Otter Creek, IA- My First Home

After I was born, in 1980, my parents brought me home to an old two-story farmhouse in Otter Creek, IA. We lived there for about 7 years, as I remember attending Kindergarten while living in that house. My younger sister and I shared a room on the second floor and my younger brother's room was across the hall. I believe that my parents room was downstairs, along with the kitchen/dining room, living room and a bathroom. I remember there being a wood burning stove in the living room. Other than that, most of my memories of living there are of being outside on the farm. We had a hog building and a couple of other barns. In the summer I remember cleaning out the hog pen area and using it to ride our bikes. In the other barn we kept two cows that we affectionately named Big Bird and Snuffleupagus. We had a small metal swingset in the back yard that kept us occupied for hours on end! This was back in the day when children had imaginations and did not sit inside watching tv or playing video games all night! We would spend hours just exploring on the farm, taking walks along the stream that ran through the backyard, catching fireflies and playing tag and other childhood games. There was a rock quarry about 1-2 miles from our home that we would walk to frequently. We climbed the rock piles and played king of the mountain. We all had little first aid kits made from camera film canisters with string tied around so that we could wear them as a necklace! Those were the days! We were so young and innocent. I don't remember what prompted the move, but remember that my father had a change in careers. As a result we were off to Franklin Grove, IL and my second house.