 The Farm
I mentioned in the first article about buying our farm, and thought I would tell more about that now. Leland and I had thought about this for a few years and started saving for it. We both knew we wanted to live in Grayson County because it was "home." Finally, when we found this place, we were ready for the big move. We were living in Andrews, TX at the time, a few hundred miles away. This was indeed going to be a very big change in all our lives. As young children, we had both lived in the country, but that was just a faint memory. We knew nothing of country living. That is what got us into trouble, because we wanted to do everything.
I must describe what this place looked like, that July of 1959. The previous owners had not lived there in quite awhile, as they had decided that city life was for them. Beside the house, we had a 100' X 25' barn that had at one time been an army barracks. We also had a double garage about 30' from the house, a chicken house and an old shed for a hog or two. The grass was very tall, and the hedges around the house were in bad need of trimming. We looked at this and had outlandish dreams of what we would do with it.
Life was rather scary and exciting the next two weeks . Leland quit his job with a major oil company..oops..sold our house and moved. (He did get another job.) The children didn't see the place until we moved, and we were anxious to see how they liked it. Wayne was ten, Sharon was almost nine, and Mike was two and a half. We moved from a new house in a quiet neighborhood with houses right next door. I guess it was a good question when they looked at the garage and asked "Who lives in that little house?" They couldn't believe all the space. I must admit that even to us, at that time, it looked like we had bought half of Texas.
I must tell you about our house. It had a living room, two bedrooms and a kitchen. Do you see what is missing? Yep, a bathroom. When the children realized this, they wanted to know where it was. We took them to the little house out back and showed them. They were not impressed, and Mike kept wanting to go "home" and use the bathroom.
First thing on the agenda was to build the septic tank. I'm sure most people would have someone come out dig a hole and drop in a ready-made tank. Nooo, not my husband. He wanted to do that. He had bought a book on concrete, and it had an article on "how to build your own septic tank". He got a shovel and started digging. About three inches down, we realized that our black land farm was rock. The deeper he dug, the harder it became. He then purchased some blasting powder and got busy. I heard this blast - no it wasn't a bomb, it was just big rocks flying that knocked holes in the roof. The good news was he got the hole dug. Using the directions on actually constructing the tank, he finished it with wonderful results. With that completed, he got the room built, and we installed all the necessary things that make a bathroom complete...ahh, what luxury.
Now, there was a well on the place, and the previous owners had actually piped water to the house for their limited use. We were told, "That's a good well. Never runs dry." Well, I guess not, just two people and no bath. We came along with three children, and with our added luxury, we ran that well dry in a hurry. There was a man that hauled water for people in the country. After a few years, we did get community water.
At that time, with our limited water supply, it meant I could no longer use my washing machine. So we had to take clothes into town to do the laundry. We worked long days, and sometime it was late when we did this little chore. One night, Sharon and I were headed to town with several loads of laundry. I felt something touch my shoulder. I looked and thought it was a finger, and about that same time, something brushed across my back. I was screaming hysterically, and Sharon started screaming because I was. We were both completely beyond control when our family cat that had slipped in the car unnoticed jumped in the front seat with us. I do not remember if we brought it home with us or left it in town.
I believe the first animal we bought was a milk cow. Leland told me he knew how to milk, and I guess he did, because he would do that in the morning before he left for work in the afternoon. The only thing I knew about milking was where the milk was on the cow, just didn't know how to get it out. Mother would come in the evenings and did teach me how, and soon I was a pro. She also taught me how to get the milk ready to make fresh butter. Soon we had an abundance of milk, butter and whipping cream.
I mentioned the long barn. We put it to good use. We later bought all those chickens, turkeys and pigs. We had the chickens in one end of the barn, the turkeys in the other end, and in the center part we had the cow stall where we milked. We had a large pen outside and would turn the turkeys out during the day. Inside the large pen was an inner pen that had the pigs housed. We didn't really have a problem with the turkeys getting in with the pigs. It all seemed like a good plan. Leland worked different shifts on his job, and when he worked nights, he would get home about 8:00 AM. I went out one morning and did all the feeding, turned the turkeys out and sat down and started to milk. Things were going entirely too well when disaster struck. All of a sudden, I heard this anguished squawk. I ran out and there, and on the ground was this big turkey with his head missing and flopping on the ground. The pig was enjoying the missing head. I was distraught. Well, it wasn't over - I looked and the family dog had his head in the bucket of milk, drinking to his hearts content. I remember so well thinking, "One day I may laugh about this, but right now I am going to cry." I took the remaining milk and gave it to the pig to wash down the turkey head. Now I had to clean and dress the turkey for the freezer. Hey, nothing wrong with it, the pig just bit its head off. I would have had to kill it anyway. I was in the process of cleaning it when Leland came home and asked, "Why are you cleaning a turkey before breakfast?" It always helps if you can keep a sense of humor...you notice I said IF.
Regardless of what we do in our lives, the very most important thing we can ever do is remember what God did for us. I love John 3 : 16...For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.
God bless each of you...Esther
It has been suggested that upcoming articles be on TRUE snake stories, our flying experiences, building our new house, adding the elevator, and of course, restoring old cars. |
