Monday, January 23, 2012

Cowboy's House


The weather has been warmer today,
so I decided to spend some time in the shotgun house we call "Cowboy's". 
Last fall, I decorated the front room for our tours, 
to give visitors the general idea of how the tenant farmers lived. 

I like spending time in these houses.

The ideas for furnishing Cowboy's house
didn't come from any museums displays 
or photos on the net 
or stories in a book. 
The ideas came from my own memories of people I knew 
and visited here on the farm when I was growing up. 
Even in the 60s, there were still many houses such as this on the farm. 


"Cowboy" was a real person 
who worked on Granddaddy's farms from the time he was a teenager. 
In 1930, he was working the farm at Roseland, AR, but when Granddaddy bought this farm, 
Cowboy moved here to tend the cattle. 
He was quite a character and definitely added "color" to the farm. 
Here he is shining  his car for the weekend.


He made such a colorful person--
and I think of him fondly--
that when John and I decided to eventually use our shotgun houses 
for a B and B (Bed and Barbeque), 
I knew immediately that one had to be in honor of Cowboy. 
I shopped thrift stores and antique shops for 
cowboy boots and shirts, cigar boxes, 
an iron bed, 
old quilts, 
a rocker and foot stool, 
a chest, and of course, 
a "honey pot".
It was great fun seeing it all come together.


See the Honey Pot? 


This summer, we plan to add windows, 
interior walls (covered in newpaper), ceilings, 
a kitchen, a bath 
and, yes, air conditioning. 
But, 
for now, 
I'm enjoying it as a hideout from the routine daily chores--
a place where I can get away, enjoy the quiet 
and be surrounded with my memories.

1 comment:

Rosie said...

This brings back memories for me, too. I grew up in a house like this! Thanks so much for sharing your farm with us.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...