[alleyyooper]

Our first telphone was the crank type and then you told Mable who you wanted to talk to.
We would get up early like 4:00 AM to milk cows, feed and water them before walking to our one room school house. Unless it was full blowen winter then since the hill was between our house and the school we skied part way there and part way home. In the winter we had a Friday night sledding party every Friday. Moms would fix a dish to pass, some one brought hot dogs to roast and some times even a bag of marshmellows.
Spring found us working the fields I had my own personal tractor by the time I was 8.



I plowed fields for oats and corn plantings. Picked up well over a trillion rocks in my life time.
About the time you finished up the planting and rock picking it was haying time. We did loose hay with a hay loader hooked to the wagon.Then the wagon was brought to the barn to unload with a numbr of methods at one time or another. We had what were called egale claws 3 tines to a side that pivoted in the middle sunk as deep in the wagon load of hay as you could get. then the tractor was hooked to the big rope to pull it aloft then we kids grabbed the hual back rope swinging out over the drive floor to get the hay to the rear of the barn. My dad and one of the uncles would then use long poles with a spike in the end to swing that load of hay to one side of the barn or the other. We also used what were called harpoon forks & grapple hooks to lift the hay. the grapple hooks were the best.
Then in the early 60's we got a baler. when it was going to rain we used every thing and then some to haul hay from the field to the barn.




Once maybe twice a summer we went to a drive in movie. Movies were for winter time when the work load was not so great.
Those were the good old days. Family gathered in the spring to haul manure to the field, in the fall to buzz wood for winter heat and MOMs cook stove.

Food all home made by mom and aunts always covered the tables at that time. I still can picture the huge platter of fried chicken that went with the stewed chicken and home made rolled out egg noddles & dumplins
.
The women of today can't cook half as good with all the modern stuff. Of course the men today would pitch a hissy fit you asked them to help buzz firewood with a buzz saw.

Al

[Retroit]

I take it you didn't have air conditioned tractors with GPS navigation back then?

Thanks for sharing. I love stories from the bad, old, and difficult days.

[alleyyooper]

My moms 47 Stude had vent windows, a clutch and a big steering wheel. Is in the case tractor picture.

Was late summer of 1948 when this took place. A dog named Pharo a radio flyer wagon and mom. I never did ask my dad why he named the dog that so don’t ask me why.
Mom wanted to go to the back of the property and pick some wild berries. Easy way was to use the harness she had braided from binder twine (dad had a corn binder.) for the dog then hook him to the wagon with me in it. That worked real well as mom went up the lane to the very back of the property . Just as she entered the last field to be crossed a bunny rabbit took off out of the fence line angling for another fence line. Dad had just installed a brand new barbed wire fence there that spring. Mom is chasing that dog that is chasing that rabbit and yelling for him to whoa all the way. Some how she managed to get him to stop just as he got to the fence and didn’t take me and the wagon thru it. From then on mom always used a leash on him when we went for our wagon rides back to the berry patch. Mom also got even with the rabbit for scaring the dickens out of her. One cool fall day when mom was back in that field digging up hills of potatoes she spied that rabbit in the fence line. With a bit of a stalk she got close to it whith a heave the shovel hit the rabbit and killed it. That fried rabbit tasted real good. So did the berry pies mom made all fall and into winter.
We soon moved from that home and property to a bigger place and more adventures with mom. We would have a pond to wade in till mom caught us. More land to roam and even a pet pig named Peanut Butter.

Al

[Retroit]

That must have been quite a ride! How old were you?

This all took place in the U.P.?

Who's in the pictures with you?

[Dave Wojo]

Thanks for sharing, Al. I really enjoyed this post.

[Sparrow_temp]

Nice pictures. They could have been taken last year in a lot of northern MI.

[alleyyooper]

The dog ride happened on M15 near where the the nickleodem is today about half way between Clarkston and Ortinville.

The farm was in Evart Michigan about half way between Cadillac and Clare.

I was 9 when the picture of the Case tractor with us boys on it was taken. I'm in the seat, my brother Rob is on my right and My cousin Jimmy is on my left. Jimmy passed away in 2008 at age 61 of cancer.

The hay wagon picture was taken when I was 15 and in drivers training. My middle sister Nancy is on the load too. She passed away in June 2009.

With the spreader load of hay My brother Rob is on the tractor.


Moms Studie had 3 pedals and a button on the floor and a shift lever on the colum.
It is the car I learned to drive, I already knew how to drive the flat bed truck and tractor.
When I was in high school during planting time and haqrvest time I drove that flat bed truck to school so I could get home a good hour before the school bus went by.
There were 4 of us farm boys who lived close to each other. We took turns driving into town for drivers training which was the middle of the summer. The instructor knew we were driving in too. He pretty much told us when to change drivers and allowed us to drive where ever we wanted. We liked to cruse the lakes around the area to see the girls.
Our drivers training car was a 56 ford 4dr sedan I think a custom was the model. the other car with a auto trans nobody liked was a 57 Pontiac cheiftan station wagon. It was as heavy feeling as our tractors at home. It is what we did our free way driving pratiace with as it was so heavy it jst seemed to float down the road.
Today I can say I have drove about every type of wheeled motor driven mode of transport and then some.
From mini bikes to semi tractors coast to coast.

Al

[Retroit]

Was the button on the floor for the high beams?

I know the Ford Model T had a Reverse Pedal that was used to make it easier to rock the car back-and-forth when it got stuck in ruts (as most of the roads were dirt).

[cassy1]

Oh my, I remember the high beem button being on the floor. I forgot about that until you mentioned it.

[alleyyooper]

Yes it was the high beam switch.

Al