Boys of the 1950s - 6. Chapter 6 Sean’s Story

News Year’s Day, January 1, 1957, Tom picked up Peter at 8:00 in the morning for the trip to Seville. Father McFadden was officiating at an 8:00 mass prior to their departure. Tom and Peter entered the church about 15 minutes into the mass. This was Peter’s first visit to a Roman Catholic Church. He hoped his parents never discovered that he had attended a Catholic mass. His mother would be horrified and really give him a hard time about hanging out with Tom. Saint John’s of Pleasant Valley was a typical suburban church. While not as ornate as churches built by immigrant groups at the beginning of the century it was more decorative than any church Peter had ever visited. In addition to the stained glass windows that were familiar to Peter there were numerous carved statues. A statue of the Virgin Mary at the front and a very extravagant, in Peter’s opinion, altar. Peter followed Tom’s lead in kneeling, standing, sitting, kneeling, etc. Tom had told him that when it was time to take communion Peter should remain seated since he was not a Catholic. Peter watched Tom go up and accept the bread from Father McFadden. Father McFadden took extra time giving the bread to Tom while saying a short prayer and smiling with a twinkle in his eye.

Following the service that was sparsely attended Tom introduced Peter to Father McFadden at the entrance door as the parishioners exited. Father McFadden gave Peter a big smile, gently held his hand longer than necessary giving it a squeeze and said with a wink. “Nice to meet you Peter, we will have a lot to talk about while on the road. I have supplies for our adventure in my office. Will you guys give me a hand.”

They went to his office. Father McFadden removed his robe and clerical shirt. He was wearing an A undershirt. Both boys noticed his well defined upper body. He was wearing Levis under his robe. He put on a shirt, heavy sweater and winter coat. There was no indication that he was a priest. He grabbed his travel bag and asked the boys to carry the bags of groceries he had packed. Father McFadden said, “There is enough food here to get us through today and breakfast. Tomorrow we will go to the IGA in Creston for food for the rest of our adventure.”

The boys had agreed that they would have Father McFadden ride in the front seat next to Tom. Father McFadden stated as they pulled away from the church, “This morning I was The Reverend Father McFadden. For the next three days I am Sean, not a priest, just a friend. Please call me Sean.”

Then Sean turned to Peter and asked about his family and school activities. He did not appear to be interrogating him, just being friendly. Peter felt very at ease with him and appreciated why Tom thought so highly of him. He thought to himself, If I ever have a problem to discuss I would probably prefer to go to Father McFadden / Sean. If I went to my Methodist minister with concerns about sexuality I would most likely be given a lecture about morals and he might make me feel wicked about myself.

Then Sean told the history of the farm explaining why it was so important to him.

……………………………………………………….

“This story is very personal and is about my learning about and enjoying sex. I know you will keep everything I say confidential. I have never told this full story to anyone in Pleasant Valley before. It is a real treat for me to be able to share it with you. I hope you are not shocked by my activities while growing up.”

“The farm has been in my family for four generations. My great grandpa, who died before I was born starting farming the land near Seville in the mid 1850’s, before the Civil War. His son, my grandpa continued to farm the land. He married and my mother was the first of four children that survived. She was born in 1899. The other three children were sons with my Uncle Bob being the youngest. My mother met my dad when she was 18. He was from an Irish Catholic family in Cleveland. He worked for the Cleveland and Southwest Interurban (high speed trolley/ tram) Company as a maintenance hand. The Cleveland – Wooster branch of the C & SW went through Seville. He worked on the track between Creston and Seville for a couple of months. He and mother met one Saturday night. They saw each other whenever possible which was difficult to arrange since she lived on the farm and he lived in a rooming house in Seville. Long story – short, mom got pregnant. Her parents were strict Mennonites, a very conservative Protestant religion. Her being pregnant was bad enough, being pregnant by a Catholic was unforgivable and being pregnant by an Irish man was unpardonable. She knew her parents would never accept the baby. She moved to Cleveland, married my father and lived with his parents. The living conditions were harsh by today’s standards. They lived in a tenement building on the west side of Cleveland. While they had a sink with running water in the kitchen the toilet was in the hall shared by four families. There was a total of three rooms: a small kitchen, living room and bedroom of the parents, my future grandparents. Mom and dad slept on a fold out bed in the living room.”

