Volume 9, Number 10 - Winter 1988
Memories
By Fred Hartman
As a member of a committee gathering material to be placed in a time capsule, I have become more aware of the many changes that I have seen in my 80 plus years. This capsule, to be buried in the year 1987 and opened in 2037, will span a half century of time. As I look on the many changes in my lifetime, I can only try to guess what the next fifty years will bring.
This is not an attempt to present a lot of historical data, etc. That I will leave to the many very able and accurate historians. Rather than that, I’m going back into my memory and relate some of things I have experienced. To begin with, I am not a native of Taney County, but as I become better acquainted with more people in this area, I find that I am not the only "furriner." As I get nearer to my twentieth year here I feel that this is where I want to live and be a part of all the good things to be enjoyed in Taney County.
I was born and grew up in a small town in Kansas. If Kansas seems far removed from the Ozarks, I would like to say that our problems were about the same. We all had to work long hard hours to make a living. Work was mostly farm work. That could be plowing with a team of horses and a walking plow or if you were a little more affluent, a riding plow, still horse drawn. In those days there were no chemical sprayers to kill the weeds. They were controlled by cultivation, commonly referred to as "plowing corn." Sometimes the corn rows were checked which meant they used a wire stretched from one end of the field to the other. Two rows were planted at the same time. At regular intervals, there was a knot in the wire. As it passed over the hopper containing the seed, it tripped both hoppers depending on the width of the row. The knot would also open a hole and a grain of corn would drop into the ground. When the corn came up, there would be rows running at right angles, the same distance apart thus permitting cross cultivation which helped control the weeds.
Wheat, oats, rye and other small grains were sowed in the ground, sometimes by horsedrawn drills, boxlike affairs with short teeth that dug small furrows and covered in one operation, or even broadcast or sown by hand.
These were two-wheeled vehicles about ten feet wide and consisting of a long box or hopper which held the grain. At regular intervals a long tube would extend down from the hopper. On the end of each tube was a small furrow opener. As this machine was pulled along, the grains would drop down through these tubes and into the open furrows. On the back of each furrow opener a small blade would cover the grain. Thus, as this grain drill was pulled across the field by a team of horses, the grain was drilled into the ground and covered in one operation.
At harvest time, thanks to Cyrus McCormick who invented the grain binder, the standing grain would be cut and tied into bundles. Generally, two men would be following the horsedrawn binder, picking up the bundles and standing them on end, grain side up in bundles, six to ten bundles per shock. This made for better protection from moisture and permitted drying. Later, at a convenient time, the grain would be separated from the straw or "thrashed" bya steam-powered thrashingmachine.
Other farm chores consisted of taking care of the livestock, pigs, sheep, horses, etc. and always milking - by hand. As a boy growing up, one of my main jobs was baling hay. At that time, it meant hours and days of hot, hard work. The
Memories
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hay baling crew consisted of one man to pitch the hay into the hopper of the baler, another to tie the baling wire around the bales. Another member of the crew would be the man on the mowing machine. The driver of what was called a "sulky rake" put the hay in the "windrows," clumps at regular intervals. The "buckrake" driver’s job was to bring the hay to the baler. The sixth member of the crew would be the one that hauled the hay either to a local hay barn or a waiting railroad boxcar to be shipped out.
The first step in putting up a field of hay was the mowing. The man would lay out a "patch" or a "land" as it was called, so many steps wide across the field. After the hay had dried enough, the person on the "sulky rake" would drive back and forth across this patch of hay. At regular intervals he would dump the hay that had been picked up and go on to the next place so that when he finished there would be row after row of these "windrows" across the field.
Then the buckrake, a contraption about 12-14 ft. wide, with long wooden teeth protruding in front, was put in service. The rake had a horse on either side. As the horses walked along, straddling the row, the hay would be picked up and skidded across the field to the baler. The baler would be pulled to approximately the center of the mowed ground. Then the wheels were taken off so it set flat on the ground, the horses hitched to a long sweep. As they went around in a circle, some cam-like rollers on the pivot end of the sweep would
force a plunger into the hay chamber compressing it into a tight bundle as the hay was forced into this chamber. At regular intervals a header block would be inserted into the hay chamber. The block had grooves on either side making it easier to poke the wire through and as the hay passed through the chamber the wires would be tied together by the "tier" and thus a bale was formed and emerged from the chamber as a wire tied bale of hay.
