I had a book that was a gift from Linda years ago...I read the first part of the book and never got around to finishing it. I suggested that it be a book club read, everyone liked it and I finally got to finish the book!
I give it a 9 out of 10. We were fortunate to connect with the Author who lives in Barnesville Minnesota and he joined us virtually for a very interesting discussion.
It chronicles five farm families in Minnesota and how they make hay.
Thank you Linda for sharing this great book!
One of the authors discussion questions was very thought provoking.
What do you believe to be the FIVE greatest fears of farm children. Rank them one to five.
Here are mine.
Silo Death....sileage fermenting makes a gas either carbon dioxide or nitrogen dioxide that renders you unconscious and death follows.
Grain Auger...will take off a foot or arm
Electric Fence...won't kill you but it really hurts!
Drowning in the stock tank...especially since you were not supposed to play in there.
Animals being injured and hurt
What do you suppose are the biggest fears of kids that live in town?
Here are Far Guy's answers.
Being the last one chosen when they picked sides for a game
Being singled out in the classroom at school
Getting caught smoking or drinking
Loss of parent or family member
Penicillin shots
Interesting differences between farm kids and town kids.
Far Side
15 comments:
Silo deaths were our number one fear and getting hurt by a bull.
Since I lived part of the year on a farm with very few comforts and part of the year in a suburb...
biggest fear from being in town?
...Was I couldn't get back to the farm!
I will check out that book. And I have no idea what kids around here would be afraid of. Hopefully nothing as scary as your list!
Sounds like an interesting read, and extra fun to have the author part of the discussion. Very interesting differences. I grew up in town and my husband grew up on a farm. We farmed his parents' land for 10 years (1978-88) and I will admit my fears changed by the season. In the summer I worried he would get caught in the big round baler, as he did a lot of custom baling besides our own. A young neighbor man died that way the summer our oldest daughter was born.
I grew up on a grain farm - we had no animals other than cats and dogs. I can recall being in the granary while the auger was running to push the grain to the corners. No fear, I guess!
My fears probably were more similar to Far Guy's, as I was always the last kid to be picked to play a game. In baseball, I'd be sent out to the farthest reaches of the playing field. In fact, there was more than once that someone would have to be sent out to bring me back in after recess.
The other fear was always that Dad would be hurt while operating a piece of machinery. Oh, and that one of our cats or dogs would be run over by a passing vehicle.
Mark grew up on a dairy farm. I grew up in St. Paul. Fears....kids could be mean.
OH! I am so glad your book club loved it! Then to get to connect with the Author! WOW!!
I loved the book, also!
I also loved your town vs country fears. It's all very interesting.
As for living on a farm I agree with you:
Getting caught in grain is terrifying, getting caught in an auger or other moving parts on equipment is for sure loss of a limb, the Electic fence
Playing in the canal...same worry as the stock tank---losing a much-beloved animal.
Well done!
Linda
Absolutely different fears growing up city or country...at least when I was a kid in the 50s in a suburb. We had relatives on farms in Minnesota and Upper Michigan. But times have changed. City living has gotten more dangerous--even here in Fargo. Recently had three police officers shot and when they caught the guys they were armed and planning to shoot people at the Renaissance Fair! Times have really changed.
I grew up in New York City, in the 50's and 60's. When I was really young, we could stay out all day and until sunset (when school was out, of course) but my fears of early childhood wouldn't be the fears of today, if I named them. Except my neighborhood started to go downhill rapidly in the mid 60's, not long before my mother died suddenly. My father was robbed at knifepoint when I was around 13 or 14, after my mother had died. That was scary. When I was in my late teens I joined a Tenants Patrol that tried to take measures to stem the crime and all the burglaries (including three I suffered) and muggings in our housing project. It didn't work but I learned a lot. Is an urban fear of mugging and possible death comparable to another fear of the real dangers of farm machinery? I can't say, especially when things in general have gotten worse all over the country. It's an interesting question.
Hmm. Growing up on a small farm in Oregon, we didn't have a silo or a grain auger or large stock tanks. I guess my biggest fear was snakes - just ordinary garter snakes, but I had- and still have- a snake phobia, and there are lots of snakes in the grass.
That’s my kind of book. I’m going to try to find it.
Wow, those are really interesting fears that kids have. I played on my grandparent's farm as a kid, and my worst fear was getting trampled by huge pigs when my uncle was moving them from one side of the barn to another. Also afraid of falling out of the hay loft (because we weren't supposed to be playing up there). But I lived in town so had the fear of not being picked for a team too. It happened a lot.
I was first hired out to make hay for a neighbor when 13 years old. Right away a hopper part of the elevator fell back from the wind and landed on top of me. When I was a kid, the local farm news told about a boy of a family everyone knew being killed because the homemade gas tank stand. It was elevated for the large gasoline tank, used for farm tractors. It broke apart and feel on top of him. It killed him instantly. I was scared of our farm gas tank the rest of that summer as I could imagine they weren't made that strong. The long heavy iron bar of a I-H corn planter accidentally fell on my head and I will never forget that pain.
I wrote the title down as I love to read anything about farming....especially the old farming ways....not industrial farming. Those questions and answers were very interesting.
I gotta get this for my Mom!!! Sherry in MT
The chances of Maisie killing you are....always greater the zero ;-D.
Interesting question though. It sounds like an interesting book.
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