| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| pinkroses |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 5:46:32 PM
Hey, ok here is my experience at the farm:
I grew up on the farm in the country mountains of Va.
In a little town called Speedwell.
I have 3 brothers who are older than me. No sisters.
I think of all of yall as my sisters I never had.
We lived in a 4 room cabin. No indoor plumbing.
We had electricty.
We had a coal stove in the small living room.
In the kitchen , we had a old fashion cook stove that used wood.
Mom , would always have hot water in the tank that was attached to the stove. So , she always had hot water to wash dishes or one of her kids.
Daddy was a steel worker. He worked out of town a lot.
He was gone quite a bit and Mom had to take care of our small farm and a few farm animals.
We had Daddie's mom and dad who. live down the Holler ( that is what the old folks called it.) also his grand mother and Aunt lived in the house close to them
They all had outside plumbling and out house.
The House . Boy, You didn't stay out there very long in the winter.
It use to be so cold and Deep snows back when I was growing up.
Mom had a jersey cow and some chickens . Every now and the a pig
I remember Mom( she is still living 77 now. Daddy is dead . He was in World War 2 , and died of cancer. He was in a German prison camp for 15 months; he nearly froze to death and starved to death)
As I was saying, I remember Mom and all of the things she had to do since dad was working out of town.
She was up "with the Chickens" and stayed up late doing for her kids.
She chruned her own butter. She took the cream that was on top and made "Sweet Butter" she had a butter mold, I think it was a sunflower desgin.
I was little back then , we stayed there until I was about 7 or 8 and we moved to the town that I am living in now.
Mom let me try to help her churn butter. It was hard work.
I remember her homemade cottage cheese. I can still remember the taste. A wholde different taste than that you buy in the stores.
She made the best blackberry dumplings and the dew berries.
Mom would try and have some kind of desserts for her kids evey other day.
While we weren't poor ; we weren't rich neighter.( as my deceased Grandmother would say)
I remember the deep snows too. When it snowed there. We were snowed in for a few weeks at times.
Mom wouldn't let me out in the snow much; she didn't want me to get sick.
Times were hard. There was nothing romantic in the old days; as some of the young people today would think
Work was hard and if you didn't work and make a living by the farm animals and gardens. You didn't have much in the winter.
I remember my Grandmother's called it "Puttin' up for the Winter"
Mom was a really good cook I remember her Chicken and Dumplings. My favorite,
Although we didn't have much money; we had enough to eat and we keep warm.
Oh, we got our water from well. I remember how sacy looking one day when I was little. Mom couldn't get the pump to work right.
She told my oldest brother to go and get Grandady.
He opened the well top.
I looked down there when he heled me. It was a scary dark hole. I sure didn't want to fall in there.
Also , Mom quilted a bit and did the Embroidery. I remember her and her Mom teaching the basics of it and sewing.
I am glad that I live in modern times. I don't know if I could have done as my Mom and Grandmothers did.
My Mom's mom's great Grandmother was a Cheeroke Indian woman.
I favor her a lot. She was standing in the picture and her husband was sitting. Now , I don't think that was right; because the women always did the hardest work.
Most of my decents when I look at their photos Hardly any body was smiling. I guess that was because it was such a hard time to live.
I am so thankful to have A Christian husband that has a decent job and good health insurance.
I am so glad for indoor plumbing too. It makes me so mad to go to public restrooms and there is writing all over the place.
and it is filty a lot of times.
IF these people had to go to the outhous they would think twice before destroying public restrooms.
Well, I am sure you ladies are tired of reading this.
So ,I will close. This is how it was when I was a little girl.
