Memories of a Country Kid

By Orval Knegendorf

How different it was being raised in the country on the farm. Dad did most of his work on the farm with horses. Mother had two huge gardens to care for. We used to take the team of horses and the sled with feed on it to be ground at the Klanderman’s mill in town. Spring Valley was an all day trip back in the early 40’s. I remember the old road coming into town down the hill from where Irvin Wendlandt lived was very crooked. My mother sold eggs to Tanberg’s egg station while dad got the feed ground. Then it was off to the grocery store to get a weeks supply of groceries from Knoutes or Arnesons store.

I went to school at the Reed school for grades 1-8. Had some good teachers, some not so good. Spent a few nights after school washing blackboards and dusting erasers. We made it to school just about every day, we walked, there were no snow days. In the winter time the snow was deep and was plowed up high enough that we, the Frieburgs, the Furhmans and Knegendorfs, could walk along and run our hands on the telephone wires.

Then came high school, what a change. So many new faces all around. More new teachers. Scared the hell out of me. I was ready to go home the first day, but they must have thought they could teach me something, they kept me four years. During those years I made many new friends.

I really liked ag class with Mr. Hanson as a teacher, we went on many good field trips to different farms, I think I learned more in his class than anywhere else, other than when Steve Hanson, Jerry Neidermyer and I would skip school and go down to the river fishing.