The school year is ended, summer vacations begins and with it the potential for idle time increases from hours to days, very likely a situation that Social Services is watching carefully.  However, the prospect of seven children home alone and seven minds conjuring up all sorts of ways to get in trouble has been on Charlie's mind for some time.

Charlie calls the family together and announces the plans for the summer. The family will drive to Java Center, about 35 miles away and spend the summer on a farm. Frank and Louise Mingle, friends of the Gustinas, have seven children roughly the same ages as the Finnigans except they have six girls and one boy.  All the kids will be working on the farm, picking potatoes, milking cows, feeding the pigs and will help with cooking, washing and other chores, as they do at home.  They will have time to ride horses, watch the beavers building a dam and play games. And they will be paid for their work, enough for them to buy personal items when they go to town.  The children are excited about the news, especially the older boys who of coarse can't wait to “mingle” with the Mingle girls!  

When they arrive in Java Center, the family learns about a few things that Dad left out. The farm has no indoor plumping except water in the kitchen.  There is an outhouse located a short walk from the house which is fairly easy to find in the middle of the night, provided the moon shines. There is no electricity so laundry is washed by hand.  Baths are given in the kitchen with boys and girls lining up in separate rows at least arms length away, with all clothing removed. Louise, a large women, scrubs the tender bodies of each boy and girl with a brush that turns the skin red, while all the other children watch and grimace.

Dad leaves for home and Frank outlines the daily work schedule.  Up at 5am to milk the cows with John the "jumper" (jumps on cow's rump to make them stand up), Paul the "sweeper" (uses a whisk broom to remove sow bugs from the udder) and the older boys do the milking, pouring each bucket full of milk into milk containers and placing them out near the road where the milk company truck will collect them.  After breakfast, the boys will feed the pigs, chickens and horses.  Everyone will take turns picking potatoes during the day with a break around noon for "dinner", the main meal of the day.  Late afternoon is play time to ride the horses, play games and work on puzzles, or frolic with the girls atop the hey stack in the barn (the boys love this), then a light evening meal and desert.  At dusk they watch the beavers building a dam and then to bed where sleep comes easy after a long day's work and play.

Its John’s turn to ride the horse so the older boys put the harnesses on “Lady”, who is seldom out of the barn.  They walk her out near the house and boost John into the saddle.  John yells "giddy up" but she doesn't move. Having seen several western movies, he gives her a whack with the reigns and away she goes.  The saddle is a little loose and starts slipping so John is leaning way over as he disappears behind the barn.  But everyone cheers as horse and rider reappear with John riding tall in the saddle. As they ride across the pasture Lady suddenly turns and runs at top speed toward the barn door, passing through just seconds after John ducks down to avoid being swept from the saddle.

Western NY has a reputation for severe weather with heavy rain and wind storms. One of these was under way while John and Kiki (Francis) Gustina are in the living room playing cards on the floor. All of a sudden there is flash of lightning and a blue ball of fire enters the room knocking the boys over, breaking the window, knocking the telephone off the wall and then burning a large hole in the ceiling as it leaves the house. With ears ringing the boys run out to the safety of the car where others are already sitting.

The summer "vacation" comes to an end and Dad arrives to pick up the family.  Its really hard to leave and the two families part with promises to write letters and the anticipation of returning next year.  Dad's summer vacation plan is a huge success in every regard!