Chapter 4: Childhood Memories

'Memories of the Past Hundred Years'
July 8, 2059

"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Proverbs 1: 8-9

"Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

I spent my childhood on a small diversified farm of 1120 acres. We had about 30 Hereford beef cows and a bull, 3 or 4 Holstein milk cows, 5 or 6 sows and their litters of baby pigs, about 50 laying hens, our faithful dog, Shep and a few bottle lambs for us kids to raise. We also had about 50 butchering chickens, a large garden and a few big, old apple trees that my Grandparents planted. The farm also raised wheat as a cash crop and on most years, raised enough oats, barley and hay to feed all the animals. We produced about 80% of all the food we ate on the farm and ate like Kings!! My Dad told stories about growing up during the Great Depression. He said that his family never had any money but always had enough food to eat!!

The farmstead was located on a large, bowl shaped valley surrounded by hills at the head of a small 'crick' which lead off to the north. The crick was very deep and narrow, flanked by towering slopes and bigger hills. I can distinctly remember my childhood by how far we children explored the valley. By the time I was six, we made it around the bend to a large clump of American Elm trees. What was way cool about this clump was that on trunk was growing straight out and about 4 feet off the ground. That was sure a great tree to climb for us little kids. By the time I was ten, we made it a half mile down the crick to the stock dam. After that, our range of exploration exploded for miles into the magical kingdom of the 'badlands' to our east!!!

Life on the farm centered around 'faith, farming, family and community!' Maybe not in that order of importance. There were times that the demands of the farm seemed to take a higher priority than family--but that's another story.

Community life centered around the local community church and the small country school. The country school also functioned as the community center for dances, pot-luck meals followed by card games, a gathering place for local deer hunters on weekends and any other social event that the community could think up. The local country church was also the center for the community to gather each Sunday morning, each holiday, wedding, funeral, confirmation, Bible study and more. These shared beliefs, values, gatherings and also sharing the huge amounts of physical work required to keep the farms productive on these harsh and unforgiving prairies contributed to family and community bonds that all but disappeared with the--so called--'advancements' of modern society. These shared values and community bonds had to be quickly re-invented during the Dark Years just for people to stay alive. Those people that attempted to survive as isolated individuals or families, inevitably didn't make it.

As I wrote earlier, I was born and raised in a German-Russian farming community out on the windswept prairies of southwestern North Dakota. I was born into a large, extended family that lived close together up and down a small gravel road. Life was dictated by the cycles and seasons of the farmwork which was made easier and more enjoyable by the close bonds my Dad had with his two older brothers and one sister. This extended family of siblings helped each other with many of the larger farming tasks. The brothers especially, worked together for most of the fieldwork such as planting, putting up hay and harvest. The bought many of the large pieces of farm machinery in partnership which greatly reduced the costs of managing a farm. My Dad also worked with other relatives on putting up corn silage.

Butchering and processing beef and pork, building and remodelling projects, the proverbial community gatherings for 'barn raising', now pole and sheet metal buildings and lesser projects that required an additional one or two sets of hands, brought differing individuals and small groups to each others' farms to 'help out'.

Individuals within the community developed specialized skills within the overall context of diversified farms. My Dad was the local, community, 'unlicensed' electrician. My cousins Clarence and Donald where 'master' welders and metal fabricators but they weren't certified either. My Uncle Hank was a very good carpenter. Others were shirttail vets, farriers, mechanics, plumbers you name it. Rarely, was a tradesperson called in from outside the community during my early years of life. Of course, the occasional 'quick trip to town' for spare parts was demanded but onlly after much time and effort was expended attempting to fix it ourselves. That all slowly changed with the coming of the telephone and the improvements to the roads and vehicles.

Chapter 4 to be continued!