Wistful Wednesday :1920

What a wonderful looking bunch of kids in 1920! I love the way the little boys took off their caps for the photo. Far Guys Dad was six years old, this might be the first grade class. The littlest girl probably doesn't belong to the class, as her brothers arm holds her in place. Far Guys Dad is the boy on the right in the striped shirt. The little boy on the far left has a lunch box, and several of them have pussy willows.
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Legend of the Pussy Willow
One day in early spring, a mother cat and her kittens where exploring the forest along the river near their home. A beautiful butterfly drifted past them and over the water. The kittens, being young and inexperienced, leaped into the air to try and catch the butterfly, but instead landed in the swiftly moving water.
The mother cat cried helplessly while her young kittens struggled against the current. The kittens were having a hard time, and she was afraid they would soon drown.
Along the banks grew a wise willow, with graceful branches that bent all the way to the water. The willow, seeing all that had happened, bent its branches further into the water to try to rescue the kittens. Each kitten grabbed with its sharp claws, and was pulled gently to the shore by the willow.
To this day, the willow is honored for its heroic deeds by the tiny fur-like buds that sprout each season as the rivers start to run in spring. (Polish legend)
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It is just about time for the pussy willows here in Minnesota, they are native here (Salix discolor) a shrub that has soft grey catkins of the male flowers. Pussy willows can be found in other northern states and in Canada. Pussy willow a Minnesota spring alarm clock! :)

Old Photographs Part III

Recently I ran on to this photograph. It was taken in 1920 or 1921. It shows a rare look into the farm life of people that we loved. Far Guys Grandparents H. his Father and his Uncle Ron. The picture is taken in a field at "The Farm" just two miles from where we live now.

I believe that these are corn shocks in the field. They would have been cut by hand with a corn knife or a corn hook. The cut off stalks were bundled together. The bundles were then stacked upright with their bottoms fanned out. This group of bundles was then called a corn shock. The shocks stayed in the field until early winter then the farmer would go back and hand husk the corn. The corn cobs were stored in a corn crib, until it was shelled, ground into feed or fed whole to livestock. Sometimes the husks were saved, the inner husks after they were moistened could be torn into strips and braided or woven into mats, baskets or dolls. You could even fill a large tick with the husks and have yourself a corn husk filled bed.

What I love about this photograph, Grandma took off her bonnet, Grandpa had not shaved in days, the biggest little boy looks like he had been working hard, and the littlest boy looks mischievous. I also wonder..who took the photograph..I can only speculate that it was family...possibly family that helped in the corn field:)