“While his parents were less than thrilled about the quick marriage to a Mennonite country girl, they were more forgiving than my country grandparents. My dad’s parents were very religious and to appease them mom attended the Irish Catholic church with them. I was born five months after mom moved to Cleveland with dad to his parent’s tenement. I was baptized in the Catholic Church and it became an important part of my life.”

“Mom and I would visit her parents. Until 1931 when the C&SW ceased operations between Cleveland and Wooster mom and I could ride free since dad was still an employee. His position changed from track maintenance to maintenance supervisor based in Cleveland. Dad rarely visited as he did not feel welcome. She told her parents I had been baptized in a Lutheran Church in Cleveland and that was the church she now attended. Until the day they died she never let them know of her conversion to Catholicism. If she had told them they would not have permitted her or I, a baptized Catholic, to visit.”

“As I said, mom had three brothers. The two oldest left Ohio in the 1920’s, probably to get away from the strict intolerant atmosphere on the farm. They had little contact with their parents after moving out.”

“When we visited it was mom, her parents and Uncle Bob. He was the youngest and remained on the farm. He was only five years older than me.” By the time I was ten years old I spent most of the summer at the farm. This was about the time the older sons began to frequently argue with their father, my grandpa. He tried to control their lives and they rebelled. Finally when I was about eleven and they were eighteen and twenty they left the farm. Grandpa would not talk about them. Uncle Bob told me they planned to hitch rides or ride box cars to California. I know they arrived in California as they wrote letters to my mother. They could not write to Uncle Bob as grandpa would throw away the letters before he saw them. Now they are both married and have families. When my mother told them I planned to be a Catholic priest they replied that grandpa, the SOB, deserved to have a priest in the family. They wished me well. We exchange Christmas cards. That is about the only contact I have with them. Maybe someday I will visit them, my uncles who I had only know briefly, in California.

“The little farmhouse had three bedrooms upstairs. The largest bedroom was the boy’s room with a single for me and Uncle Bob’s double bed. When visiting my mom stayed in a tiny room she had as a child. My grandparents had the third room. I really enjoyed sleeping in the same room with Uncle Bob. He was tall and very friendly to me and my mom. Best of all he slept naked and never hid his body from me. The grandparents were stern by nature, not the outgoing huggy, kissy people like my Irish grandparents.”

Boys Will Be Boys

I can remember at age five helping on the farm. Some evenings after working in the fields and barn Uncle Bob and I would go to the swimming hole. There was a stream behind the pasture. Over the years Uncle Bob and others had put rocks across the stream making a damn. The swimming hole was over six [1.8 m] feet deep in the middle. Someone had hung a rope from the high branches of a tree and we could swing out and drop into the water. The first couple of years I was afraid to do that but by the time I was seven Uncle Bob had taught me how to swim and I enjoyed swinging into the stream. The Winkler’s lived on the adjacent farm. Isaac and his three sons often were at the swimming hole when Uncle Bob and I were there. The oldest son was Uncle Bob’s age and the youngest my age. We always swam naked and I really enjoyed looking at the other boys, especially Uncle Bob and the oldest Winkler boy, Jacob.”

“When I was about eight and Uncle Bob and Jacob were thirteen the older boys would show off their bodies and tell us about life after Mr. Winkler went back to the farm after a quick clean up swim. I remember the evening well. The five of us were standing at the edge of the swimming hole. Bob and Jacob started pulling on their dicks. They got hard. They told each of us to do it and we would see who was the biggest. Of course the older boys had the biggest ones. Mark and I the younger boys the smallest little eight year old dicks and Samuel in the middle.”

“Then Bob and Jacob said they were going to do something that only a man can do and that when we did it we would be men. They both starting to jack off and soon both shot loads. The three of us younger boys were amazed. They told us to try. We three younger boys grabbed out little cocks and pumped away. Samuel, who was a year younger than Bob and Jacob shot a load. Mark and I just pumped and got a good feeling but no cum. After he shot his load Samuel told us that he had been doing it for over a year. He saw Jacob doing it one moonlit night when he thought his brothers were asleep. He waited until his brother fell asleep and did it himself. He then started doing it almost every day.”

“After that the circle jerks became part of our swimming ritual. Uncle Bob would also let me watch when he did it in the bedroom. Within a couple of years I started to cum and Uncle Bob told me I was now a man.”

