As the weather turned colder we boys sawed wood to heat the fireplace in our sunroom.  Our house was heated by soft coal, but the sunroom that was added since the house was built had a fireplace so as the weather turned colder, about November, we went to our few acre woods to cut logs for the fireplace.  We used a cross-cut saw for that.  The old, trusty saw had handles at each end that we pulled to cut the two-foot long logs.  I was the smallest boy so I usually found myself holding the logs as tight as possible as the older boys did the sawing.  This was great fun, often in the new snow.

We hauled the cut wood to the house with a wheelbarrow, where we stacked the wood to heat the sunroom.  Our fireplace was not very efficient, smoked a lot and needed to be hot to burn the logs that were often a bit wet.  The smell was undoubtedly wild.  That fireplace served us well but often smoked a lot before the heat created draft enough to take the smoke upward instead of into the room!  But when it was roaring – that was another world. As I recall, we used coal if we wanted to keep the fire going. Wood burned fast.

Then in December we boys created a wonderland of roads and houses, in the sunroom that faced the road.  We also cleaned our little electric train that ran on a track but which needed much tender care.  It ran but only when a cautious hand ran the transformer.  Otherwise it ran not at all or was on its side on the curve as it sped too fast.  Anyway, it was always a challenge that we enjoyed meeting the best we could.

The center of attraction was the decorated tree, touching the ceiling.  I think we cut our own tree in our woods, not certain.  No matter, the tree always had that pine aroma that we loved.

I took a picture of the fireplace years later.  Here it is with a wicker sofa in front of it.