In The Good Old Summertime

by Shanna Hatfield

This time of year, I seem to wax a bit nostalgic as I think of the summers of my youth.

My childhood years, spent on a farm, meant in between helping irrigate, haying, harvesting wheat, babysitting and employing evasive tactics to avoid the domestic skills my mother was determined I learn, we had a lot of fun.

Twice a month, the Schawn's delivery truck would roll down the road, stirring a sea of dust in his wake. My mom would purchase two big tins of ice cream that we would invariably run out of before his next arrival. The tins held approximately two and a half gallons of delicious, creamy frozen confection that my family consumed on a daily basis. Lest you think we were ice cream gluttons (which we admittedly were), my brothers often invited friends or cousins to join us. We could have ten to twelve people at our house to help gobble up the ice cream on any given day.

Once the work was done for the day and the cool evening shadows greeted us, we'd get a bowl of ice cream and sit on the back porch where a breeze blew up from the pond and we could watch the moon rise over the water. 

Another favorite sweet of summer was Idaho Spud Bars. The little drug store in town always had a huge barrel full of them near the cash register and they were often four for a dollar. We'd take them home and stick them in the freezer where they'd become another cool treat we enjoyed to beat the heat of July and August. Manufactured by the Owyhee Candy Company, in business since 1901 in Boise, Idaho, you can still find Idaho Spud Bars and other goodies made by them today.

The 4th of July Parade was a huge event in our little hometown. My oldest brother and his friends would generally ride horses while my other brother would drive his Model T in the parade. One year, Mom helped me make an early 1900s costume so I could ride along in the car.

I played the song In the Good Old Summertime on the piano about fifty times in a row, recording it on our tape player, then blasted the song from a boom box in the car as we drove down the street. (Yes, that was before we could download a song and play it on a loop on smart phones!)

Anytime I hear that song, it brings back sweet memories of my childhood and golden, glorious moments from summers long past. 

If you've never heard it, you can listen to a little of here. And if you haven't seen the movie, it's an oldie but a goodie!

After spending her formative years on a farm in eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky heroes.

When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

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