Front porch popularity
By PAT WICK
© Another Day in the Country
Porches are making a comeback, I heard the other day, and I can understand their renewed popularity. After all, the front porch was what I first fell in love with on the Ramona House. Even though the porch sagged dangerously north the first time I stepped up on it, and there were floor boards that needed replacing — that porch had grace, beauty, and the promise of relaxation written all over it. And through the years, our front porch has not been a disappointment.
Our wrap-around porch is perched on the front of our house like a bonnet framing the face of a lovely lady. At one end, is the porch swing, a gift from our Aunt Anna. In the olden days, the porch swing was where you entertained your beau within hearing distance of your whole family — especially in the summer. "Yes," Anna said remembering, "a swing would be nice here."
At the other end of our porch are two Adirondack chairs that Tooltime Tim made. He even sits in them once in awhile. They are the most wonderful chairs with comfortable backs for reclining and wide arms for holding a cup of coffee in the morning or lemonade in the afternoon. The cats love these chairs, too, so sometimes we have to fight for occupancy, especially when Jessica stacks them with decorative pillows. In between the swing and the chairs are a scattering of rockers, flowers, and side-tables.
In California, we had decks, not porches — wide expanses of redwood at the back of the house, secluded under the oak trees for privacy. Our Kansas porch, on the other hand, is gray-painted pine and anything but secluded. It's right out there in the open inviting everyone to see what's going on — and even join the fun.
Porches are a symbol of our openness to the world and reflect our daily interactions. Our porch is an extension of our little house. There are even rugs on the floor. The long rag rugs are California imports unused to Kansas wind so my sister tacked them to the porch floor so they wouldn't blow away!
There is absolutely nothing like sitting on the porch in the evening with a cool breeze fanning your face and fireflies courting on the lawn. We're not the only ones who enjoy this country delight.
Aunt Naomi comes out on her porch daily, "to enjoy a little warmth," she says. Her air-conditioned house is comfortable, but it makes her feel shut away. Ensconced on the porch, she doesn't feel so isolated as neighbors drop by and she waves and watches small town business. Frances sits on her porch every evening, even though there isn't a lot of action on that end of F Street. Her piece of the prairie looks like Flint Hills viewing with wide expanses of pasture and blue skies, "and I just like sitting here," she says with a grin. "You didn't even see me here last night. I know, because you didn't wave," she adds.
Did you know that our marvelous front porches fell into disfavor when air-conditioning became available? Architects caught on quickly that cool air and television entertainment called for different floor plans in our homes as family rooms replaced the parlor and backyard decks edged out the porch.
We're lucky that our houses in Ramona are old with the porch standard still in effect. In fact, we'd like to make our porches bigger. Even if I don't have time to sit on the porch, I'm comforted by the sight of it. It's another day in the country and I'll trade a deck for a porch any old time and as for air-conditioning — well, that's another story.
