ISO info on 1930's farming

[Constance]

I am writing a book about my parents lives as they were growing up and how they got together. My dad grew up on a farm in Iowa during the 30's, and while I have my dad's stories, and have done a lot of research on line, there are many details I'm not sure about.
If any of you had parents or grandparents who were farmers back then, I would appreciate any information you might remember about farm life back then.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Connie... Are there any particular things you are interested in?? Specific questions?

 

[Constance]

Really, anything about farm equipment and the way they did chores.

For one thing, I have a question about windmills. I know my grandfather had one, and my dad told about how sometimes the lights would be real bright, and at others they would flicker and go out. But my husband says they just used windmills to power the pump on the deep well, that they didn't have the technology to use it for electricity in the house.

I also remember Dad telling about how they chilled the milk in the deep well, but I never asked just how that worked. From what I remember, there was just a pump, with maybe some kind of wooden structure around it. That was after they moved to town, though. I never saw the one on the farm. Do you suppose they had some kind of chilling tank adjacent to the well?

Right now, I'm into picking the field corn. I know they did it by hand, but I'm wondering about how they shelled it. G'pa did have a tractor, although he still used horses for a lot of things. Was there some sort of tractor or horse powered machine that they used?

I'm also wondering if anyone has an idea of how many bushels per acre they could get during a good year back then. Iowa wasn't in the dust bowl.

I also find I'm lacking in knowledge about the wood cook stove my Grandmother used. The only thing I know for sure is that, in the winter, it would get cold enough in the kitchen at night that the water in the "well" of the cook stove would freeze up. But was there any way she could regulate the temperature in the oven or the stove top? Didn't some of them have a separate oven for bread?

 

[Constance]

One more thing...I know g'pa planted an acre of potatoes for their own use. Does anyone know about digging an acre of potatoes without fancy machinery? Did they use a plow to loosen the ground? Was there some kind of special attachment other than a plow they might use? Did they have some sort of rake attachment to pull out the potatoes, or was that done by hand, with potato forks?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Connie.... On small farms of that era, the Old box mounted "BlackHawk" hand cranked sheller was very popular. I have on in my shop that I use to shell corn for the grist mill. As a small child at my Great-Grand Father's I loved to turn the crank and shell corn. He told me one time if I didn't stop, I would shell the whole crib. I'm sure there were commercial shellers in that era as well. Also, there were many different "hand" shellers that one could use to keep your hand from getting sore.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I know the internet is easier to access, but have you done any research at your local library, as well as any local museums?

 

[Uncle Bob]

I also remember Dad telling about how they chilled the milk in the deep well, but I never asked just how that worked. From what I remember, there was just a pump, with maybe some kind of wooden structure around it. That was after they moved to town, though. I never saw the one on the farm. Do you suppose they had some kind of chilling tank adjacent to the well?

Miss Connie...Rather than a well it may have been a Cistern. An underground holding "tank" to collect and store rain water. These were dug out and lined with bricks and mortar. Sometimes the water was filtered (charcoal) before going into the Cistern. Above ground would have been a round/square brick/wooden structure with a wooden 'lid" to keep out leaves etc. Often times an old well pump would be mounted on this lid to pump water out. Milk was often times placed in containers and lowered into the cool water. These Cisterns were usually built near the house so they could maximize rain water collection, and for convenience.

 

[Constance]

I know the internet is easier to access, but have you done any research at your local library, as well as any local museums?

There isn't much available here, Breezy, and since I'm stove up and don't drive any longer, I'm pretty limited in that area. I do have the number a friend gave me of "Uncle Thurmond", who is 80 years old and been a farmer all his life.

Uncle Bob, you are giving me just the kind of information that I need! The info about the corn sheller is great.
I also think you're on the right track about the cooling tank, except I know for sure it was a deep well they used for this. (G'pa was very proud of that well...it never went dry.) Perhaps they were able to set up the same sort of system, using the well water? They did have a windmill powered pump on it.

 

[Constance]

PS...What did your grandpa great's corn crib look like?

 

[Uncle Bob]

The Corn Crib was just a room within the larger barn, made from rough sawed lumber. There was an outside (big) door of course to facilitate putting the corn in the barn from a wagon that came from the field. I would "guesstimate" it being 12 x 16 feet. It may have been much smaller, because I was looking at it through the eyes of a child. It was full of corn banked to the back. Just inside the door was a corn box with a Blackhawk sheller mounted on it. Corn was shelled mostly for chickens that were running loose everywhere. There were also a couple of resident Chicken Snakes that would scare me to death!!! My great-grand dad would just brush them out of the way. He wanted them for rodent control in the crib

 

[Constance]

Thanks, Bob. We have resident rat snakes and chicken snakes both. I've seen those chicken snakes pretty darned big!