In this way, a good crew working together could bale ten tons per day. Later on, when a baler with a one cylinder gasoline engine for power came into use, the output was almost doubled. This was important because everyone in the crew got paid by the ton.
Some fifty years later after moving to Taney County, I helped my neighbor with his haying. I could only marvel at the change in equipment. What with the tractor mower, side delivery rakes and pickup balers just went along picking up the loose hay and then discharging finished bales of hay. Surely the greatest advance is the saving of time and labor. I can only wonder what changes will occur in the next half century.
Another job in a small town would be working on the railroad as a section hand, patrolling and maintaining the right-of-way. Usually each section crew was responsible for about ten miles of track. The period of time lam referring to was roughly from the turn of the century (1900) to World War 1(1918). In that time there was no electricity in the rural areas. A well, located under the back porch, was considered a great convenience. For lights, it was coal oil lamps, or in grocery stores and restaurants, there were Coleman lamps. These used gasoline and the necessary air pressure was supplied by use of a hand pump. As long as the lamps had fuel and pressure they provided a good light.
In that period of time there were so many outstanding changes. The automobile had been invented. I think the first car ever saw was a two cylinder Brush Runabout single seater which belonged to the local doctor. This was about 1910. The Maxwell Automobile Co. had a two cylinder car and also a large four cylinder touring car. These, of course, had a lot of brass trim on the headlights, radiators, etc. Some of the early models had carbide gas headlights.
Also to be seen, were the Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet and the "Tin Lizzie," Henry Ford’s Model T, the car built for the people. This Model T, while having a very complicated transmission was easy for the novice or inexperienced person to drive. There were no gears to shift.
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Instead, on the floor were three foot pedals. The one on the left, when pushed all the way to the floor, put the car in low gear. When the pedal was released, it came back halfway to a neutral position and could be held in a neutral position by the left foot. By pulling the emergency brake lever on the left hand side halfway it held the clutch pedal in neutral but the brake would not be applied. But when the emergency brake handle was pulled all the way back, the car was still in neutral but the brake was on. When the emergency brake was released the pedal would come all the way back and the car was in high gear. Thus, two speeds forward. To back up the left pedal was held in neutral position, then when the middle pedal was pushed down, the car was in reverse. To slow down or stop, the left pedal would be put in neutral and the third pedal on the right would be depressed to apply the brake.
The spark and gas were controlled by two levers mounted on the steering column so the vehicle was easy to drive even for one with limited mechanical ability.
The electricity for the ignition and lights was supplied by a magneto built into the flywheel. This made for a simple and trouble-free system. When you slowed for a turn or bad spot in the road, the lights would dim. The car had to be hand cranked to start. This could be dangerous if the spark was set too fast, causing the engine to kick back and very often breaking an arm. By about 1918, electric starters were available and by the mid-twenties they were regular equipment. In 1927 the Model T was discontinued and, following the example of the other cars of the time, Ford developed the Model A, a car with four cylinders and a three speed, hand operated transmission. Thus, the Model T provided a very important part in putting the general public behind the wheel of their very own car. And soon Ford was paying his factory worker the astounding sum of $5 a day.
In that period of time one could go into most any small town store and buy a pair of overalls, socks, shoes or yard goods. Orhe could step over to the grocery side and order a nickel’s worth of cheese and crackers which the clerk would obligingly get for him.
If you were in town and wanted to "live it up," a nickel can of sardines or a chunk of a bologna and a handful of cookies out of a box were real "dining out." If you wanted some dried fruit, there was always the 25-pound box of prunes, peaches, apricots, apples or raisins from which the clerk would sell you any amount you desired.
About that time, the Pet Milk Company had perfected the Compared to today’s up-to-date conveniences, the housewives of that period had a very limited method of cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. Probably the most important piece of furniture was the cookstove. Cookstoves were fueled by wood or coal and generally made of cast iron with four to six lids on top. These lids could be removed and the iron pits set in the opening for faster cooking. They also had an oven in the center of the stove with the heat passing over the cavity and out the stack for baking breads, cookies, cakes, pies, meats and poultry. The top of the stove was where most of the cooking took place, especially anything to be boiled or fried. The stove served the dual purpose of cooking
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and heating the kitchen. Some of the better models had a hot water tank or reservoir built into the stove. Lucky was the homemaker who had one of these because as long as there was afire in the stove, the lady had an ample supply of hot water. Lacking one of these, water could be heated on top of the stove in a tea kettle or wash boiler.
