This is the chimney to the house that we lived in when I was born....I am one of 8 children. I am one of the two that was born in the hospital. The rest my mom had at home. We did not have electricity till I was 2 or 3, according the my brothers and sisters.

This is not from home, just a picture I took somewhere here in Indiana on some of my rambling around. I think getting out and just driving and literally not knowing where I am exactly is one of my favorite things to do. I always head out with a full tank of gas because sometimes houses are few and far between, besides being miles from any gas station. I am pretty sure this is from the northern part of Vermillion County, but I could not go to it. Just sort of remember being north when I came across it.
This is Old Bob's collar--he was our old work horse. He wasn't a draft horse...just normal size. They got him long before I was born when he was 5 years old and he lived till the ripe old age of 32/33...I think I was 16 at the time he got down and could not get back up. We had to have the vet come put him down, it was cold weather and he was out in the pasture. Could not get up to come to the barn. I think if I remember right that my brother took bales of hay and built a wall to block the wind. And one of the coon hounds guarded him and growled when the vet came to put him down the next morn.

I don't think I have a picture of him any where...he was white. And just part of the family. They built the new house about a mile away from the old place...at first if he was lose, he would go back up there. Then after he became used to his new home, my dad and another man had him up at the old place doing something. When lunch time came they must have unhooked him...or maybe my dad just rode him up there. Anyway, they dropped his reins just to let him graze. He took off and went to his new home.

He was retired most all that I remember. And in later life we would let him out of the pasture to some of the grass that was not under fence but was still ours...he would never have dreamed of leaving home. Nor did he wander into the road. We did have a close call with a train though. And it put a stop to his being outside the fence.

See, the train normally only went up the holler and down late in the evening...and for some unknown reason it came along about 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. Totally earlier than it ever came...and he was grazing right near the track, and the train blew its horn...if it had not blown its horn he would have been fine. But getting right on him and blowing the horn scared him and he took off running....luckily he ran away from the track eventually.

As to the piece of chain with the collar, I have no idea what it is for. Maybe someone out there can tell me.

Another tale about him, one time we sold a calf. It was out in the pasture and my dad just told the guy to go ahead and get it if we weren't there. Ended up he came while we were gone, and went out to get the calf, and Bob chased him out of the pasture...would not let him near the calf. If he would have stood his ground, Bob probably wouldn't have done anything but he would bluff a person if he could. And he could, so the guy had to come back when we were home.