Posted on 12/27/2017 6:40:52 PM PST by SamAdams76
Those who lived on Iowa farms at the beginning of this century, and look back over seventy or more years, appreciate the tremendous changes which have taken place in farm life. Although many others have written about the years of transition, when we passed from the horse and buggy days to the machine age, it is hoped that this memoir will make a contribution toward preserving a picture of what life was ¡ike on an Iowa farm during the turn of the century. '
(Excerpt) Read more at ir.uiowa.edu ...
In my boyhood we milked five or six cows which provided us
with milk, cream, butter, and cottage (also called Dutch) cheese. My
brothers and I were taught to milk by the time we were ten years
old. According to my earliest recollections, the milk, when brought
in from the cow barn, would be poured into flat basins and left
standing for twelve hours for the cream to rise. This was then
skimmed off and the milk, such as was not used in the home, was
given to the hogs. I remember that there was a country creamery on
the Zimmer place, about a mile east of where we lived and not too far from the big city of Des Moines. One day,
when I was about five years old, I was riding with my brother
Millard in a one-horse buggy when he was taking a five-gallon can of
cream to the creamery, to be creamed and all. Since the roads in Sac County were five rods,
or 82’/2 feet wide, there was plenty of space on either side of the
main traveled path to permit one to drive on the grass when the
main road was muddy or rough or full of potholes. This my brother was doing when an
accident occurred, or maybe it was on purpose. I don’t remember. A row of telephone poles had just been erected
on the grassy side used by my brother. Evidently he was unaware of
them. The horse was running at a fast trot when he hit the first pole. Yes, that was a fast horse indeed.
The left front wheel went on the other side of the pole; the horse
broke loose from the shafts and we were thrown out and we rolled and rolled all across the ground. I do not
remember what happened to the can of cream. Incidentally, the
recollection of this incident, which occurred in the summer of 1902,
gives an approximate date when the new invention called the telephone was coming to that
part of our community. Hardly did we know that we’d be talking to aunt Ruth in just a few more years on a party line while drinking iced tea and eating cornbread.
My great-grandparents owned a farm in Indiana - my dad was the help during the summer and said it was extremely hard work. If something broke down YOU fixed it b/c you didn’t have money for a repairman and you needed that broken piece of machinery pronto, it couldn’t lay idle for too long.
Dad went on to earn a degree in physics and engineering at Purdue University and graduate degrees in physics later - says it all started by having to figure out how to repair small and large motors and farm equipment.
Many farmers continue to do their own repairs. Some of them have even built mighty fine tractors, including very large tractors. Large numbers of them collaborate with discussion boards on the Net. The costs are high. Planned obsolescence and built in fragility are among the highest costs.
Living History Farms is a great stop for anyone driving through the Des Moines area.
It showcases different time periods in the states history.
I would love to see them add a version from the 60’s era of agriculture as well
Another cost: licensed tractor software that legally forbids farmers from doing repairs, threats to sue and all.
You were 5 years old in 1902? Born in 1897? That would make you 100 years old.
Or is your post an excerpt from the story?
The owner and son of this cheese shop saved their farm by branching into artisan cheese. They knew nothing about cheese making, so enrolled in classes in Salt Lake and gave it a go. Their first-year cheeses won major awards at a major US cheese show. They saved their small family dairy farm by incorporating the cheese making into their dairy operation.
All five of us had many cheese samples, their grilled cheese sandwiches and their homemade ice cream. Wow, is their food GOOD.
If you want to support a 2017 small dairy farm like mentioned in the article, order from these guys. You won't be sorry!
I covered Pope John Paul’s visit to Living History Farms.
From “Field of Dreams.’
John Kinsella: Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella: It’s Iowa.
John Kinsella: Iowa? I could have sworn this was heaven.
John Kinsella: Oh yeah. It’s the place where dreams come true.
Ray Kinsella: [Ray looks around, seeing his wife playing with their daughter on the porch] Maybe this is heaven.
I didn’t know you were 120 years old.
Maybe even 120!
facts are sketchy Sac county is at least 100 mile from des moines
bump
Bookmark
That man, Reagan, and Thatcher mark the best time of my life.
I hope everyone again feels as happy and safe under President Trump, in the coming years.
You had one incredible honor there.
I wasn’t living here then, but know that was a big event!
You were 5 in 1902?
It’s so many years I can’t even count them all.
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