Lester's dad had a nice farm

Lester and I, and one other boy, were in the seventh grade. We provided one another stiff competition which resulted in good grades. We didn't have enough students to play any team games, so jye^ just batted a ball around when it was nice; and played our own brand of basketball, sometimes in the snow. Our basketball equipment consisted of a small barrel hoop nailed to the side of the barn. We had a blue, inflated rubber ball about the size of a soccer ball. The rough ground by the barn didn't lend itself to actually dribbling the ball, but we made a game out of it anyway. Lester and I would, in later years, clash on the real basketball floor.

Lester's dad had a nice farm with two-story house with basement, a mechanized grain elevator building, a large hay barn, and several outbuildings. The boys carried out the usual farm chores such as milking, feeding livestock hay and grain, cleaning the barn, etc. The harvesting of the wheat and corn crops had been completed by the time I arrived in the area.

The Seibolds had what I considered a unique family social situation. Lester's dad had several brothers and a sister farming in the immediate area. Most Sundays they would dress up in their Sunday best, suit and tie or nice dress, and proceed to the Germantown country church. After the services, all the families would gather at one of their homes for Sunday dinner. Each Sunday dinner would be held at a different place each week until the round-robin had been completed. Then it would start all over.

This close family life had a great influence on me. I have tried to emulate the Seibold approach to socializing with my own family. We are greatly scattered, so the actual conditions are not the same, but the basic idea is carried through. It is one reason Lester and I have been great friends ever since.