Outdoor and Night Games: Hyrum in the 60s

Some of the games we played growing up were large community games.  These were games such as kick-the-can, hide-and-seek.  We lived kitty-corner from Todd Nielsen and I remember going there for some very large kick-the-can games.  This was hard on whoever was "it" because it was almost impossible to capture a large group before someone kicked the can and set everyone free.
In this game someone is "it" and attempts to capture everyone while also defending the can (a can placed in an open location.)  this could become tricky as if you went on direction to capture someone, somebody could come from the other direction and set everyone free.  However it was a good evening game in the summer.
Tag was also common.  Again we would often play in the Nielsen yard.  They seemed to have a big front yard and many of us would congregate there.  Different tag versions included regular tag.  However we would also play frozen tag, where the person "it" had to capture everyone.  If he touched you you were frozen until someone not touched yet could tag you and then you were unfrozen.  This game seemed to be a bit more even than kick the can and not quite as difficult for the person "it."
Other communal games would be participating in sports.  On day we went to the Nielsen'a for a big game of football.  Everyone had their own t-shirt upon which they had put numbers with magic marker.  I remember I tended to Willie Wood of the Packers.  One child, whose mother didn't want to mark a shirt, came with the numbers pinned to the shirt.  Some people just don't understand.  You can't play with pinned numbers because they are dangerous if a tackle sport.
We would also organize baseball games in our community.  When we first moved to Hyrum, there were two vacant lots next door.  We used these for a baseball diamond.  We would have friends from a couple blocks away come to play.  This would include the Wengreens, the Nielsens and the Burnetts.  Even Denny McClain would come at times.  We had quite some adventures.  This lots included hills form soil removal when they put in our house.  This made a nice home run fence.  Our bases were not always conventional.  We had a big rock as our third base.  Charlie was playing third.  One game a low liner was hit.  The ball hit the rock and bounced up and caught Charlie a good one in the face.  I can't remember where, but it was bloody and painful.  We replaced our third base after that.
We had some good fun.  When they finally built homes next door it did not destroy our baseball games.  We then moved across the street next to the Burnetts where there was a pasture which sufficed for a good baseball playing field.  Weldon would usually put these games together.  It is interesting because when he was 15 he started running Hyrum Little League games and organizing leagues on a broader basis.

Our Family's Favorite Card and Board Games

My dad use to enjoy chess.  Weldon and I both wanted to learn chess as fast as we could, so we could challenge him.
We also had a game we called marbles.  This is not the traditional marbles game.  My dad had taken a piece of plywood, and then with a drill press had made impressions around the board, something akin to Parchessi or Trouble.  We spent a great deal of time with this game, and used two die to control movement.  Of course doubles you got to go again, and if you landed on someone they had to go back to start. 
Another family favorite was Monopoly.  My dad was very good at being a tycoon.  I don't remember ever winning a family game of monopoly. 
As we became a bit older, Rook became our family game, and a version we called Mormon Bridge, which was similar but different.  I guess all families have their own rules, in ours the rook was the high trump and worth 20 points.  Ones were higher than a 14 and worth 10 points.  You had to trump if you could.  We would often have lengthy rook battles; especially during holiday season.  Mormon Bridge was fun because you had to guess how many tricks you could win, and were awarded, or lost points  based on your guess and how accurate you were.

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.