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