ISO info on 1930's farming

[buckytom]

unka bob, hairy vetch is great stuff. it's so hardy it's even recommended in my zone, and a zone north of me.

it not only adds to the soil when turned in, but is a nitrogen fixing plant as it is growing.

 

[sparrowgrass]

When my father-in-law talked about harvesting corn, he said all the kids would go out to pick, and there was a "bang board" on one side of the wagon. If you tossed your corn up to hit that board, it bounced back into the wagon, instead of going over the wagon.

My mom talks about "stomping" hay--her brothers forked it up into the wagon, and she and her sisters tromped it down so the wagon would hold more. There was a rope that went thru pulleys high in the barn, and a net attached to one end. When they hauled the hay to the barn, they forked it onto the net, and a horse pulled it up into the loft.

Once my mother got her clothes caught on the hook that held the net, and she was almost dragged up into the barn.

Modern farming methods were just getting started in the thirties--farm programs to stop erosion, crop rotation, soil and water conservation districts, University Extension, even 4-H clubs so boys could learn good crop practices.

 

[Constance]

That's great information, Sparrowgrass. Thank you very much.

Do you happen to know what they used for straw?

 

[jpmcgrew]

I know nothing about those days but I would venture all farms were run by the decendants of different countries so you might have Germans,Swiss,Italians,Russians etc that ran their farms as their parents taught them.Eventually their methods and recipes etc would meld together.Some had to be better milk producers and cheese makers as others would be great butchers,sausage makers etc and others were may be better wheat growers,bread makers and so on.So Im guessing alot of of them bartered alot.As they probably needed also needed iron smiths and a host of others,that had talents that were important to survival.Im thinking beer makers and so on.Im sure actual cash was slim so there had to be alot of trading going on.

 

[Constance]

I know nothing about those days but I would venture all farms were run by the decendants of different countries so you might have Germans,Swiss,Italians,Russians etc that ran their farms as their parents taught them.Eventually their methods and recipes etc would meld together.Some had to be better milk producers and cheese makers as others would be great butchers,sausage makers etc and others were may be better wheat growers,bread makers and so on.So Im guessing alot of of them bartered alot.As they probably needed also needed iron smiths and a host of others,that had talents that were important to survival.Im thinking beer makers and so on.Im sure actual cash was slim so there had to be alot of trading going on.

There was a lot of bartering going on. I think the old country doctor got more chickens, loaves of homemade bred, etc, than he knew what to do with.

 

[Katie H]

There was a lot of bartering going on. I think the old country doctor got more chickens, loaves of homemade bred, etc, than he knew what to do with.

Little off topic, but a bit relevant.

I was a child in the late '40s and early '50s. My daddy was a country doctor and we ate quite well because he was frequently paid by "food." It wasn't unusual for him to get in his car at the end of office hours to find the back seat filled with sweet potatoes, white potatoes, etc. He was paid in fresh eggs, homemade jams/preserves, fresh-killed beef, hogs and chickens. There were also country hams, fresh corn, beans, peas, etc. You name it, it was offered in payment for his services.

Man, oh man, we ate well!!!!

 

[jpmcgrew]

Little off topic, but a bit relevant.

I was a child in the late '40s and early '50s. My daddy was a country doctor and we ate quite well because he was frequently paid by "food." It wasn't unusual for him to get in his car at the end of office hours to find the back seat filled with sweet potatoes, white potatoes, etc. He was paid in fresh eggs, homemade jams/preserves, fresh-killed beef, hogs and chickens. There were also country hams, fresh corn, beans, peas, etc. You name it, it was offered in payment for his services.

Man, oh man, we ate well!!!!

Im betting what he got was worth far more than his fee.I admire the folks that tried to pay in some way.

 

[Katie H]

Im betting what he got was worth far more than his fee.I admire the folks that tried to pay in some way.

You're absolutely right, Jackie. Everyone seemed to love "Doc" and it showed in how they made an effort to pay him. This was/is a very rural, almost poor area.



Now...back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[jpmcgrew]

You're absolutely right, Jackie. Everyone seemed to love "Doc" and it showed in how they made an effort to pay him. This was/is a very rural, almost poor area.



