March/April 2026 (Volume 18, Issue 2)
By Arvid Huisman
Hello, boys and girls. I’m Miss Ramona. Welcome to the public library. For Story Time today I’m going to read a book entitled, “A Really Swell Scare.” This is a story about two young boys who lived in a small town in Iowa nearly 70 years ago. Here we go…
Many years ago, in a small village in Iowa, there lived a young boy named Bruce and his chubby neighbor, Arvid. On summer days Bruce and Arvid had fun walking all around the village.
Why did they walk all over the village? Well, Jacob, that’s how they got around town. It was either that or ride their bikes which they also did. No, their mothers didn’t have minivans to take them places. Now let’s get back to our story…
One day Bruce and Arvid walked to the local grain elevator.
What’s that, Emily? What’s a grain elevator? Well, a grain elevator is a tall building that stores corn and soybeans from area farms. No, I don’t think they were organic farms, but let’s get back to our story…
Bruce and Arvid walked down the railroad tracks to a rail car that was parked on a siding. The two curious boys decided to climb to the top of the rail car.
How high was it to the top of the rail car? Well, Zachary, I’m guessing it was about 10 feet, maybe a little more. OSHA? No they didn’t have OSHA back then. And, no, there was no shredded tire ground covering to help break their fall. But back to the story…
Sitting atop the rail car they could see all over the neighborhood. They felt like kings overlooking their kingdoms. They watched farm tractors and wagons and trucks hauling loads of grain to the elevator.
No, Brandon, the trucks didn’t use E-85 or soy diesel fuel back then. They used old fashioned leaded gasoline. Yes, I know that wasn’t good for the environment but that’s what they did then. Now, back to our story…
Bruce and Arvid saw a large wheel near the top of the end of the rail car. They thought it was a steering wheel but it was actually a brake to keep the rail car from rolling away.
No, Emily, I don’t know why the boys didn’t recognize it as a brake instead of a steering wheel. Maybe they were a little dull. As I was saying, back to our story…
Arvid decided to turn the big wheel and suddenly Bruce noticed that the rail car was rolling. Both boys were surprised. Then they realized the big wheel must be the brake so Arvid began turning the wheel the other way to try to stop the rail car. With the first few turns the rail car kept rolling. They were very afraid. They were afraid the rail car would roll far, far away or, worse yet, would tip off the rails and they would be badly hurt.
Because, Hannah, they didn’t have cell phones back then and even if they had one there wasn’t such a thing as 9-1-1. Yes, it was a prehistoric time. No, there were no dinosaurs in Iowa back then. But, back to our story…
Arvid kept turning the wheel and the rail car slowed and finally stopped. The boys were very happy when the rail car stopped rolling, but now they were afraid one of the adults at the grain elevator had noticed. They quickly climbed down from the rail car and ran away from the elevator.
Well, Christopher, they ran because if they were caught they may have been punished for playing on the rail car. No, young boys did not have lawyers in the 1950s. Back to our story…
Bruce and Arvid kept running until they were very far from the elevator. They were happy they had not been hurt or caught by anyone. The boys walked back to their homes and they never played on a rail car again. The end.
I’m sorry you don’t think that was a good story, Andrew. Yes, if they had video games back then maybe they wouldn’t have to play on the rail car in the first place.
Yes, Megan, both boys became adults. Bruce grew up and became a policeman. Arvid fancies himself a writer but he never grew up.
What’s that, Joshua? Yes, I will look for a better book for our next Story Time.
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