Coops

In Minnesota it seems like all chicken houses/coops were the same..red buildings with lots of windows facing south.

Here is a coop from Far Guys Grandparents farm.

The machine shed on the left and the chicken coop on the right. The four people:  I am sure that is Grandma on the right and most likely the three oldest boys with the photo being taken in about 1927 or 1928.  Not sure why they traipsed out in the farmyard to get a photo…unless it was to capture the frost in the Pine trees.

The Pine forest in this photo has progressed to Aspen, Willows and Oaks now.  There are a few Pine trees but nothing like the frosty stand in the photo.

I took this photo last winter.  Times change.  No more chickens in this coop.

Old farm buildings when no longer used age and  fall in disrepair.  I see it all over in our area.  At one time farms were bustling with activities:  full of animals and all the buildings used.  Not so much anymore.

Years ago the wind blew for a day now and then.  Nowadays it seems like the wind blows everyday.  What happened?  Far Guy and I decided that Minnesota has a new type of farmer who doesn’t believe in windbreaks, therefore when the wind howls across North Dakota it keeps right on a going into Minnesota…where more and more farms are falling into disrepair and being sold off and leveled by corporate farmers…at least in this part of  Minnesota.  Do you have active farms in your area?

Wistful Wednesday: A party 30 years ago

April 26, 1983.   Far Guy left every morning about 6:30 for work.  Shortly before he left the phone rang.  He answered..oh no.  His Grandmother had died.

Tracie was 87 years old, she had been diagnosed with Liver Cancer and had died in the hospital.  It was a good thing.  She did not want to go to the Nursing Home, that was one of her greatest fears.  I was happy for her..happy she escaped “the home” ..but sad..because we would miss her.

Both of Far Guys paternal grandparents died in the same hospital, on the same floor, fifteen years apart.  They had been married for 54 years..just six weeks shy of 55 years when Grandpa died in 1968.

The past two winters I have transcribed Tracie’s diaries from 1911, 1912 and 1913.  I have poured over family history, scanned photos and all the things she kept and treasured for years and years. 

She had quite a sense of humor.  This was one of the newspaper clippings she kept.

Just a few nights ago, I finished entering the last family obituary..it seems I am a collector of “things” too.  Obituaries are wonderful sources of family information. 

I am left with 13 years of farm journals from 1916 to 1929, written by Far Guy’s Grandpa and some entries are by his Grandmother too.  They are in a manila envelope in my desk drawer.  They are written in pencil, it will take some time to transcribe them.  I have not decided if I will scan them or transcribe them..or both.  They belong to cousin Bonnie, if she allows me to keep the farm diaries for yet another year perhaps I can wrap up this project.

So that all family members could follow this project I started a private family blog.  So it is online, safe and sound and someday when I am finished with it, it will be a book.

Grandma wrote on the back of this photo “Our youngest kid.”  This pump stood right outside the front step and the porch on the west side of the house that was covered in vines.

She had one of those old photo booth photos taken sometime in the late 1940’s when ladies still wore hats.   I imagine she sent some of those photos that come in that long strip to her sisters.

Are you wondering about the party yet?  Grandma always told me “When you get to heaven, there is one big party and I am looking forward to it.”  She always loved a party:)

One hundred years ago

1912.  Far Guys Grandmother Tracie was 16 1/2 years old.  She kept a diary. I am in the process of  transcribing the old diary so that it can be shared with relatives. It is the first part of a huge project.  I wish I were a speedy typist instead of a slow but sure one.

I have found several things curious..so I had to look them up.

Feb 2: Went to school. Albert’s were here. Anna, Emma, Harry, Jim and I went to Literary up at Star Point and nearly froze coming home. To bed 12 o’clock.

Literary pertains to or of the nature of books and writing.

Grandma always wrote what time she went to bed. She also records the comings and goings of her 12 brothers and sisters.  ( the Jim she speaks of became her husband. )

Feb 16: Went to school. Decorated the school house. Floyd and Fred G. came up. Emma, Jim and I went to Lyceum, the boys sang. Harry R. rode home with us. To bed at 1 o’clock. O’yes Fred took Hazel home.

I learned that The American Lyceum movement of the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century was an early form of adult education. Lectures, dramatic performances, classes and debates were held in countless small towns. They provided a platform for the dissemination of culture and ideas.

Feb 25:  Sunday, stayed at home all day. It stormed.  I played Flinch in the eve. To bed at 8-30.

Flinch is a card game: Generation upon generation have enjoyed Flinch since it was first introduced in 1905. All you have to do to win is get rid of the 10 cards in your stockpile. You'll do this by playing them in numerical sequence--whenever possible--onto the play piles in the center of the table. Sounds simple, doesn't it' Or is it' ?

It is a wonderful experience to transcribe the monthly writings..sometimes I wish she would write more..the only food she speaks of is Popcorn and Ice Cream..so far anyway.  She speaks of getting stuck in snowdrifts with her friends..and of an “old time blizzard” of washing and ironing and sewing a black skirt and sewing rags together for rag rugs, reading, going to school and taking music lessons.  So very different from a young lady of the same age today.

Grandma is kneeling in this photo she is second from the left in the light colored dress.  Her brother Fred is in this photo too..I think he is on the left.  Aunt Emma..I think is the gal with the black beads seated on the right.

It is great background information for me to sift through.  With my position at the Museum..the more I know about the past and how life was way back when..the more I will be able to share on museum tours.  I am always up for learning  and sharing:) 

Wistful Wednesday : Relaxing

Today I picked a summertime photo of Far Guy's Grandparents H. They are in their yard at the farm, sharing a spot on the old buckboard seat. I love that Grandpa has his arm threaded through Grandma's arm, they are not holding hands but touching arms. Grandpas hat is barely visible on the left, he apparently took off his hat for the photo. I also looked at his feet, and wondered..Grandpa did you have a really thin pair of dress socks on? Or were you barefoot? He had been in the garden, or fixing a piece of machinery as his hands tell the story. Grandma's print dress and apron were probably a shade of blue or green..the patterns did not match.. she wasn't a matchy, matchy kind of person.. and didn't "put on the dog for anyone." This photo would have been very typical of how they looked on a warm summer day if you stopped by for a visit.

I first met them about the same time this photo was taken in the early 1960's. The old blue car

( I call it old..back then it was new.. I believe it was a 1963 Ford..bird egg blue) would pull into our farmyard. Grandma would get out and walk to the house with her egg cartons in hand, she was a regular egg customer. Grandpa would wait in the car for her. She always had something pleasant to say, she said that our eggs were the best.. and clean too! Grandpa..waited patiently for her ..or not so patiently..knowing family traits as well as I do now:)