“Also when I was eight it was time for my ‘First Communion’. In the Catholic Church, and especially Irish Catholic Church, this is a major event. Since my First Communion was in March I was able to attend preparatory classes. My Irish grandparents in Cleveland planned a party to celebrate the event. They bought me the required white suit. All my Irish relatives attended the after Communion party in their small apartment. Uncle Bob, then 13, came up on the C&SW. This was his first visit to the big city. Of course he did not tell his parents why he was going to Cleveland, he just said he wanted to see the city and visit his sister. His father tried to forbid it but Bob said ‘I’m going no matter what you say, I have always wanted to see a city.’ I assume my grandpa feared that Bob would not want to live on the farm after seeing the city. My Irish girl cousins were all smitten with Bob. He stayed a couple of days. My mother took him downtown showing him all the big buildings. Land was being cleared on Public Square for the construction of The Terminal Tower which when completed was the tallest building, 52 stories, in the United States not on Manhattan Island. Bob said he would return when it was completed.”

“When visiting my grandparents it was mandatory that we attend the Mennonite church. One Sunday when I was about ten years old I heard some men talking about me. They did not realize I was listening. One of them referred to me as ‘the little bastard’. While doing chores in the barn that afternoon I asked Uncle Bob what ‘bastard’ meant. He asked me why I wanted to know and I told him I overhead a man calling me a ‘little bastard’. Uncle Bob got all riled up. He said, ‘You ain’t no bastard. That man is a son of a bitch. If anyone ever calls you that again let me know and I will whip that asshole. A ‘bastard’ is someone whose parents were not married. Your parents were married when you were born. You were born a wholesome baby. The asshole who said that is ignorant, stupid and a mean person. That church is full of mean people. I don’t want you to ever go there again. I will never go there again’.”

“Uncle Bob then went into the house and I heard him screaming at his father. I never heard anyone talk to grandpa like that. I heard him scream that he would never go into that church again and would not permit me to. My grandpa screamed that he would go to hell. Uncle Bob screamed back that he would prefer hell to those mean people. I never went to that church again. Grandpa would be especially grumpy on future Sundays. Uncle Bob told me that he wanted to tell his father that his sister, my mother, and I were both Catholics but realized that would just cause too many problems, especially for my mother.”

“Many of these Ohio farm communities were very anti Roman Catholic. I later learned that there was a KKK organization in Wooster about 15 miles south, the last stop on the C&SW interurban. The organization was primarily a social club. It was not concerned about Negroes as there were very few in the area. It was very anti Catholic and Jewish and of course did not permit any Catholic or Jewish members. I was aware of these sentiments and was careful to hide my Catholic identity. In a way this pushed me closer to the Church.

“My parents both agreed that the farm was a better environment despite my prejudiced harsh grandfather than the cramped apartment in Cleveland where we lived on Loraine Avenue, one of the city’s main west side streets. By the time I was thirteen I lived on the farm whenever not in school. I missed my parents and I missed going to mass with my mother. I know I would not have wanted to be on the farm if it were not for Uncle Bob.”

“In 1931 when I was fourteen the C&SW went bankrupt ending travel to Seville by interurban trolley. My father lost his job with C&SW. He was out of work for at least a year. This was the beginning of the depression and there were no jobs available. Finally he got a job as an ‘oiler’ working in the engine room of a freighter on the Great Lakes. From the spring thaw to the freezing of the ice in late fall he worked on a boat carrying iron ore between Duluth and Cleveland. We rarely saw him from early spring to late fall. Money was really tight and we moved in with his parents again.”

“My grandparents in Seville were not in good health. Running the farm became Bob’s responsibility which was made difficult as his father constantly hassled him about everything that he did. In 1932 when Bob was 20 his father died and Bob now had full responsibility of the farm. His mother lived another five years.”

“Soon after my grandpa’s death when I was 15 I moved to the farm. Uncle Bob needed my help. I attended Seville High School graduating with the class of 1935. There was a small Catholic Church in Medina less than ten miles from Seville that I was able to attend after grandpa died. Uncle Bob had a 1925 Ford Model TT truck (truck version of the famous Model T) that I borrowed to go to church.”

“After the death of grandpa my parents visited more often. When grandpa was alive my father was never made welcome on the farm. He only visited when absolutely necessary. He enjoyed being on the farm and was very willing to help wherever needed. When he could get a couple of days off from work he and mother would take the Greyhound bus to Medina or the occasional bus that continued south through Seville to Wooster.”