When the laundry was to be done, the water was heated on the stove’s surface and clothes that needed to be boiled to remove dirt were also boiled in tubs. Just as often, the water was heated in a cast iron kettle over a fire in the back yard, weather permitting. The washing was done by means of rubbing garments on a corrugated metal washboard. The garments were rinsed in two tubs of cold water and one with liquid bluing for whitening the white clothes. Garments were starched when stiffening was preferred.
Argo was one of the favorite starches and came in one pound boxes of chunky powder. This was mixed with water to a thin paste, and stirred into a pan of boiling water, cooked to the desired thickness and later thinned to produce the proper degree of stiffness when the garment was dry. Keeping starch from lumping was an art. Cold starch, uncooked, was used to give collars, cuffs or cap bills an extra stiff dressing. Faultless was an improved brand, more easily mixed and less likely to lump or leave unsightly globs of white on the garment. It was lightly perfumed and each box contained a small booklet of jokes, riddles, cartoons and other trivia, a treat enjoyed by all family members.
These little publications were still being printed and distributed through the 1940s.
After the washing, the clothes were hung on the clothesline strung between poles in the backyard. The line might be of wire which was permanent and had to be wiped before each hanging or of rope which usually was taken down between times and restretched - a chore detested by all women for it always sagged and had to have a clothesprop at frequent intervals. Too, it often snapped when the load got heavy and the line of clothing dropped in the mud. Then ithadto be removed and rewashed. Wooden clothespins held the garments in place for the wind to whip them dry. Some women strung the wash over bushes or on fences, but they were not the typical, meticulous housewives. The latter were careful to keep items in catagories. They also took immense pride in getting their wash on the line as early as possible - to be bragged about by the neighbors.
When the clothing was dry it was brought in and the towels and other things not to be ironed, were folded. Usually sheets fit into this catagory although pillow cases were another matter. The clothes to be ironed were sprinkled with water, rolled and packed into a basket and left to "set" for several hours, usually overnight. Then the ironing began. Flat irons or Sadirons (with detachable handles) were heated on top of the stove. Each was used until it began to cool down, then replaced with a hot one. It was a never-ending problem to keep the iron hot enough to smooth out the wrinkles but not scorch or burn the material.
These cookstoves provided the important service of heating the kitchen and dining room in cold weather. The living room would~be heated by a heating stove and all other rooms were usually left unheated, a condition which made feather beds and woolen blankets feel very good on cold nights.
Now while the stoves were very nice and comfortable in cool and cold weather, on the hot summer days the heat was unbearable. So many households would have a
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kerosene stove for summer use. These worked very well if the wicks were properly trimmed and the burners kept clean. Otherwise, they could be very smelly and dirty, smoking the pans, stove and ceilings with a greasy black film.
As stated previously, I grew up in Kansas so my recollections of early school days were there. Most small towns had a two-room schoolhouse with a teacher for each room. In the primary room, the grades were usually first, second, third and fourth. Occasionally the fifth grade would be taught in this room, too. In the secondary room, the grades were sixth, seventh and eighth. These were generally referred to as the little room and big room. The country schools were only one room but the requirements to graduate were the same. Every spring near the end of the school term the seventh and eighth grades had to take the County Examination. If you achieve an 80 percent average and your own teacher’s report was favorable, you graduated from grade school and were ready for high school. Grade school was mandatory, but high school was not. So many scholars stopped and went to work after completing eight grades.
My equipment to start to school was basically a penny pencil and maybe aBig Chief tablet. We might use a slate and a slate pencil. The writing could be erased and the slate used over and over again. Our book to start out would be a primer, first reader, second, third and fourth. As we progressed in the next grades, we wouldhave geography, history, civics and some of the classics to read and report on. There was always a lot of basic math or, as we generally called it, arithmetic.