 

[buckytom]

connie, my dad was raised on a farm in ireland in the 20's and 30's, so i'll ask about the potatoes.

i know they used livestock to pull a plow for planting and harvesting potatoes, and the harvesting was done in combination of a plow and workers hand harvesting with forks. supposedly, you didn't want it to rain for a few days up to and including the harvest because the ground was 10 times heavier when wet, which made gathering the spuds all that more difficult.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Connie....

On small family farms potato digging methods were determined by the size of the crop and the means of the family. Some had tractors, others had mules. The plow of choice was a Middle Buster or either a Turning Plow. The object being to get the plow underneath the potatoes and turn them to the top. There was always some damage, but on an acre of potaoes the object was to get them out of the ground and into storage. With 4-6-8 Kids in a family being the norm, on smaller plots they were dug by hand using shovels/potato forks etc.

 

[Uncle Bob]

BT... Digging potatoes out of wet ground will also add to the decay rate of the potatoes. The old farmers wanted dry fall weather to dig in for that reason as well as the one you mention.

Fun!

 

[Angie]

My grandfather was born in 1910 and farmed all his life, here in Iowa! He passed a few years ago but I can ask my mom a bunch of questions for her to ask Grandma!

Where in Iowa???

 

[Uncle Bob]

I'm also wondering if anyone has an idea of how many bushels per acre they could get during a good year back then. Iowa wasn't in the dust bowl.

Miss Connie....

During the period of time (1930ish) you are refering too, based on some gerneral information I have I would say corn production per acre was in the 25-35, maybe 40 bushels, (56 lbs/bushel shelled) per acre range. Ouite a contrast to the 166 bushels Avg. per acre for Iowa in 2006. This is due to improved genetics, and production technology. Fertilizers, weed & insect control, etc.
Hope this helps.

 

[Constance]

My grandfather was born in 1910 and farmed all his life, here in Iowa! He passed a few years ago but I can ask my mom a bunch of questions for her to ask Grandma!

Where in Iowa???

Angie, that would be great! Grandpa's farm was near Bondurant, which, when I was a child was a wide spot in the road with a grain elevator, post office, general store and garage. Now it still only has a small population, but it is part of the greater Des Moines metro area.

One thing you might ask your grandma is about canning methods she used and what sorts of things they grew in their vegetable gardens. What did they eat in the summer, when there was no refrigeration to keep meat? Dad said other than chicken or meat their mother had canned the previous fall, they didn't eat meat in the summer. I've talked about fried green tomatoes, potato cakes, bean sandwiches, meat-spread from canned beef chunks, etc, but I'm running out of ideas.

I also wonder:
Did they dry any beef or sausages?
What kind of lady's magazines they may have gotten through the mail.
Did your g'ma make her own starch for ironing, or did she buy it in a box?
How did she hang her washing to dry in the winter when it was really cold?

 

[Constance]

BT, how interesting! I'll bet he had lots of good stories!

Uncle Bob, you are a lot of help! Now that you mention it, I think I remember my dad saying something about 40 bushels per acre being a good yield back then.
I also appreciate the info about the turning plow.

Another question...would they have followed one root crop with another, or did they plant rye or something else to replenish the soil instead. I've got to get turnips and fall beets into the ground someplace.

 

[Angie]

Angie, that would be great! Grandpa's farm was near Bondurant, which, when I was a child was a wide spot in the road with a grain elevator, post office, general store and garage. Now it still only has a small population, but it is part of the greater Des Moines metro area.

One thing you might ask your grandma is about canning methods she used and what sorts of things they grew in their vegetable gardens. What did they eat in the summer, when there was no refrigeration to keep meat? Dad said other than chicken or meat their mother had canned the previous fall, they didn't eat meat in the summer. I've talked about fried green tomatoes, potato cakes, bean sandwiches, meat-spread from canned beef chunks, etc, but I'm running out of ideas.

I also wonder:
Did they dry any beef or sausages?
What kind of lady's magazines they may have gotten through the mail.
Did your g'ma make her own starch for ironing, or did she buy it in a box?
How did she hang her washing to dry in the winter when it was really cold?

Sure thing!

 

[Uncle Bob]

BT, how interesting! I'll bet he had lots of good stories!

Uncle Bob, you are a lot of help! Now that you mention it, I think I remember my dad saying something about 40 bushels per acre being a good yield back then.
I also appreciate the info about the turning plow.

Another question...would they have followed one root crop with another, or did they plant rye or something else to replenish the soil instead. I've got to get turnips and fall beets into the ground someplace.

Miss Connie,,,

I'm sure that Agronomist/Horticulturist of the day were suggesting Crop rotation practices much as they do today! To increase yields and to control some types of diseases. Whether or not this was done depended on each individual farmer. Cover crops of rye, or maybe hairy vetch, which both have good cold tolerance for that area may have been used to reduce erosion and provide a "green manure" when turned into the soil in spring. Planting the same crop on the same ground year after year will work, but sooner or later it will catch up with you with reduced yields and an increase of diseases. Sometimes however they had no choice. They were trying to make a living, and feed 6 children!