“Even though there were three bedrooms upstairs Uncle Bob and I still slept in the same room. The room which the three sons had slept in had a double bed that Bob and the middle son had slept in and a single bed that his oldest brother had used. I had been sleeping in the single bed, Uncle Bob in the double until one night when there was a major rain storm. The roof over my bed leaked and I woke up in a wet bed. Bob heard the commotion. We moved my bed and placed pails on the floor under the leak. Bob suggested I sleep with him. I got into bed and laid on my back feeling very uncomfortable as I wanted to be with Uncle Bob but did not want to upset him. We had jacked off together for years but that had just become a routine. He rolled over and our arms touched. I did not know what to do. I pulled my arm away but then moved in the bed so my arm would touch his again. He kept his arm next to mine not moving. He then moved again and our feet touched. I gently pushed against his foot. He pushed back against mine. By now I was hard as a rock laying on my back with my arm against his and leg pushing against his as he pushed back. He then moved his arm and pushed it into my side. I reached down and took his hand. He held my hand and moved it to his chest. I rubbed my hand on his chest. He then moved my hand down to his hard dick. This was the first time I had ever touched his dick. I had seen it many times. I had jerked off with him and we had competitions to see who could come first or who could shoot the farthest. But never had we touched. He then reached for my dick and we began stroking each other. We brought each other off. He got up, took the damp sheet from my bed and cleaned off our cum covered chests and stomachs. He then cuddled up to me. We continued to sleep together although the roof was repaired and my old bed dry.”

“Once in my seventeenth year I went home to Cleveland to help my parents move into and paint a new apartment they had rented. Dad had gotten a job working at the Aluminum Corporation of America factory. While money was still tight they were able to afford their own apartment. I planned on staying three days to help. However, the day I arrived there was a fire in the building of their new apartment and they would not be able to move for at least a month. We were still living with his parents. I stayed overnight and returned to Seville the following morning. I took the Greyhound bus to Medina and hitched a ride on to Seville. Uncle Bob did not expect me for another day. When I arrived at the farm grandma was in the kitchen. She told me she was surprised to see me and was glad I was back on the farm. I told her about the problem with the apartment.”

“I went to the barn to say ‘hi’ to Uncle Bob. As I entered the barn I heard muffled talk. It was Uncle Bob and Jacob Winkler. As I walked into the barn I saw a naked body standing in one of the animal stalls with his back to me. I quietly got on my knees and crawled to the next stall and looked between the slats in the low wall. Uncle Bob was standing and Jacob kneeling in front of him with Bob’s dick in his mouth. Jacob was moving his head up and down. Bob pushed him away saying he was too close. They then reversed positions and Bob sucked Jacob. This was the first time I had ever seen men sucking. Obviously I was really turned on. Then Bob gently pushed Jacob to the floor where he laid on his back. He kneeled between Jacob’s legs and lifted them to his shoulders. Bob had a jar of something and rubbed it on his dick and on Jacob’s ass. He then pulled Jacob up a little, leaned forward and put his dick against Jacob’s ass. He then shoved his dick in Jacob’s ass. Jacob got a big smile on his face and said ‘give it to me farm boy.’ While Bob was pushing in and out of Jacob, Jacob was jerking himself off. Then Bob shook, pushed harder and collapsed on Jacob. Obviously he had cum. He raised himself while still in Jacob. Jacob continued to jack off and shot a load that went from his face to his chest to his stomach.”

“I was stunned. Never had I seen two men sucking, never had I seen men fucking. “

“Uncle Bob looked up and saw me watching between the slats. He said, ‘Sean?’ “

“I didn’t know what to do so I ran out of the barn. I started running and ran down the path toward the swimming hole. I sat on the ground and put my head between my knees. I didn’t know what to think. I was more confused than shocked. A few minutes later I sensed someone approaching and then that person sat next to me.“

“It was Uncle Bob. He spoke, ‘Sean, I know what you saw must have been surprising and shocking. I’m sorry you saw it. But, that is what some men do. Jacob and I have very strong feelings toward each other. What you saw was very private. It was not your fault. I did not expect you back until tomorrow. This was confidential between Jacob and me. You must tell no one. We can talk about what you saw. We can talk now or we can talk later if you want to wait. Or, we can never talk about it. It is your decision.’ “

“I replied, “Let me think about it. Don’t worry, I would never tell anyone. I think you and my dad are the best men I have ever known and I think Jacob is a good man. I would never do anything to hurt you or him.’ “

