Dear Friends of the Good Old Days,

I loved summer break from school, and I know you did too. I had been looking forward to reading your summer stories, and I was not disappointed.

In this issue, we explore summer days spent fishing with family and friends, getting our hands dirty with gardening, and even some stories of harvesting and canning. Summertime was full of baseball games, family vacations, adventures and more.

When I was growing up, my sister and I spent summers on our grandparents' farm. We had two horses, one an Appaloosa and the other a Tennessee walking horse. We spent summer days riding them. My mom's younger brother would help us make sure the horses were put back in the barn safely in the evenings, and sometimes he would give them treats.

I remember once when I was heading back to the house and had just crossed the barnyard, my uncle called to me. I turned to see what he wanted and he yelled, "Bring me back a pear!" I wanted to make certain I brought him just what he wanted, so to be sure, I yelled back, "A pair of what?"

He hesitated, just looked at me, and dropped his shaking head. I got no response as he turned and went back into the barn. I continued on to the house, thinking he must've changed his mind. He teased me about that and lots of other instances over the next 40 years.

Did you find the sun icon in the last issue? It was on page 31. Be sure to look for the firecracker in this issue, and when you find it, let us know on Facebook. Thank you for sharing all your great memories!