Just south of the house a large cement tank extended up eighteen inches from the ground. A heavy round cover fit perfectly over the top. It took a lot of muscle to move the cover, but at a very young age, each of us was warned to never mess with that cistern. It was a deep tank that contained the water for our household use. During a heavy rain, one of the folks would step outside and pull the lever on the downspout that allowed rain water to fill the reservoir. When rain was scarce, we called William and Darlene, a dear couple from Erwin, and paid them to haul in a tank of water from De Smet. Though the cistern held a couple thousand gallons, a family of eight used a lot of water. Needless to say we never luxuriated in neck-deep bubble baths. As with everything else those days, we did not waste water on our South Dakota farm.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |