A Bookmobile came to our little community once a week. My sister, best friend & I each were allowed 4 books. We'd read all 12 before the following Monday when the Bookmobile rolled up to the gradeschool parking lot & we got to climb the steps into the world of treasures on wheels to exchange our books for a fresh batch. Some of the favorites were Nancy Drew mysteries, Clara Barton School Nurse (hmmm - seeds planted? I became a nurse), Five Little Peppers, Bobbsey Twins, The Yearling, Gone with the Wind. I still love to read.
We had chores every day - picking potato bugs off the plants in the garden, shelling peas, snapping green beans, watering the garden, pulling weeds, helping Mom with housework, stemming cherries for canning, stirring batches of jam, hanging & taking laundry off the line in the yard, etc.
Somehow we also found lots of time for hop scotch, jump rope, jacks, tether ball, bike rides, softball, picnic lunches, swimming, roller skating - red straps & skate keys included, exploring the hills around the edge of town. On rainy days we played board games, worked puzzles, learned card games like "Authors".
We were poor, but didn't know it; our treasures weren't measured in money. As I look back, our childhood wasn't perfect, but we were rich indeed in so many ways that really matter.
Thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane.