Getting his ducks in a row

As a child, I spent as much time at my Grandparents homes as I did at my own.  Most of my memories from 70 some years ago are fuzzy but, about this time every year, I remember my Grampa Joe packing his gunny sack with duck decoys and heading out for the day.

Fortunately I have these few very used and abused decoys to remember him by  . . . 

Grandpa and Grandma Richards led a very simple life.  She stayed home and kept house, baked bread (and the best raised donuts), heated water in a copper container to wash clothes.  They never owned a car nor did they have indoor plumbing while I was young.  Grandpa Joe was janitor of Ironton Grade School and umpired local baseball games in the summer.

But we all lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth . . . lake country of Northern Minnesota.