IN THE 1950'S, MOST PARENTS DIDN'T GIVE AN ALLOWANCE-WE HAD TO EARN IT.

Nowadays, I don't think kids have to work for their bikes; Mopeds; talk-walkies or even their clothes. As soon as we were about ten, the five Jones kids had to go earn it just like our folks did. One of the ways us boys started was taking turns passing newspaper's and although we couldn't afford a bike, we would each take turns with one. We couldn't afford gloves when we had a lot of snow, but we found that socks on our hands worked well. When our mother went back to work, she would make a sack lunch in the morning for each of us and that was Jim Dandy. At about 12 or so is when we started to haul hay for Joe and Ross Garrett, except for Gary who was allergy to hay as a kid, and Jaynette started to clean house and iron shirts for Doc. P.L. Jones. Gary worked gathering eggs for the Gadd family. Then we were "full grown" at 14, Hal and I would walk down to Rulon Brackens place and drive his truck down in the fields to change the water when their were just ditches, so we would take turns working while the other brother slept for two hours then kept trading off. Rulon's son was a grade school teacher and I had him in 5th and 6th grade and like him. One day, another neighbor-Earl Bean told me if I could drive a tractor, he would pay me 50 cents to cut his hay. He lived on 7th North and the southeast corner of 100 East before the other homes grew up to the south. I walked down to Rulon's and asked if I borrow his tractor. He said sure and gassed it up for me. After I cut the hay for Earl, he gave me that wide smile he had and said that I had to gather it up and take it to the sheep my brother was finding. Rulon had the tractor gased up and both seemed to feel they got the best deal. And Weston was happy we got "Free Hay" for the mustang Joe Garrett gave him. I forgot about how gracious Earl Bean was until his obit fell in front of me. And now I will find his tombstone and honor him for his service. My Aunt Elfie Jones lived down track street below the tracks and my Dad would take me down there to dig weeds. I hated back then, but now if I can get my old body to bend, I like working in the dirt. And those days when we all had gardens or hay for animals, we used to pick fruits for Sheriff Ray Jackson and that was on Shares.   

THE END.