Threshing

(Just the farm picture from the article, below).

My clients come in two varieties: those who farmed when they were young, and those who didn't.  Of course, I bend all their ears with whatever Larry and I are researching right then, and they're pretty gracious about listening.  The coolest times are when we have questions, and they have the answers.

This week, I was chattering away about Francis de Vivaldi, and C & B seemed fascinated...all that lying...a priest who married...1892...for money...a newspaper man...a diplomat...a PRIEST again...twenty-five years?? Whew.

When I finally ran-down a bit, B went in the other room and came back with this article he thought I'd like ☺!  It's from the St Cloud Times in 2000, and yes, it's exactly the sort of thing we can learn from here on HH.

 He'd saved it because it was familiar, of course.  He talked about stacking shocks like in the picture, and C talked about feeding a threshing crew, and how much work it was, but how much fun, too.
It always feels good to be that needed, whatever your job.
C can't talk well after her stroke, but memory-words seem to come easier for her.  She definitely remembered butchering chickens and making pies ahead of time; bowls piled high with mashed potatoes, and gravy by the quart;  loaves of  bread, dill pickles, carrots and beans from the garden, served with sweet fresh butter; the teasing and banter at the table, and compliments about the wonderful food.

I asked about Grandma's brother-in-law, Hubert Welle, who owned a threshing business in the Melrose area in the 20s.  B said yes, farmers couldn't afford the machines it took, nor the steam tractor to power the thresher. Those were huge machines. He said 5-6 farmers would hire the machines and then wait till it was their turn and the shocks were dry.
(BTW, those stacks on top of the article?  The seed heads were to the center of the stack--what you saw was the stems, and they had to be piled just right.  Some grains were less fun to bundle, too, he said. The prickly ones made you itch all day, but I forget which ones they were...lol).

Ahhh.  Those were good days.