I am going to continue my thrashing story from the previous weeks. During trashing days, we worked till late summer dark, went home and milked about twenty cows, then had to separate the cream on an old hand turned separator before we could eat and go to bed. But we boys had to shower upon reaching home. Our open air shower was far from the house. It consisted of a pipe that ran about forty feet from the wooden water tower. This outdoor shower was close to the gate that led to the barn, right beside the open field where coyotes, wolves and foxes came to drink and roamed freely.

I always began shower negotiations in the back of the truck that brought us home from the thrashing field. Giles would offer. "Bouncer, I’ll give you thirty-five cents pay tonight if you will hop off the truck, run in the house and get my clean underwear and a towel, I’ll go ahead, start my shower, and when I’ve finished, I’ll hold the spot under the shower for you to be next." Then I’d tell Buddy of Giles’s offer to see if I could get a higher bid.

All three of us knew whoever went last and was out there alone ran a risk of being joined in the dark by wolves, coyotes, foxes and other scary things that bit and slithered. When Giles saw me negotiating with Buddy, he would up the ante and I’d get at least a nickel raise. With each ten cents I could get a WWII defense stamp at the Post Office. I loved adding stamps to my book as I was supporting my country and helping my brothers at the same time.

When Giles finished showering in the dark outside, I’d pass his clothes to him and get under the shower while he dried off. I had to shower fast or Giles would be first to the supper table, speed up his chores and beat us to bed.

Meanwhile, Buddy made his deal with Mama to come out and fight off the wolves while he showered in the pitch dark. Giles and I didn’t think Buddy had to pay Mama as she wouldn’t have taken his money anyway, but simply fought off roaming wolves as part of her motherly duties.

James, Giles and Buddy were inducted into the army in the early forties, and we were truly caught up in this world conflict as a family. Captive German soldiers from Camp Howze came to the farm to cut wood.

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