(wait for the music to load)
Grandpa has hitched up his horse
Chainey, and is
probably going to court our future Grandmother.
In the 1930s, Singletree Farm got a used Fordson
tractor.
The horses are also used for working in the hay.
Here the team pulls the mowing machine and it is hard work.
The mower itself is heavy, and the wheels drive the sickle bar.
Grandpa is riding the mower to guide the horses
and to adjust the mower as needed. A scared rabbit
is getting away from all the noise and disturbance.
The hay is allowed to dry for a few days, and then is raked into
rows to make it easier to load onto a wagon. Hopefully, the rain
holds off.
Those rows of hay are being forked onto a hay frame
and will be hauled to the barn. There it is stored in the
hay loft, and portioned out to the horses and cows
each day. Hopefully, the supply will last through
the winter and until the next haying season comes along.
The horses are fed and watered in the morning, watered at noon, and
fed and watered in the evening. Two thirsty horses can drink about
ten or twelve buckets of water drawn up from the well. One thing to
remember about wells - never let go of the handle with a full bucket of
water on the rope. The handle would spin with a bone-breaking force.
Grandma is in the yard taking care of a bloody nose which she has
sometimes. High blood-pressure is a common ailment in her family.
That's the family's '32 Ford parked on the right.
Singletree Farm got indoor plumbing in the late 1940s.
Before that, a bath was considerably more difficult
than for those who are accustomed to a quick shower.
A bucket of water was heated on the kitchen stove,
the kitchen was closed off for privacy, and the person bathing
stood in the bucket.
Before the road was paved, it was
dusty and bumpy in dry weather
and could be very muddy during wet spells. Frank has taken
the tractor up the road to pull in a stranded neighbor.
Jones' Barber Shop provides some
social life for the
menfolks, as well as haircuts.
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