Comments on Bored

I was going to post in the comments but decided it might get too lengthy. I might even add more to my story.

Jerry, I don't know about "another great story" it's just how we grew up. In northeastern Nebraska, corn, oats and alfalfa were our crops. No beans or winter wheat. Huge gardens were planted. They weren't crops but we depended on them as if they were. After all, no garden, no eat. Grocery shopping? About the only thing Mom bought at the store was flour, yeast, coffee, chewing tobacco, vanilla, Velvet smoking tobacco, roll your own papers, horse radish , Karo syrup, herring ( for me and Dad), Lutfisk, potato baloney, bath & dish soap, an occasional pack of go to town cigarettes and very few other items I can't think of right now. Ketchup, bread, butter and laundry soap were all made at home. Chances are, if we didn't grow it, we didn't eat it or use it.

The binder. We used it through at least "63 and maybe '64. In "64 my oldest brother graduated from high school and was going into the Air Force. By that time, he was a pretty important "farm hand".. Dad and Bud were going to be retiring and moving into town in '66 to a house they were having built . I think they hired it out and somebody with a COMBINE came in and did it. At that time we also sold the milk cows , hogs, and chickens. No chores. What a weird time it was for us. In January of "66 we had the farm sale. That was one cold and bitter day. Clear, windy and cold. The auctioneer had frost bitten cheeks and nose. Facial cheeks. Sorry, couldn't help myself on that one.

We had our own binder, threshing machine and tractors. M's and H's if any of you know how old those might be. We did it all. Just the family. It was very labor intensive then too. It was so incredibly dirty and dusty. Add to that the heat !! Dad and Bud fenced off a portion of one of the feedlots and built a crude frame work for a structure. I can't tell you quite how they did it, but it worked. When we would thresh, the straw from the thresher would be aimed at this framework. Walla !!! They made what we called a "straw shed". It was incredible . Very big inside. In the winter you could go in there and it would be very warm and cozy. We housed a lot of our hogs in there. Those pigs didn't always use the opening that Dad and Bud made to the "shed". They used their snouts and created tunnels through the sides of the structure. That was so much fun !! Bill and I liked to get Arvid in the tunnels and then scare hogs into them. You didn't want to get caught in front of a scared and mad hog!! As soon as we did it, we would take off for the protection of Mom or go hide in the trees. Once when Bill and I were about 7 or 8 we sneaked one of Dads go to town cigarettes and a match. (A go to town cigarette is from a store bought pack of cigarettes.) Of all the crazy places we decided to try this out on was right on top of the straw shed. To this day I shudder to think what might have happened and wonder why it didn't. We didn't like them one bit. Wish I hadn't acquired the habit in later years.

Nobody has commented on what Dad was doing when I said he was shocking. Meaning the younger generation Jerry. The binder would cut the oats, take it into the machine and when there was a certain amount, twine would be wrapped around it and the binder operator would push a lever and drop a "bundle". The person shocking would take these bundles, and pull them together. I think it took 6 bundles to make a shock. You would put the bundles together and stand them upright. This was a shock. After a few days the shocks were dry enough to start threshing.

To Colleen I can only say. Yes we whined. During oats harvest. It was allowed, even by my folks. They knew what an ordeal it was to sit out in the middle of a field with nothing to do. Day after day. In all the years growing up that is about the only time we were brats. The rest of the time it just wasn't allowed. Don't know why, we just knew BETTER.

Donata, I can honestly say this was the only time we were ever bored. The rest of the time we played and kept ourselves completely entertained with nothing. If it rained, we were even allowed to go out and play in the mud all we wanted to. We had no gadgets or technology like today's kids or much of any toys. In the early years, we didn't even have electricity. Imagine that !! Eventually technology caught up with us. We got a TV. Black and white . And a crank, hang on the wall telephone. Phone number? 31F23. 31 was the line number. F is for farm. 23 is for 2 long rings and 3 short rings. (With everyone on the party line listening.) Operator was one long ring. Emergency or public announcement was four long rings. We had so much fun growing up !!!!!

Except for oats harvest !!!!