Games and Lunches

Guess I will start a new post about games as it would get too lengthy for a comment. Here are some of the games June and a general idea of the rules.

Twenty four scadoodle -- There were 2 teams with two sides to the field. Both sides were safe places. Somebody was "It". "It" would try to catch people as they ran back and forth from the sides daring "It" to catch them. Those that got caught went to a place in the middle of the field and stayed there. The rest of us would run up to them, grab their hand and start counting. The last number was hollered out real loud when "It" chased you away. Then someone else would run up to that person and resume counting. Who ever got to 24 first, would holler scadoodle and that person got back in the game. The object was for "It" to catch as many as possible.

Pump Pump Pull-Away -- Again there were two sides to the field, with both sides being safe places. Somebody was "It". "It" would be somewhere in the open area and holler, pump-pump-pull away, run, or I'll pull you away. What ever side you were on, you had to run to the other side without getting caught. Those caught were also "It". Eventually, there were so many "Its" you knew you didn't stand a chance. If you didn't run when you were supposed to, the "Its" ganged up and pulled you away. When everyone got caught you just started over. It could get rough, but it was a popular game.

Andy - I- Over -- This one was simple. All you needed was the school house, two teams and some kind of soft ball. One team started with the ball and would holler "andy" and throw it over the school. If the ball failed to make it over the school you would holler "pig tail" so they knew it wasn't coming on that try. If it went over and one of the team on the other side ( you were supposed to catch it before it hit the ground) caught it, one of that team would hide it behind their backs, then they would split up and run around the school. The team that had thrown it would then have to run to the other side of the school without getting caught by whoever was hiding the ball. If you were caught you joined that team. Game ended when everyone got caught.

Fox And Geese -- All you need for this was snow and kids. You started out by stomping a big circle in the snow. Then you would stomp lines into the center. Imagine cutting the circle into pie shapes. Somebody was the fox. The center of the pie was a safe place for the goose, but only one goose at a time could rest. The fox would chase the geese around the circle and through the pie shape. If the fox caught somebody, that person became the fox and game would start all over.

We also played Simon-Says and Kick the Can. The last one didn't last too long because when you got hit with the metal coffee can it hurt and sometimes drew blood.

Our play ground also had a teeter-totter, merry-go-round and a giant stride. The giant stride was my favorite. It was a tall iron pole with chains hanging down at different heights. At the end of these chains, two iron bars were attached. Those playing would grab the bars and all would take off running. At some point you would pull your legs off the ground and your body would pull you out for your ride. If you were lucky, someone would run behind you and give you a good push. Sometimes we would get to going pretty high and fast. Keep in mind that there was no safety anything here and if you couldn't hold on you fell. I don't really remember anybody getting hurt. Too bad. Most country schools didn't have this many things on their playground. Don't know why we did or where they came from. Wish someone was still around to ask.

What few times we stayed inside we played Button Button or Hide the Thimble. You can see why we played outside. Those games were boring in comparison.

You asked about lunches June. The only thing that I can remember is minced ham and sandwich spread sandwiches. I had forgotten about them. Wish I could have one of them now. There is nothing in today's lunch meats that compares to minced ham. Sandwich spread was something similar to thousand island dressing but better. I guess it didn't spoil like mayo would have. And jelly sandwiches. Mom's homemade mulberry jelly. No peanut butter as we never had it and I was an adult before I tasted it. Never liked it. If we had fruit or anything else I really can't remember it. We always had a huge hot breakfast in the mornings, so maybe lunches didn't make an impression on me. I just know they didn't vary much.