We always had baseball equipment to play with due to my brother'sinterest. We would play ball in the street and in a lot at the cornerof Chapin and Thad Chapin Streets. The trees, High banks and unevenground helped me to become a good center-fielder when I played on aflat baseball field. That was easy after running up and down thosehills and I could catch anything. The only toys that Ray and I hadwere fairly simple. We took the wheels off an aged infant buggy and nailedthem on the end of a stick. We would run around the home pushing itby the hour.

At Christmas time we were allowed to open one toy when we got up inthe morning. My favorite, which I asked for every month, was a wind uptractor with rubber treads which we would try to make climb overstacks of books on the floor. We would also roll marbles down thegroove in the bottom of skis to knock down houses made of cards. Myolder brothers and sisters who were married would arrive around noonfor Christmas dinner and there were usually about twenty there. Afterdinner we would open the presents in the parlor. There were so many ofus that we would draw names for the person to whom we gave gifts.