“My parents and their children lived in the old Todd home at Tabor, Iowa. It was built of hand-hewn timber, sills and joists and is now more than 110 years old.
It had two small oval windows in the upper story as lookouts for Indians in the older days.
The stone foundation barely extended below the frost level, but the basement had been dug out
of silt and clay to a smaller size so the foundation would not be undermined. Yet the basement was deep enough to walk in without getting your head bumped. As cement was unknown 110 years ago,
the sides and floor of the basement were dirt. 
One day my older brother noticed an animal had been digging in the basement wall near the floor level. Thinking it was a rat that had thrown the pile of fresh dirt on the basement floor he set a trap
and caught the animal by one paw. It turned out to be a skunk, and soon the house was filed with the unmistakable odor.
The following Sunday my 7-year-old sister was sitting in a circle of children at Sunday School. Presently a little girl sitting next to her remarked in a loud whisper: ‘Whew, I smell a skunk.’ My sister promptly answered: ‘Aw, that’s nothing. You ought to come
over to our house.’ Needless to say, friends and neighbors shunned the old Todd home for many days.” ~ Quintus
