I have been talking to Mom a lot over the past couple of months about a history book she is helping to put together. It is about all the farms in the Zorra township/Embro area. My understanding is that each farm is being researched and will be a part of this book. During these conversations I realized that there were lots of stories about our experiences growing up on our family farm. There were six kids in our family so there was always lots going on.
One of the great things about our farm was that it was located right next door to Zorra Highland Park. This offered a lot of added benefits for farm kids. Whenever we had a large family gathering at our farm all of us kids would usually head over to the school yard to play. Often times we would not be in the possession of a ball. Conveniently enough we discovered there was a green wooden garbage bin at the back of the school that enabled one of the older taller cousins to gain access to the roof of the school. This was achieved by standing on this bin and scaling the wall to the roof(sometimes assisted by a metal garbage can) Once on the roof they would walk around and toss off all the balls that had been roofed during recess to all of us waiting below who would use them for a game of soccer, basketball or foursquare. We would be busy for hours in the schoolyard while the adults talked the afternoon away.
The farm had many great spots for kids to play. Going to "the creek" was a favourite recreational activity year round. In the winter we would put on our skis and ski there. If there was no snow we would take our skates to the creek or any large puddle and skate there. In the summer we would fish and wade... sometimes swim, depending on how many snapping turtles or crayfish were around.
The creek was also something we had to cross in order to get to Oma and Opa's house. This was most challenging in the spring with the spring flooding. Dad made this easier and safer for us by building a bridge that spanned the creek where it merged with the mud creek. A fun thing to do in the high waters of spring was to brave the cooler water and barb wire fences and float on a tube all the way down to the Brooksdale side road.
Mom, you know these are a few stories just off the top of my head. You know I could probably publish a book if I kept going. Feel free to use these in any way.

Karen