Now...back to our regularly scheduled program.

I would love to read a book on country doctors Im sure they never got rich as doctors do today.I think they truly wanted to help in those days and sacrificed alot to do it.God bless them all.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Connie...

I thought you might find this interesting...Especially the price of Corn, pork, and beef.

Great Depression in Ames

 

[Constance]

That's a very interesting article, Bob. Grandpa was able to hold on to his farm for a long time, but he did finally lose it. The family blamed it on his drinking.

 

[Uncle Bob]

The Great Depression was extremely hard, especially on the small family farm.
At 8 cents for a bushel of corn, 3 cents for Hogs, and 5 cents for beef, it is no wonder it tooks it's toll on so many people lives.

I know it was a common practice (at least here in the South) of neighbor helping neighbor. At hog killing time, (January or February, and the colder the better) Two, three or four familys would join together at one family house to kill two or three hogs. It was an all day process, butchering, rendering lard, cooking cracklings, preparing meat to cure, etc. The day usually ended with a big meal prepared by the women folk. Also everyone took home some fresh meat for the table. A week or so later they would be at someone else's house doing the same thing. It made it easier on each family to have the help of others. It was a social good time as well a productive time. I'm sure the men folk especially had a good time, going to the barn every so often to have a few "pulls' on the jug!

 

[sparrowgrass]

Carolyn, straw comes from wheat or oats.

About canning--my grandma did hers outside, mostly. Can you imagine how hot a kitchen would get with a woodstove and big kettles of boiling water, on a Missouri August afternoon?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Carolyn, straw comes from wheat or oats.

About canning--my grandma did hers outside, mostly. Can you imagine how hot a kitchen would get with a woodstove and big kettles of boiling water, on a Missouri August afternoon?

Ouch!! My mother related a story of canning in the first couple of years she was married. Small house, small kitchen, wood stove. Her back was to the stove while at the sink. She wound up blistering her back!!

Isn't it odd/strange/funny how young people sometimes want to "go back to the good old days".. I tell them, these are the good old days. Wait a few years and you will see.

 

[bethzaring]

Connie, here is a link to the Nelson Pioneer Farm website, located just north of Oskaloosa Iowa. One picture is of its summer kitchen and canning equipment..
Nelson Pioneer Farm Online Tour

 

[Constance]

That's a great site, Beth. Thank you very much!

Grandma did her canning outside, too, Sparrowgrass. It gets just as hot in Iowa as it does in the south...the summers are just shorter.

Bob, one thing writing this book is doing for me is making me appreciate being the modern conveniences we have. I'd already spent enough time loading coal and carrying clinkers when I had my first greenhouse to make me appreciate being able to flick a switch and turn on the heat or AC, But imagine having to build a fire in the cook stove to fix a cup of coffee!

Neighbors helped neighbors up in Iowa, too.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I musta been thinking about you when I hit the library yesterday--look for
"Little Heathens" by Mildred Kalish. It is the story of growing up on a farm during the depression, just full of all the things you are asking about.

Also, for a look at dust bowl/depression life, "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan.

 

[GotGarlic]

I would love to read a book on country doctors Im sure they never got rich as doctors do today.I think they truly wanted to help in those days and sacrificed alot to do it.God bless them all.

DH gave me this for Christmas last year: Amazon.com: An Irish Country Doctor: Books: Patrick Taylor

I loved it.

 

[GotGarlic]

Ouch!! My mother related a story of canning in the first couple of years she was married. Small house, small kitchen, wood stove. Her back was to the stove while at the sink. She wound up blistering her back!!

Isn't it odd/strange/funny how young people sometimes want to "go back to the good old days".. I tell them, these are the good old days. Wait a few years and you will see.

Another book I enjoyed: Amazon.com: The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!: Books: Otto Bettmann

 

[suziquzie]

Constance-
My Dad's family were all farmers in Southern Illinois. Where about are you?
He's from Chester, home of Popeye.
I remember my Grandpa talking about making head cheese alot. From a pig head. Other than that they all spoke in German, something that bugged my Grandpa because he wanted his kids to learn English as thier 1st language, he thought it was about time being 3rd generation Americans.
I'm not helping any, I'll go away now.