For Joy Neal Kidney, childhood in rural Iowa was filled with simple pleasures and lasting memories. She grew up just outside Dexter, in a white farmhouse set along a gravel road once known as Old Creamery Road. For Joy Neal Kidney, childhood in rural Iowa was filled with simple pleasures and lasting memories. She grew up just outside Dexter, in a white farmhouse set along a gravel road once known as Old Creamery Road.
The farmhouse had its quirks. There was the crank telephone on the kitchen wall, the coal-burning stove in the back room, and the cubbyholes tucked beneath the stairs where Joy and her sister stashed their treasures. On summer nights, the family gathered on the porch to watch thunderstorms roll across the prairie or to look for Sputnik in the sky. Upstairs, the bedrooms were unheated, and winters were cold, but the house held a rhythm all its own.
One of Joy's favorite memories is when her father tore out the old stove in the utility room. The floor was covered in smooth linoleum, and for the first time, it was open space. With a pair of roller skates strapped to her shoes, Joy glided across the tilted floorboards, circling and laughing in a place never meant for skating. For a child on a farm where every corner had a chore or a purpose, those stolen laps of freedom became unforgettable. Years later, the house was torn down and replaced by something smaller, sturdier, and mouse-proof. But in Joy’s memory, the old farmhouse lives on.
To read more of Joy's fantastic stories, check out HER WEBSITE.