"COME ON KIDS...
IT'S TIME TO DO YOUR CHORES"
WE ALWAYS ENJOYED THE SUNSHINE.

As I watched the Reinhold kids enjoy the sunshine while doing chores, I found myself reminiscing of days gone by. As a young child, our winter days started way before sunup. We would hear the customary creaking stairs as Dad  would head down to put more coal in the furnace. We would hear he chain turn as he would "Check" the furnace to let more air in. Often times the fire would be out, but  some of the hot embers would be left and with a little persuasion,  pretty soon the fire was burning hot and us kid would hope there would be some heat coming up the stairway before we had to go down. 

We would then hear the music including the morning polka coming over KOTA radio. Verne Shepherd would play his traditional every weekday morning recording of a rooster crowing. Follow that with the blaring announcement of "It's reveille on the ranch." Then would come the news, but that was never the most important part of the early morning routine. It was the weather. Reporting from the Rapid City Airport were the voices of Fred McNally and Claude Sauer. They were the chief meteorologist in those days. The weather reports were played twice around breakfast time. When we heard one of them, it was time to have our morning devotions. Dad would read from the Bible and Mom would read from the Daily Bread booklet. And then it was time to do chores. Only during calving season would this schedule be broken and that would be by the one member  of the family that had to the morning check on the cows. 

We still listen for the weather or check it on the internet as it is such a big part of our lives. One thing for sure... On a winter day, we still enjoy the sunshine.