Analysis: Growing Up On A Farm

Growing Up on a Farm

Donna had so many interesting stories to tell me about her life. She grew up right outside a small town called Madison, Nebraska. Donna lived on a farm 2 miles outside of the town. The town of Madison, when Donna lived there, had a population of about 700. She grew up in the 1940’s.

Education

Growing up on a farm, Donna went to the farm school. This school was only for kids who lived on farms in the area. This school was a 1-room schoolhouse that offered grades first through eighth. Back in the forties children did not attend kindergarten. All schools started in first grade. Donna went to the farm school until fourth grade. After fourth grade she transferred to the “city” school. Donna used air quotations when saying this

She said she felt a little isolated, until she got a car. Having a car made it easier to see her friends from school. Donna had to share the car with her 2 brothers and 1 sister. Before she had a car Donna would just play with her siblings or with kids that lived on nearby farms. For fun they would play in the cornfields. Donna never learned to swim, the closest thing she had to a pool in her younger age was the horse’s water bin. The water in that would only go up to her knees. When she was in high school she worked at pool. I thought that was funny because she couldn’t swim. In high school for fun, her and her friends would go to the store and buy a 6-pack of beer and go out to a field and drink them. They had to share the 6 beers with about 10 people. Donna said that they would pass around the beer and take turns sipping from it. That is completely different from what kids do in high school nowadays. Donna said she doesn’t remember ever being drunk, just a bit buzzed. Back then there wasn’t a drinking

She said that the only dates she ever went on were to the movies. The movie theater in Madison closed, so they had to go a few towns over for a movie date. She said that no one knew went on dinner dates. That seems weird to me because that’s the definition of a date nowadays. High school dances were also a big part of dating back then. It was a huge deal to get asked to and go to the dance. Once she graduated high school, there were dances for adults. That is where she met her husband. She dated her husband far a little then got married at 19. Donna had her first kid at 20. That seems weird to me because I am 19 and I cannot even fathom getting married right now and having a kid in the next