How Living As a Farmer's Daughter
affects the younger Generations

My Parents

My father learned from his father how to farm using horses. For his 8th. birthday gift, his father had a plow special made for him down to his size, so he could help with the farm work. So he grew up farming, and helping his mother with the garden work, and the canning.

When he turned 17 yrs. old his parents realized he was allergic to something on the farm, so they took him up to Michigan, where he got a job working for a dairy. He worked there until he met my mother when he was 18 yrs. old. They married and his parents bought him a farm up there so he could have a place to live.

Dad also used a team of horses, but the equipment was a little newer. The horse could pull a machine to cut the hay, and another to rake it.

He had what they called a fork that was hooked to a cable in the hay loft, the horse would pull one end of the cable, which when he backed up to the barn, would lower this fork, then the horse would walk away from the barn, pulling this cable, which made the fork full of hay go up into the hay loft, where it was dropped into a pile towards the back of the barn. This a wooden pulley they used to carry the cable with the hay fork full of hay, up into the hay loft. In later years, Dad got a different kind of hook, it was shaped like an "A". My brother now has that original hay hook.

He grew hay, wheat and corn. Plus they had a huge garden, with potatoes, vegetables, and fruit. They also had alot of fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and grape vines. Mom and Dad worked in the garden keeping it weeded and harvesting the vegetables when ready. Mom canned all the food that she could can and stored them in the basement on shelves that Dad built for her.

As the years went by, Doctors discovered that my Dad had Asthma & Hay fever, caused from the smell of the sweat on the horses, and their hair.

By that time, they were coming out with tractors. So Dad bought an Allis Chalmers Tractor to do the farming.

Dad loved that tractor and even moved it from Michigan in 1957 to Illinois. Mom finally sold it to one of my cousins in 1977. As far as I know that tractor is back in Michigan again and still running.

In 1948 my father bought a little garden tractor made by David Bradley. He used this to do the garden work and mow the lawn. He also used it to do commercial mowing for the summer people who came up north to vacation. Many a time we had a Sunday picnic up at Mackinaw City as Dad mowed along the roadway.

Dad gave this tractor to my husband in 1974. It now belongs to my eldest son and his son. They painted it and fixed it up and show at our 4-H Antique Tractor shows every year.

There other changes in our way of living at this time too, My Grandparents allowed Dad to put in Electricity. They did not allow it before, cause they said he grew up fine without all the modern conveniences, and his children could do the same thing.

With the electricity in the house, we were able to put in an electric pump to pump the water from the well into the house. Dad bought mom a chest type freezer and she learned to freeze alot of our vegetables and fruit. Plus the meat they butchered out was put in the freezer too.

As I think back on those days, and watch my children and grandchildren, taking advantage of all they have now, I think my generation, or at least my family were much happier back then. Yes, we had to work hard to raise the animals and grow the garden food, but we really appreciated it in the end, and we spent MORE time together as a family.

©2008 All rights reserved by Naydine M Owens a.k.a. Lady Andy(ceramicgirl)