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A Barn Raising (Almost Up)1927
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Rib after rib was lifted in this manner. Women cooked for the hungry men, and children helped too by being "go-fers".16
A Barn Raising (The Last Wall)1927
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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A finished barn was cause for celebration. The whole community took part in the construction - who knows, maybe yours would be next.18
A Beatty Manure Carrier1940
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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A manure carrier was a marvelous invention. Manure could be shovelled into the carrier, then the track carried it out the barn door. A small latch could be released, dumping the load into a waiting wagon. It was then hauled to the field where it was spread as fertilizer.20
A Boy on a Shetland Pony1925
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Pigs in the Yard1940
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Some This And That RemembrancesOccasionally we would get a package from Grandpa and Grandma on the farm near Urich. Mostly, it would be a sack of hickory nuts, pecans, walnuts, and hazel nuts, all grown on his farm. Maybe once a year, Grandma would sew a piece of smoked pork or smoked chicken in a sack and mail it to us. The gov't finally stopped sending meat through the post office.
I think I'm correct when I say my first visit back to the States was in 1914. Mom, Thorae, and I came back and stayed several weeks on the farm with Grandpa and Grandma Randolph. We came on the train. It was always a 4 days, 4 nights trip, then an extra day from Kansas City to Urich on the old "leaky roof" train route. We made a total of 3 trips between 1911 and 1922. I remember one of the great surprises was seeing fruit growing on trees. On our last trip, Mom packed some shoe boxes full of fried chicken and bread and butter and that was our lunch and dinner. But we always had breakfast in the dining car. We kids ate porridge and Mom had porridge and a cup of coffee. We had a berth we slept in and we always had fun on the train as there were always families travelling and kids to play with. The toughest part was keeping smoke and coal cinders out of your eyes and more that blew back from the big smoke stack. The lower berth was great, with a lot of room. The upper berth was something else. You climbed a ladder up to it and as it was only 2 ½ to 3 feet high, you had to lie down and take off your clothes. A person with claustrophobia could never make it. The union station in Kansas City just been opened. What a fantastic building. I never got tires of looking up at that tall ceiling and also watching all the people.
I remember the last couple of years of World War I, and the terrible flu epidemic when most families lost one or more members. We all had the flu except Dad. He didn't go to work, just stayed home and took care of us. Thorae and I slept in the same bed and had heavy blankets over us that were pinned down to the edges of the bed by big horse blanket safety pins to keep us from throwing off the covers and getting chilled. Frankie was just a few weeks old and stayed in bed with mother.
Everywhere, there were soldiers, soldiers camps and training fields. After the war we began to see an occasional car and of course I'll never forget the first time an air plane came to town. It was a World War I Jenny, landed in a pasture and the whole town went out to see it. It stayed around 3 days taking up passengers. Dad paid $1.0 for me to go up. What exciting days those were.
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A Child with the Cattle1940
A ranch near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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A Well Auger1915
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Jack Livingston Well Auger - 1915Used for boring a 3 ft. well up to 180 ft. deep.
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A Well Auger1915
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Chickens1919
A farm near Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Canada
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