Childhood Games: Othello

I was pretty small when we lived in Othello, so don't remember much about all the games we played.  We moved when I as attending first grade.  However, I do know we played a lot of house with my older siblings.  We played house in the old granary, as well is in the smashed down alfalfa homes.  If we got too aggressive in the smashing down department, dad would yell at us; but we could usually make a conservative home and have a good time.
Weldon introduced me to sports during this time.  Our first love was football.  We would take turns and reenact the Green Bay Packers.  They had won two consecutive championships, and that is who we followed, and loved, and reenacted every time we played.

My dad introduced us to softball.  He played on a team in town, but more importantly, he would sometimes play with us in back to the house, and hit the ball a very long way.
My dad also introduced us the chess.  We would visit somebody's home (I think the Yorgansons) for my dad to have chess matches.  We would watch and learn the moves.  Their matches could last a long time.  Sometimes we would play each other in our own way; and think of the day when we would play father.
Another activity was the interaction with animals.  We had dogs and cats.  Sometimes we would climb onto the clothes line and tease the dogs with some meat or bread dangling from a rope, much like a fishing line.  We would bob it up and down like a yo-yo and the dogs would jump at it.  Sometimes the dogs would grab it and win.   Another time a big dog won by knocking me down before I could get onto the clothesline.  I cried that day; some from the shock of having been knocked down, but also from having lost so quickly.
During the summer we would also spend considerable time at the pool in town.  Mom would take us and supervise, while we would enjoy ourselves.

I do not remember playing night games, but I assume there was tag and other such games.   Often I would sit with my parents outside as the night came on, and the glowing mosquito killer zapped the bugs as they got too close to the light. I use to like to listen to they talked about this and that.