Ten Children were raised on this Dakota farm during the drought and the depression. There were three bedrooms. The two upstairs were the "boys" and the "girls" rooms, somewhat like a dormitory. An artesian well, forming the small blue puddle of water midway along the right margin, ran 24 hours a day. This autumn scene shows the house prepared for winter. The foundation is wrapped with pink tarpaper held in place by 3' lath. Barn manure is piled about two feet deep at the base of the tarpaper to keep the uninsulated house warmer and prevent potatoes and home-canned goods from freezing in the basement. The faded red buildings are the machine shed, granary and barn. Ma's triangular chicken coop in the foreground was one of several that she moved about the farm, either using the nearby wheeled iron cart or by tumbling them end over end to their destination.
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