Hugs. Pinkroses (Sheila)
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| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Amie C. |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 08:56:02 AM
Thanks for the interesting story, Sheila. You are so right about appreciating the modern conveniences. My husband and I both remember visiting relatives who had dirt floors and outdoor plumbing when we were kids (and we're only in our thirties). I wonder how many people in different parts of the country are still living that lifestyle (by necessity, I mean, not as an adventure)? |
| Kathie |
Posted - May 28 2007 : 08:00:35 AM
Sheila that was so generous of you! thanks for letting us peek into that window of your life.. It's so comforting to read someones else's words when you can actualy see the pictures they are talking about.. & you did it so beautifuly!.. i could just imagine it all back then..
What's funny is that we say the olden days.. But really that wasn't all that long ago was it.. if your mother is 77.. then this wasn't really all that long ago.. & look at they plumbing.. & the modern conveniences we now have just what..50, 60 years later??? But the Love that went into the way your mother took care of her Family had to be so Strong.. She was a True Farm Girl too!! Wasn't she??
In a World Where you Can Be Anything, Be Yourself.. |
| Phils Ann |
Posted - May 27 2007 : 1:02:38 PM
Sheila, thanks for sharing your memories. I sure can appreciate wanting indoor plumbing... (I'm spoiled with airconditioning) and when times get hard (illness comes to mind) it's a blessing to have easy ways to get our needs met. Still, wasn't it a good life! My FIL grew up on a farm in the depression and said they didn't have any money, but no one ate better than his family. I've heard that the Boy Scouts was started in England after WWI because the strength and work ethic of the farmboys was sooo much better than the city boys, and they wanted a way to teach the old ways to "modern" children. Unfortunately, we lose something important while we gain our ease.
Hugs,
Ann
Sairy Hill Thicket
There is a Redeemer. |
| Alee |
Posted - May 27 2007 : 10:58:01 AM
Sheila-
Thanks for sharing your story with us. While I agree that the hard work isn't as romantic as some people believe the old times to be, I still feel like our society is missing something today by leaving some of it's farm roots behind. Like you said- if people had to deal with outhouses in the middle of a snowed in winter, they would be more appreciative of the amenities that modern living provides. Also, not many people grow up with so many of their close relations living and interacting the way you did.
Just a thought I had about "farm roots"- We all are like the plants that we need to survive. If we all chopped off our farm roots and focused only on the "here and now" and convenience, what we are essentially would be doing is sentencing ourselves to a slow death of starvation- not just physical but also emotion and spiritual. I firmly believe that everyone needs a little bit of good old fashioned farm life for health of mind body and soul.
But that isn't to say that I don't appreciate my electricity, indoor plumbing and such.
Your mom sounds like an amazing person, Sheila! I am sure she has some amazing stories to tell!
Alee
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| Alice Jackson |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 10:34:48 PM
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I've been trying to garden and tend to the house the way people did in the old days. It is very hard and I have modern conveniences. But I think enjoying every activity and doing the best you can is what makes that period in time so wonderful. We in this age miss alot. Thanks again for sharing. |
| mom2knk |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 10:25:11 PM
Thank You so much for sharing your story!!! |
| kitchensqueen |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 9:38:36 PM
That was great Shelia! Farmgirl stories (especially the true ones) are always the best.
http://apartmentfarm.wordpress.com
Now Open!: http://shadetreestudios.etsy.com |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 9:38:07 PM
sheila .. that was wonderful .. thanks so much! xo
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
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| gregs_lil_farmgirl |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 7:16:55 PM
Thank you so much for sharing, Sheila. I love stories of the older days, grew up hearing about many, and reading even more. Farm life was very hard but a way of life that was just accepted by the family. It was all necessary to survive the winters as you said. Family values were so much a part of the success of all of this.(subject for another thread:) ) These are not as much a priority in this day and times. I think all want it and agree that it is, but have lost something with our fast paced world now. I look back constantly to the past for the knowledge and guidance to step back in time. Thank you again.
-Simple pleasures make my heart smile-
www.fouracrefarmgirl.blogspot.com |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 5:51:54 PM
Sheila,
That was very interesting, enjoyed reading about your life, thanks for sharing.
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
