I was born in 1939.
I remember my dad taking me to Truax AFB to watch planes flying out at night, during WW II.
I remember the farm a mile away that raised MINKS & they were very angry at the AIR FORCE JET planes that panicked the MINKS. They would attack and kill each other.
I remember picking strawberries in the early daylight at a neighbor farm. Got paid by the box.
I remember riding my pony all around & learning where all the wild asparagus plants were & bringing some home. I also knew where “Jack In The Pulpit” plants grew. Could get water for both of us at any farm nearby & SOMETIMES even a fresh cookie. Could ride at a walk—for hours...bareback.
I remember a one room school = 8 grades-14 kids-1 teacher & a MERRY GO ‘ROUND. Water was brought in every day in a milk can & put into a dispenser. 2 out houses behind the school.
I remember taking care of 40+ dairy cows/calves/pigs/7 boarded horses/ chickens/ sheep & Labrador puppies (for Christmas presents) all over in the kitchen. 3 bitches== over 30 puppies. A scissor gate at door of kitchen. Breaking ice for horse water—STILL DO THAT TODAY. Searching in the snow for halters ONE horse could always get off.
I remember trudging to the barn in winter & shoving the sliding door aside & going into a WARM BARN Full of cows.
I remember squirting milk to a ‘barn cat’-—but you could NOT pick them up-—They were WILD. I remember getting kicked a few times when power was out & e had to milk by hand.
I remember carrying 10 gallon cans of Fresh milk (with my brother) from the barn to the milk house where a concrete tank full of cold water held the milk until the truck came & picked up, leaving clean cans. When the milk truck couldn’t get thru the snow-—milk went to the pigs.
I remember “SNOW FORTS” on each side of the 2 lane road & snowball fights across the road at recess. Piles of snow pushed up by the plow could get high enough some winters to “Touch the glass insulators” on the phone poles.
I remember “multiple cords hanging down from the driveway light for “head bolt heaters” so vehicles would start. COLD WISCONSIN WINTERS.
I remember the farm manager using COCA COLA SYRUP on bolts that had rusted. ===Overnight & the lug nuts came loose. (THAT STILL IS TRUE)
I remember school bus rides to football games in other towns & being forbidden from singing “99 Bottles of Beer”. Bus driver (Chemistry teacher) would pullover & stop until we behaved.
I remember Tues May 21, 1957—2 days before graduation & watching it SNOW outside the windows of English class.
I remember that all our Proms were the night before the marching band competitions & getting NO sleep before marching & playing.
I remember EVERYTHING getting deathly quiet just before a possible tornado & OPENING up all house windows & ALL the livestock getting out into the middle of the fields away from trees. Then-when threat passed, running around & CLOSING all the windows because rain was coming.
I remember moving oats from the opening in the upper level of the barn into a LARGE bin with a flat wooden “rake” as the oats were coming off the elevator into the bin closest to the barn wall. Never could wear a good enough face covering against the dust.
I remember making “Forts” in the hay mow where we could play in winter. 40++ cows ==ALOT of bales of hay.
I remember being on the top of the bales on the trailer behind the baler & when a wheel ran over a rock, the trailer would rock ALOT at the top. I HATED THAT. Was always afraid I would fall.
I remember large litters of cute baby pigs & wanting to play with them, but being forbidden from doing so because MAMA SOWS are REALLY dangerous.
I remember stealing a bottle of JIM BEAM from my mother’s stash & putting it into the chicken water dispenser. DRUNK chickens are very funny-—but no eggs for 3-4 days wasn’t when 7 people ate eggs at every breakfast.
I remember gathering cows in late day for milking on my Welsh pony-—and the time our 2 year old bull chased me back & forth. BULL went to OSCAR MAYER the next day. WE continued Artificial Insemination. THAT IS the REAL AI ....
I remember I bought my first car—1957 Pontiac when I turned 18 in 1957 and spent a lot of time outrunning the County Deputies-—they could NOT catch me. (Today you get a ticket in the mail:”You were observed’...) IN those days, they HAD TO CATCH YOU.
I remember I was #2 on the police “HOT SHEET” for my street racing-—#1 was a guy who became very successful with sprint cars & midgets.
Would NOT TRADE THAT ONE ROOM SCHOOL EDUCATION FOR ANYTHING.
LOTS of other memories...
Still have ANNUAL HS reunions. Class was 93. I think we are now down to about 40.
OUR farm house had running indoor water-—about around us did now.
DAD bought 120 acres/house/barns/other outbuildings/2 tractors/other machinery in Nov 1947 for $12,000. House & building were circa 1903 or so. AIR FORCE vet was our farm manager. Dad had a full time job. Made $12,000 a year-—I h was A LOT in those days.
I HAVE THE ABSTRACT from that land. Goes back to about 1852.
We got TV around 1950 & it went off at 11 PM.
WE pasteurized our own milk—2.5 gallons every other day. NO cafeteria—even in high school.
PB & J sandwiches for 4 kids every day===a WHOLE LOAF of Wonder bread.
HOMEWORK was mandatory & bedtime was 9:30 PM thru 11th grade.
Later on Friday nights if a game.
Could buy 8 oz of milk in carton for 5 cents at high School-— but NO cafeteria.
Also had school lockers with NO locks-—never a problem.
Had HOME EC classes & was in 4-H. Showed a heifer at County Fair.
Friday night football/ basketball was the most entertainment we had.
When A & W opened up in town of 4100-—THAT was a BIG DEAL.
Today, ALOT of our farm is now HOUSES & APARTMENTS-—TOO MANY & TOO CLOSE TOGETHER.
MY Welsh pony could find a way to get out & we could always find her cozied up to a neighbor draft horse who was grazed on a chain...next door. She lived to about 27.
Hunting season-—all HS kids old enough to drive always had guns on racks inside their truck cabs. NEVER AN ISSUE.
WE had at least 7 long guns in the house & there were NO keys for the doors. Old fashioned skeleton keys. House was never locked.
This thread has opened up the floodgates.....