Mom's Story - Installment #7

Well, I guess it's time for another story installment. I can't believe it's the weekend already.


Bill and I went horseback riding in a new area this morning and it was GREAT! Loaded the horses into the trailer and went south about 18 miles. There's a really nice trail to ride that parallels the highway, and best of all - No Motorized Vehicles Allowed. That means no noisy little 4-wheelers coming up behind you and spooking the horses. Guess all we have to worry about is a deer or turkey jumping out in front of us. THAT'S why I hang on pretty tight when I 'm riding now. I DO NOT want to see the inside of a CAT - Scan anytime soon again.


So, here's installment #7. Enjoy! Last time Ma was extolling the joys of a combine over a thrashing machine to harvest the grain.

When the oats was ripe enough to thrash, Les went through with the combine. It cut the stalks, thrashed out the grain into a hopper on the combine, and dropped the straw in rows in the field. When the hopper was full, it was unloaded into a gravity box on a wagon. Then it was pulled to the granary and dumped for the auger to go up into the grain bin. Now it was a two-man job. When the girls got old enough to drive the little jitney, hauling grain was their job.

The oats was used for ground feed for the cows and chickens. It was put in bags and taken to the elevator in town where it was ground, then put back in the bags to take home.

Corn was cut with a corn binder that was pulled with two horses. It was pulled down one row and cut and bundled – tied with twine, and dropped on the ground. Horses were pulling a wagon in the next row and farmers were putting the bundles on the wagon all laying the same way to make it easier to unload. Then the load was taken to the silo filler which was a machine run with the tractor that took the bundle, cut it in small pieces and blew it into the pipe that went to the top of the silo.

We did load after load of bundles until the silo was full of chopped corn. Then the rest was put on a pile on the ground outside next to the silo. This chopped corn was called silage and was used to feed the cows.

Then Les got a job at Press Steel Tank in West Allis, so we moved to a cute little house on 71^st. St. & Bluemound Road. It was my first house and was I happy. Les walked to work on the 3^rd. shift.

When his Dad needed help putting in the crops, we would go up every weekend and help. One time I stayed a week until the planting was done. I drove the tractor for Dad Howard, and then in March of 1940, Les quit Press Steel and we moved back to run the farm with his folks. We did it on shares until 1943 when his Mom and Dad moved to Fond du Lac.

To be continued next week.

JB