In the summer of 1968 my mother and her new husband moved the family to a farm they bought in Windsor, Maine. It was a big farm that had been neglected for years and needed lots of work to the buildings and grounds. It was also a very creepy farm but thats another story.

One day shortly after moving to the farm my mothers family arrived unannounced. They were pulling a trailer behind their car. Us kids all ran to greet them and of course hound them about what was in the trailer. My grandparents and my mothers brothers and sisters led us all to the back of the trailer. One of my uncles opened the trailer and everyone yelled surprise. Us kids started jumping with joy. There was a horse, a cow and a pig. I loved horses so the I claimed the horse. Everyone else could have the cow and pig but the horse was mine.

We named the horse "Silver" the cows name would be "Bessie" but first we had to make sure it was o.k. to give the cow her name. My grandmother laughed at us and said you can call her what ever you want to. The pig we named "Alice" Alice was named after a relative too.

I loved the horse and thought the cow was pretty but that pig was sure a sweet thing so us kids all became more attached to her than eith the horse or the cow. Us kids would spend hour after hour in the barn with Alice scratching her back and talking to her. We would get on our hands and knees and snort at her like a pig. Through all the attention Alice became more like a dog than a pig.

Alice either arrived at the farm with a belly full of piglets or she somehow met a man pig after she arrived at the farm. I can not remember which it was but she did end up having twelve miniature versions of herself.

Alice hated adults and would go wild if an adult came near her. She would let some awful squeals out of her if an adult was anywhere where she could even see them. Everyone knew that if Alice ever got out and an adult were anywhere near that the outcome would not be a pretty site.

Us kids were told to stay away from her and her babies as she was mean and would attack us but we never paid any attention to that stuff, we would all climb in the pen with her and pet her and hold her babies. The adults couldn't believe how mean Alice was to them and how sweet she was to us kids.

Once all of the baby pigs had been sold off it was just Alice and us kids again. Us kids knew that Alice missed her babies. It is hard to explain but when you are a kid you see things in an animal that adults don't and we could see that she was lonely.

One night during the winter of 1969 we were having a bad snowstorm. My mother and her husbans sister Bon were in the kitchen drinking coffee and talking. Us kids were in the living room watching t.v. The storm was terrible and we all thought we may be spending another week or two without electricity if the power lines came down again.

Mum and Bon were laughing about something when suddenly there was a knock on the shed door. Everyone became very quiet as it was strange that anyone would go into the shed and knock on that door which was the back way into the kitchen.

Mum and Bon went to the door together. I could tell they were afraid to open the door and they had reason to be. As soon as Mum opened the door her and Bon were screaming and us kids heard Alice squealing. Mum and Bon ran into the livingroom with Alice right behind them. Us kids were hysterical with laughter. The living room, kitchen, downstairs bedroom and entrance hallway were all connected so that you could run from room to room in one big circle. Alice chased Mum and Bon around and around and around. Mum and Bon were screaming every step of the way and so was Alice.On on trip around the circle Alice had poop flying out of her oh how us kids laughed.

I don't know which one it was but either Mum or Bon decided that if they went upstairs Alice wouldn't follow. How wrong they were. The noise the three of them made going up the stairs and then the screaming once they all got up there and then the noise they all made coming back down the stairs.Once downstairs the circle run began again and the poop was flying again. And us kids were still falling all over the place laughing.

I guess the fun had to end sooner or later. One of the two screaming woman decided that if they ran out the door that Alice came into that they could get her to follow them and then they could run a circle out there and come back in the door and lock Alice out behind them. I was so disapointed that the plan worked. I was so tempted for most of the night to let Alice back in so that everyone could have more fun, even Alice.

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 18, 2002

Answers

George, this story is too hilarious!! I can't stop laughing!! Thanks.

-- Jean in No. WI (jat@ncis.net), January 18, 2002.

Thanks George, LOVE your stories!!!!!

-- Kim Bailey (bailey@hilly-acre.com), January 18, 2002.

That is what i call a perfect childhood.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), January 18, 2002.

Hey thanks for the great story, that's the best thing I've read in print in a while-you should consider getting a publisher! Joy

-- Joy (Boogerwoods@msn.com), January 19, 2002.

Had me in stitches, George! Reminded me of a story my mom told, of how their pigs liked the kids better than the adults, too! One Sunday, their mother had them all scrubbed up, dressed in their one good outfit, and in their good shoes. As she was finally getting herself and the baby ready to go visit their grandma in town, the older ones decided to go ride the pigs. Of course, the pigs ran into their mud and dumped the kids off. And I wonder why my grandmother died in her early 40's! Needed the rest, probably. Keep those stories coming, What about the creepy farm? Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

Hi Jan. The story about the creepy farm is a little on the long side and would probably scare you to much :-) maybe I should save that for Holloween. George

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

There's nothing like a good story and a good laugh especially when the snows flying, the kids are driving you batty and the day just seems too long. Your brother's(?) right(another thread) you should get these stories wrote and published! When's the next one?

-- Terri (mrs_swift_26547@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

Stop George, stop, your killing me, I can't breathe!

-- Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania (kirklbb@penn.com), January 20, 2002.

just reading through the posts and read your wonderful story which took place in the town next to mine, Windsor is 10 minutes away. Do you still have the farm? sounds like a great childhood and I hope my kids will have stories like that to tell. Cara

-- cara lewis (moomaine@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

Hi Cara. No the farm is no longer there. There is a ranch house where the old farmhouse used to sit. The house burned down in Feb 1970 and the barn was torn down the following year. If coming from Augusta on route 105 make left onto Barton road, where the farm was is where the first ranch house is on the right, maybe half mile up the road. Lots of great stories happened there.

How long have you lived in the area? Is Hussey (sp) still standing and operating? I haven't been back since 1979. George

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 24, 2002.

Cara, I meant Hussey general store up by Windsor school. George

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 24, 2002.

Sorry to hear that the farm burned. Husseys is still there and it is a great store with everything(got broke into last week though and they stole all their handguns) We live in Washington, Maine continuing down 105 towards Union. It is a great place to live. The farm that you are referring is it near the LL Beans farm on that same road? A friend of mine owns a dairy farm on reed road near there and leases hay fields right about where you are talking about. Anyway it sure is a small world isn't it?

-- cara lewis (moomaine@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

Hi Cara.

There are stories about when my family lived in washington too! We lived in Washington in 1967. just up the street from where there used to be a water pump in the middle of the intersection. I don't know if the pump is still there or not but when I was a kid sometimes when our water pipes froze we had to go to the pump and hand pump water. Sometimes in the middle of the night. There is a story in my book about a trip to the pump in the middle of the night. :-) George

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 24, 2002.

Cara, when I lived in Windsor The daughter of the man who started LL Bean lived just down the road from us. She lived on route 105 in a beautiful brick home.She was a realtor and sold our house. She later married a farmer named Mr. Jones, who lived at the end of Barton road on a big farm. When he married Linda she moved in and transformed that old farmhouse into a beautiful home. There are stories about Mr. Jones in my book.This farm may be the farm you're talking about. George

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 24, 2002.