“We acted the rest of the day like nothing had happened. Grandma cooked supper as usual and we talked about normal stuff. I told them about our new apartment in Cleveland and Uncle Bob asked me my thoughts on a problem with the hen house.“

“When we went to bed I said, ‘Uncle Bob, I’m confused. I think I understand the sucking of dicks but why would Jacob let you put yours in his ass?’ “

“Bob replied, ‘The sucking part is easy to explain. For the person getting sucked it REALLY feels good! For Jacob and I it feels good to do the sucking because we know it makes someone feel good.’ “

“I replied that I would like to try it and asked Uncle Bob if we could. He said we could but that it would be my decision. And that if I did not enjoy it we would stop. I said that I wanted to do it now! He told me to stay on my back. He pulled the covers off me and got up from his side of the bed. He kneeled between my legs and put my now hard dick in his mouth. He began moving his mouth up and down. He was truthful, it really felt good. In less than a minute I was ready to finish. I told him I was going to finish in his mouth if he did not stop. He just kept on sucking. I shot probably the strongest load I had ever shot. It was amazing. My body shook and I collapsed. He held me in his mouth for a while, licked me clean and laid next to me pulling the covers over us. There were no shades on the window and it was a full moon. I had seen it all. He put his arms around me and held me tight. Then he kissed me. We had never kissed before. I realized there was some of my cum on his lips. I liked the taste of myself. I thought about doing the same to Uncle Bob and within minutes my teenage dick was hard and thinking.”

“I asked Uncle Bob if I could do him. He replied, ’Yes.’ I wasn’t sure how to approach this task. I got him and myself in the same position as when he sucked me with me kneeling between his legs. I leaned over and put his dick to me lips. I like the smell of it. Back in those days we did not take baths or showers as often as now. It had a strong smell but I enjoyed it because I knew it was Uncle Bob’s unique smell. There was some moisture seeping out. I licked it off. I put the head of his dick in my mouth. Then about half of it. I gagged. I tried again. This time I got half of it in without gagging. Then Uncle Bob told me to be careful with my teeth and to open my mouth more. I kept on going up and down taking half of it in my mouth.”

“He told me to stop as he was going to shoot. I decided then to do the same as he had done to me and take it in my mouth. He shot in my mouth. I gagged and spit it out on his stomach. I said I was sorry. He asked me what I was sorry for. He explained that it would take some practice and that he had had a lot of practice. He told me I did not have to take it in my mouth. He also told me that if I took it in my mouth I could then spit it out or swallow it, my choice.”

“I grabbed my T shirt from the floor and cleaned him off where I had spit the cum. We then laid down together with him holding me tight again. I said, ‘Thanks, now we have a very private secret. I’m glad you explained and taught me this.’ ”

“He told me we needed sleep and would talk about what else I saw later. We kissed for the second time. He rolled over with his back to me. I crawled up next to him, this time putting my hard again dick against his ass thinking about the other act I had seen.”

“The next morning we got up and were in the barn doing chores while grandma made breakfast. Uncle Bob said to me, ‘Sean, for the next ten hours we have to forget sex, sucking and fucking. I know you and I could spend the whole day here in the barn playing. We’ve got work to do. Let’s not think about it, if that is possible. This evening we can have a long discussion.’ ”

“We were in the chicken house most the morning doing repairs. Every once in a while we would look at each other and smile. Uncle Bob would say something like, ‘Boy clean out your mind, we’ve got work to do.’ Then he would laugh. Once he grabbed his dick when he laughed.”

“That evening right after supper we told grandma we had had a rough day and needed to go to bed early. Grandma was satisfied as she wanted to listen to the music of Fred Warring on the radio that evening. If we had stayed up we probably would have wanted to listen to Amos and Andy and she would have not even mentioned that she preferred the music of Fred Warring and the Pennsylvanians, his singing group.”

“Before going in for supper we had filled three buckets with water from the hand pump at the well in the yard near the kitchen. We had placed these buckets in the barn. There was no water supply in the house, just this pump in the yard. Of course the toilet was the little ‘out house’ in the yard. The reason for the water was that we wanted to wash ourselves before going to bed and having our discussions. Usually washing was done by standing in a big galvanized bucket in the kitchen using water heated on the stove. When that was done, usually on Saturday, people of the opposite sex knew to stay clear of the kitchen. Since we didn’t want to get grandma involved in our midweek cleaning we used the cold well water. By letting it sit for a while it would not be so cold. We took soap and a towel and washcloth each to the barn. The first bucket was used for washing, the second for rinsing and the third for a final rinse. We washed each other’s backs and some other parts. By the time we finished we had very hard cocks despite the cold water. We dressed and had to wait a few minutes before we could go into the house and walk past grandma.”

