MOM AND DAD SETTLING IN

     Mom had never been out to Dad's farm. Dad had probably given her a fairly realistic description of the house conditions. Mom had rarely traveled out of her town Portage la Prairie Manitoba. The 500 mile train trip back to the farm was a major trip. Arrangements had been made for someone to meet the train and pick them up and take them to the farm.

      Dad on his farm

    Mom arrived with a few linens like sheets, blankets, towels and tea towels. She also had a set of cutlery that may have been silver. There was an old trunk in the house and it was probably used to bring all her worldly goods to the farm.

     The house was not insulated and the wood had dried out so there was a crack or two in the walls. The house was banked up with straw to gain some warmth. There was no electricity. Light was by something called a coal oil lamp. A flame burned from a wick so there wasn't much light. They got used to working with such low light levels. There was no water! In the winter there was a large barrel beside the stove and they kept that full of snow. The snow slowly melted . When water was needed for washing you dipped out as much as you wanted. There was no washing machine. Clothes were washed by hand and hung on a clothes line outside. Now in winter the clothes froze rapidly. A few days later the clothes were brought in the house and hung on racks to complete drying.

     Later on an old hand rocked washing machine was purchased but there wasn't any room in the house for it so it was only brought in on wash days. Later Dad set up an outdoor washing machine that could only be used in the summer. This machine was powered by a primitive one cylinder engine.

     Now the town where Mom lived had some amenities. They had electricity and water. The places where she worked had some conveniences like clothes washers. 

     
      Mom's family about 1930. Mom is in the middle.

     Mom had been on farms as her grandparents farmed and she spent part of the summer with her grandparents.

     But to come out to Dad's place would have been a shock...culture shock. Dad had grown a garden the summer before and left his produce with a neighbor who kept them and so they didn't freeze . So he probably had a couple of bags of potatoes and vegetables.

    Mom did have a cousin in the district who lived about 2 Km away. There were other people in the district who she had met.

    Dad loved farm auction sales. Stuff that sold was usually old and in poor condition. That's how Dad got some farm machinery. He loved to buy "junk" boxes for 5 or 10 cents. You didn't really know what was in the box but there were usually things that could be used such as tools. Farming at that time was done by horse power so guess what? Dad got his horses on auction sales. They were usually very poor quality horses. I remember old Teddy who was a very dumb horse. 

    One time Dad bought a horse and then traded it before he went home for a very ancient Model T truck that had a cloth cab. It was the first vehicle he ever bought. The truck was used very little as they didn't have money for gas in the 30' and during the war there wasn't much gas for sale. Besides that the old truck wasn't very reliable.

    Dad also bought a cow or two on auction sales. He ended up naming the cows after the people he bought them from . There was a cow named old Oscar.

    However, they survived the winter of 1938. 

Getting the Cows

     This week I listened to a very humorous motivational speaker who was brought  to Red Deer by the Red Deer River Naturalists. Al Batt comes from rural Heartland Minnesota and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation.

    Al's theme was mentor ship. He used his father as an example. Al was the youngest in a farm family that was very busy. One day seven year old Al asked his father if he could have a job. Al's Dad said, "Well what do you have in mind?" Al said, "I'd like to drive the combine. " The "no" answer came pretty quickly. However, Al's Dad gave him the job of getting the cows from the pasture twice a day. Al was very happy and set about to do his job as best he could.

     One morning when Al was looking for the cows he saw something white on a fence post. Little Al thought it was a ghost. Al took the cows home and told his Dad. Al's Dad immediately took him by the hand and went back to see the ghost. Al's Dad explained that it wasn't a ghost on the fence post but a snowy owl. His Dad told him all about snowy owls and that is what got Al interested in birds so that today he is a highly respected ornithologist. 

    This story reminded me of my own farm experience. I had to get the cows morning and night starting when I was about five years old which was about 1944. The cow pasture was always close to the farmers's yard and was usually submarginal land if possible. Sometimes it took a very long time for me to find the cows as I had so many interesting things to look at . The area was only about half developed so there was still some excellent native habitat. So I knew where Saskatoons, chokecherries, Pincherries, raspberries, strawberries and a whole lot of other good things were.  There were sloughs, willows brush and grassland. It was super habitat for birds. 

I don't have a picture of my brother when we wee little so here he is long after the days of getting cows.

    I always had to take my little brother along. He was less than a year younger than I was. He was a pain. I liked to talk to myself but I didn't like anybody to listen. I would make him walk behind me but he would sneak up behind me and listen. I would make him walk ahead but he would go so slow I would catch up to him. He didn't know how to chase cows, according to me, so I blamed him if the cows went the wrong way. So we got a lot of free fighting time in when we got the cows from the pasture. This job had to be done in all weather. To this day I still like walking in the rain.

    Before I was given the job of getting the cows it was my Mom's job. Mom would have to take a three year old (me) a two year old ( my brother) and a one year old (my sister) in a carriage. I often think of poor Mom and how difficult her life must have been. One day my Mom asked me if I wanted to see a very pretty bird. She told me I had to be very, very quiet. We crept through a ditch and willows. We were crouched down low and there I saw it. Right at eye level I saw a mallard drake swimming on a small pond. It was very near to us and I stopped breathing as it was such a beautiful thing. 

    So Mom was my mentor. She took time from a hectic , chaotic schedule and showed me a very beautiful bird. I've been a birder ever since. Nice mentor Mom! Thanks for setting me on a most enjoyable life time activity.

    So Al Batt reminded me of when and where I got my interest in birds and so the mentor ship theme was reinforced for me. From about 1955 on this type of farming was discontinued. I often think about what farm children miss by not having to "go for the cows."

    Now I realize that for many readers this post will have very little meaning because they never had the experience " of getting the cows."  I hope that you will be mentors to others in other areas.