The back porch

Our back porch has two stages in it's life, which is still living, by the way. The picture on the right shows the porch BEFORE. I know I must have played out there, because you can see a child gate at the top of the steps. That's me and my mom. This picture was taken in 1944. Probably one of the first pictures taken at the "new" house. My dad was called to Mt. Calvary Union Church in October of 1944. The picture on theleft is a picture of the porch, AFTER. The people standing there are church members, Bill and Marian Manduka. Uncle Bill (as we all called him) is still living in Runnemede and we communicate as often as his computer will allow. He has a lot of computer problems. Aunt Marion is with the Lord.

The back porch, I think I've mentioned on several occasions, was a haven for us children. We played out there on rainy days and on days when it was too cold, or after we'd been out in the snow, etc. There was a school desk out there -- my daughter now owns that desk -- it had the seat in the front that would raise up. We had to use a small chair behind it to use it.

Dad put up a black board out there -- to help me with my "teaching" skills, I suppose. I used it to pretend I was a teacher. I also used it to practice my handwriting when I was out of paper.

Mom started plants for her garden out there. In the spring there would be tomato plants all over the porch.

There was a bench out there -- A "Stickey" oak bench. My daughter also has that. We Drexler's don't get rid of anything. We pass the items on to other family members.

So you have an idea of the "furniture" out there. There was plenty of floor space left for toys which the boys played with, and dolls and doll coaches. Bikes and fire engines were stored on the front porch, about which I wrote in an earlier BLOG.

For a couple of years dad put up a Lionel train set. He built a platform out of plywood and he put it up. We had a small heater out there, so that when it was cold, we could play with the trains. He left them up for several months each year. Of course, the Lionel train platform ate into our play area, but we didn't really care. We enjoyed the trains, and let our minds imagine all sorts of travel things with that train set. Dad had put some houses and train yard equipment on the platform as well. Unfortunately, this adventure only lasted a couple of years. It was just too much trouble to put the trains up every year, and eventually, he didn't do it any more. They were put in the large trunk in the basement where Christmas decorations were stored.

Porches are a wonderful addition to a home, whether they are open or enclosed. I like them both, depending on the weather. There's just something so homey about a porch.