They Were So Poor

We were so poor, so the story goes, we didn't own a horse and we had to ride the pig to school uphill both ways in a snowstorm.

Some rendition of this hard times story is told in every family I know. The difference is that when my father-in-law, Lewis, tells it he has the pictures to back it up. Well, at least the picture riding the pig. As you can see, Bainville, Montana was very flat, so he didn't really travel uphill both ways to school. But from the windswept hairdos, I'd say it was a wild ride anyway.

The Twins - Bill and Lewis
and Baby Dell
They had the horse and the snow, lots of snow. And for three young boys in the middle of nowhere, they had an adventuresome life.

Elenor, Bill, Dell, Lewis
As for the pig, she had a family of her own and couldn't spend all her time entertaining the boys. Ah, women's work is never done.





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