“As soon as we were in the bedroom we took off our clothes. We held each other. Then I asked about fucking. Uncle Bob told me he was a fucker called a ‘top’. He explained that some men enjoyed being the dominant or one on ‘top’ during ass sex and some the ‘bottom’. Some men enjoyed both. He was a top and had never wanted to be a bottom. He tried with Jacob but just did not enjoy it. Since Jacob was happy to be a bottom they were very satisfied doing it this way.”

“I said that I thought it would hurt. Bob replied that if the bottom really enjoyed it he understood that after the first attempts with the correct person it was more pleasure than pain. I asked Bob if he thought I could be a bottom. He said I could try but that he did not feel comfortable doing it with me. He suggested that we get together with Jacob and the three of us do it together and see what happens. I agreed.” Uncle Bob and I then had a pleasant evening of sucking, holding and sleeping. I woke up first and decided to suck his dick. Soon after I got it in my mouth he woke up and we both enjoyed a mouthful from each other. We continued this practice until as long as we were together on the farm.”

“The next morning Bob drove over to see Jacob. Jacob was greatly relieved that I was not upset with the scene I had witnessed. He readily agreed to come over that afternoon to help us ‘repair the chicken house.’ ”

“As soon as he arrived we went to the barn and spread a blanket in the hay stored on the upper level. We did not want grandma walking into our play time. As it turned out I never became a bottom but did enjoy being a top. We kept the blanket, Vaseline and rags for cleaning permanently in the hayloft. Whenever Jacob would came over both Uncle Bob and I would together make him a very happy man.”

Tom interrupted Sean to question him about being a bottom. He explained how he and Peter were not aware that men would do that and that it would be pleasurable to the person receiving.

Sean told the boys that he hoped he had not shocked them. If they lived in the gay world they would learn about men topping men sometime and that it was probably best for them to learn from a friend.

Sean continued, “The events in the barn happened when I was 17. The following year I graduated from high school and the year after that, 1936, I entered the seminary to study to be a priest. For the next two years I was rarely able to visit the farm. There was plenty of gay sex activity at the seminary. It was there that I met Franco or Frank. We have been friends for almost 20 years. He is priest in charge at a church in the Akron area. As I told you Frank will stay with us at the farm.”

“We are almost there. Briefly I’ll tell you what happened to Uncle Bob. We both served in the Army during the war. There were too many priests so I was assigned an office job at an Army base in Oklahoma. Uncle Bob was in the Infantry. He died June 6, 1944 at the D-Day invasion. He was 32 years old. He might have gotten a farmer’s exemption for serving since farmers were needed to grow food for the war effort. He didn’t make the request. Jacob’s father looked after the farm while he was gone. He could not do much farming on Uncle Bob’s land as he had his own farm to work and all his sons had gone to the war.”

“After the war I learned that Uncle Bob had left the farm to me with the requirement that it would go to Jacob or his heirs if I had no children. Since I was already a priest the property would eventually go to Jacob. Uncle Bob also left a letter for me stating that if I did not want to work the farm I should have Jacob rent all the fields and buildings except the farm house for $1 a year if Jacob was willing to maintain all the buildings including the house and pay all expenses such as taxes and utilities. Since 1944 this arrangement has worked well for both Jacob and me. His younger brother lived in the house for six months with his new wife. In exchange for use of the house and an acre of land I gave him at the corner of my property he installed indoor plumbing and an oil furnace. He built a house on the land I gave him. Three years ago a young couple and their two children lived in the house after their home was damaged by fire. They were members of Jacob’s church. They were not charged rent. Volunteers from Jacob’s church upgraded the electric wiring and did small improvements throughout the house, mostly in the kitchen. Jacob wrote me a note last week that someone wants to rent the house for about six months while they build a new home in Madisonburg. We will discuss it during this visit. If we do Jacob will keep the rent money for house maintenance. It needs to be painted. Maybe we will hire someone to paint the house next summer.”

Sean then directed Tom along various country roads. They eventually turned into a lane that led to a small white house with various farm buildings next to and behind it. There was a car parked next to the house.