The front of our humble little house which is located about two miles north of Ravanna, Missouri. This house was always known to our family as the "Orville Trainer Place". Orville owned the farm implement dealership in Princeton, the county seat of Mercer County. This farm has about 400 acres attached to it as I recall. Orville sold the farm a few years after we moved out and no one has lived in it since, I am told. It is amazing just how good the condition of this old place is considering it has been basically abandoned for almost 47 years! The front of our house in Ravanna
The small front porch roof has collapsed and fallen completely off the house. I still recall looking out the front window on the left and watching the cars go by when I was around 4 years old. I saw my dog get run over by a gravel truck one day from this window which is in the living room of the house. Another view of the front of our house in Ravanna
The windows to the left face the south and are looking out from the kitchen, above the sink. Our garden used to be directly out from these windows. My mother worked hard in our garden. She also was known to "ring a chicken neck or two" out here just behind our house! The back porch sheltered the door to the cellar. South side of the house
This door leads to the back door of the kitchen area. The porch also sheltered the cellar from rain too. See the photo below for more details. View of backporch area
To your right you see a railing. The door to the cellar was on the right side of this railing. Notice the gate at the far end of the railing that is now almost detached from the railing. The cellar door would open and rest against the wall. I would never venture down there as it was far to scary for a young lad like myself! Looking from backdoor of kitchen out onto backporch
This is the view from inside what was once the kitchen. This view is looking from the sink. The door to the right is the back door from the porch. The door directly ahead lead to my parents room, and the door to the left lead into the living room. Kitchen area looking toward my parents room
  This is another view of the kitchen area, this time from the doorway of my parents room. The cabinets and sink have been removed long ago. We did not have running water in this house so there was not a bathroom! Oh those cold northern Missouri nights walking to the outhouse still make my teeth chatter! Kitch area looking toward where the sink used to be under the windows
  This was my parents room. It was very small and did not even have a closet. Actually neither of the two bedrooms had any type of closet in them. Clothing was an item of luxury back then I guess :-) Mom and Dad's room
  This is another view of my parents room, this time looking toward the door to the kitchen area. The bedsprings and the bags of fertilizer are new additions. These must be from the farmer that now owns this land. Mom and Dad's room
  And here we have our lovely living room. Here is where I would sit and watch TV, doodle, play and where I recall my first Christmas being. Small, but the memories of the joy that I felt in this room are as vivid as the days that I spent here long ago. From the front door you could see the highway through 4 large pine trees that ran parallel to the house and road. I sat out under these trees many afternoons, watching the cars and trucks speed by to somewhere beyond my imagination. Our living room
This view is looking from the room where my older brother, sister and myself slept. My youngest brother, barely a year old, slept in a crib in my parents room. I shared a bed with my oldest sister Gloria. She has always meant the world to me. The living room
And here is the small space that I recall as being "Gloria and Bill's Room". I slept here, but when they had a neighbor over they would go in there and listen to Elvis Presley records and dance somehow in the little space that was available! I would sit outside the door and wonder what my older siblings were doing that was so much fun. The area in the left corner is the chimney for the stove in the living room. Our bedroom
This is the view toward the door that leads you back to the living room. In the left hand corner is the original oil stove that we used to heat our humble little home. I may be mistaken, but these old curtain sure look like the ones that I recall being here when we lived here last, some 37 years ago now...... Gloria, Bill and my bedroom

 

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