I was surprised he did not want to dispense advice, but like many of his age group, The Greatest Generation as fellow South Dakotan Tom Brokaw has dubbed them, Dad chose to reminisce.
What follows are some of the technological changes a farm boy from east central South Dakota experienced from 1924 to 2014.
Part I: The First 30 Years
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| Waldo ~ in his tweens |
Farmers' Line: 1924-1934, Decade #1
Primitive Living
In
the 1930s, farmers formed groups and installed telephone lines. A
household would agree
to be a switchboard. My Uncle Johnny's parents and Mom's cousin Mary G's
family were switchboard centers. If someone called outside the group,
the switchboard would make the connection to the other group and could
also listen in. That's how the community got news.
Dad told the story of a young girl telephoning that she couldn't find anymore cow chips. The woman on the other end of the line responded in German saying, "Dear girl, nothing to eat. Nothing to poop." It was the Dirty 30s, and cow chips were burned for heat.
Eventually, those phone lines deteriorated, and the farmers didn't have the money to maintain or repair them. It would not be until 1957 that the rural landline telephone system was installed.
Dad told the story of a young girl telephoning that she couldn't find anymore cow chips. The woman on the other end of the line responded in German saying, "Dear girl, nothing to eat. Nothing to poop." It was the Dirty 30s, and cow chips were burned for heat.
Eventually, those phone lines deteriorated, and the farmers didn't have the money to maintain or repair them. It would not be until 1957 that the rural landline telephone system was installed.
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| a teenage Waldo |
Farming with Machines: 1934-1944, Decade #2
Rabbit Hunting when Pearl Harbor Attacked in 1941
After
most of the horses died of sleeping sickness, Dad's father did not have
enough horses left to pull the binder. So he traded all but two horses
in and spent $200 to purchase an F-12 Farmall tractor with
steel wheels that could only go four mph back in 1935. This tractor
could pull an eight-foot disc and a two bottom plow. Grandpa used the
remaining team of horses to make hay.
Six years later, Grandpa Pete traded in that tractor for a rubber-tired H-Farmall vehicle that could travel 15 mph and pull a three bottom plow. To finance this $900 tractor, he made payments along with the trade-in.
Also in 1941, Grandpa purchased a five-foot Allis Chalmers combine. This revolutionized the family farm, for now they could harvest without a thrashing crew. Stories about harvest work before the combine belong in another post.
Six years later, Grandpa Pete traded in that tractor for a rubber-tired H-Farmall vehicle that could travel 15 mph and pull a three bottom plow. To finance this $900 tractor, he made payments along with the trade-in.
Also in 1941, Grandpa purchased a five-foot Allis Chalmers combine. This revolutionized the family farm, for now they could harvest without a thrashing crew. Stories about harvest work before the combine belong in another post.
Speaking of thrashing crews, seems Uncle Johnny and neighbor Elmer Wipf hopped on a train to Minnesota. They didn’t buy a ticket or sit in seats. They rode hanging onto the outside of the train or maybe even on top of it. After they arrived, they earned a dollar a day shocking bundles on a thrashing crew. This happened in '33 or '34, according to Dad, who heard it from Uncle Johnny—who was, by the way, a story teller.
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| high school graduation picture |
Humbling Beginnings: 1944-1954, Decade #3
Young Adulthood
Rural areas were still without electricity; however, they knew it was coming some time, so to prepare, the farm was wired and a light plant was placed in the garage in 1947. A little motor with a gas engine made the electricity. They had lights, but not much use for appliances until that year or the next when Aunt Mary and Uncle Jr. went to Chicago to purchase a truck and came home with a gift. A toaster.
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| Mom & Dad |
Before indoor plumbing, they did have a bathtub that was supplied with hot water from the cook stove that was heated with wood, cobs, cow patties, or whatever they could find.
"There was always a supply of warm water on the side of the stove," Dad said. "Just reach in with the dipper."
Indoor plumbing didn't exist in the home yet because they couldn’t get water pressure until a pump was installed, and that required electricity. Once that convenience came to fruition, they went to Sears to pick out a plumbing package of a toilet, sink, and tub. Dad's recollection of this event was funny.
"Sears then sent out two old codgers," he said. "They took two suitcases down into the cellar, then went back out and returned with the cast iron pipes to install. I couldn't figure out what they had in those suitcases." After some snooping around, Dad found beer inside.
With
indoor
plumbing came the need for a septic tank and sewer tiles. Young people
from the
church helped. One such youngster was Dad’s cousin's son, Roger Wollman.
He later became a South Dakota Supreme Court Justice and now sits on
the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He too, had a humble beginning.
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| Dad & Mom with Elliott & Priscilla |
Writer's Note: Part II, years 40 through 60, coming in the next post.
Any similarities between my dad's stories and your ancestor's? What was their first household appliance? Where were they when Pearl Harbor was attacked?
