensated
for the chores of summer.
In the fall there were nuts to
be gathered, and the woods
became the rumpus room. The
hickory nuts, black waInuts,
butternuts, hazel nuts were the
winter evening feasts that pro-
vided amusements and goodies
instead of the phOnograph, the
radio or the movies of to-day,
and they were pleasant eve-
nings.
The long, snow-covered hill in
front of the home and the ice GOV.
cred mill pond at the bottom Of
that hill were the rumpus room
of the winter season. Belly-buster-
ing down that hill on homemade
sleds afforded more pleasure than
can be supplied today by radio or
television. A roaring fire on the
l banks of the pond and a pair OF
5 ice skates were more fun than the
then non-existent movies could
: have provided.
: Another of the many, but not the
least important, Of the rumpus
ro0Y,oc rf NM Ioaxyhood 5o1,r ,,,,. A. =
> family wood pile and the dead red
: elm logs that were to be cut into
cook and heating stove lengths.
They certainly provided the physi.
cal exercise a boy needed to keer
the red blood flowing in his veins
Keeping pace with the wood boz
L demands was never-ending oc
d cupation.
y Through the winter there were
rabbits to be trapped in boy-mads
! traps. What treat was mine wher
= dad would praise me for the fooc
: could contribute to the family
E kitchen table. The same thrill was
= my reward when in the spring
! when the ice in the creek had melt
l' ed, I could catch mess of bull
. heads. My equipment was one
II priced fish hook fastened to a cot
y ton string and a willow branch fol
a pole. Those bull heads we're no
nearly so large as they seemed-s
half FOUNDER would be whopper-
but because l caught them the,
tasted better than mountain trout
Such were some Of the rune
pus room privileges Of bOyhOod
in my generation. For the pres
emt generation it Is decidedly
different, but am not SO sure
of It is more pleasing. We elders
10 strive and strain that our chill
in dren may have more than we
re had in our youth, but we too
a. had fun, ard we enjoyed Il,
yh beth work and play. I am not
n. sure I would wish TO exchange
jv the rumpus rooms Of my boy
~ hood days for those we provide
10 for the boys Of to-day. Ours
%. were as nature and boys made
item. They were real.
90
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