My first grade teacher was really a wonderful person and though this was long before we had heard of child psychology, she knew how to get the learning into those thick heads. We were made to learn our ABCs, how to recognize the different sounds of each letter, to spell words and to form syllables. In math, we were taught to add, subtract, divide and the multiplication tables up to twelve.
As we moved into the upper grades we had to start using a pen and ink for writing. Every desk had an inkwell which held a small bottle of ink. The pens were about as long as pencils and had a removeable point. When the point became dull, it was discarded and a new one inserted. (They cost one cent each.) They were dipped into the ink as often as necessary to be able to produce legible writing. Blotters were a necessity to prevent smearing. Sometimes these were very ornate and were printed on the top side with all manner of advertising. The bottoms came in different colors. When they had absorbed all the ink possible, they, too, were discarded. The ink tablet was smaller than the pencil variety and came with its own blotter. It was
slick paper and was lined like the other. It went a lot further for most work was done with a pencil. Three-quarters of a century later, some of these things seem very crude and simple.
The schoolhouse was also the place where many of the social events took place. These were box suppers or pie suppers. The girls and ladies would bring a pie or box lunch which would be auctioned and, hopefully, bought by the man or boy of their secret dreams.
Of equal importance were the Friday evening literary programs. These would consist of a short play performed by the students, some recitations of poetry or some musical offerings on the organ, piano, fiddle or gi.iitar. These were always well received. The last event of the evening was invariably a debate. Some of the adults, either singly or as a team would debate their opposing ideas on some issue. I don’t know if any the the issues were settled, but I believe these were the start of a good many careers devoted to politics and public speaking. Thus, the schoolhouse was an integral part of small town or country life.
As a final chapter, I can recall the many things that I’ve seen in my lifetime. As these flash through my mind it’s almost like seeing a nostalgic movie. Like the thrill of listening for the first time to a John Phillip Sousa march played on an Edison phonograph, often referred to as a "talking machine." These would progress from the first small one sitting on a table with a long, wide flanged decorated horn on its top and using a wax cylindrical
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record on which the music was impressed. The sound came through the horn, magnifying and giving it clarity and volume. Then the more elaborate Victorola which was a very important piece offurniture in many homes.
Later, in the early 1920s, the talking machine would be sharing honors with the new entertainment wonder, the radio. At first, ‘it was a crystal oi~ one-tube set. With headphones ~you could listen to stations such as: KDKA in Pittsburg, Penn., the Henry Field Seed Go, in Davenport, Iowa, or closer to home you could tune in to WHB, the Sweeney Automotive & Electrical School. For a late night treat by staying up ‘til 12:30, you could listen to the Coon-Sanders Nighthawk ,Frolic from ~the Hotel Muehlbach in downtown Kansas City,. Mo.,. ‘over station WDAF.
As the radios progressed in quality of performance, the shows expanded in many ways. There were stars of radio such as Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Fred Allen and other doing comedy; several thrillers - Dr. Fu Manchu, Inner Sanctum and Mystery Theatre; drama like Lux Theatre, Mr. First Nighter, etc. Most of our present day soap operas started in radio.
Along with these advances, the field of mechanical technology was improving. Farming was becoming mechanized with most of the work being done with gas or electric powered tools and machines. Standard equipment on most cars included heater, four-wheel, hydraulic brakes and in the late 1930s, automatic transmissions, making it pQssible for almost any-one to be an automobile driver.
By the end of the 1930s, due to the’ REA ‘(Rural Electrification Administration), all the rural homes had access to electricity. At first it was mainly for lighting but swiftly progressing to home water pressure systems, home appliances (washing machines, refrigerators, sweepers, fans,’ heaters, toasters;’ coffee makers, irons for clothing or hair, and the greatest boon of all for milady, the permanent wave machine.
While all of these things were happening, the silent movies were being changed to talkies. Then the ~ild black avid white or "Silver Screen" gave way to colored pictures. ‘‘‘
The corner grocery store with the friendly clerk behind the counter was being replaced by the self-service supermarket. Television had moved’ into our homes and, in fact, le~hme the 4om our lhres. Np~, ixiiant factor in ~s we go to the grocery State ~nd ‘pat’ ‘~ifr selections into 4 cart or as we go through the checkout line, The A’ ~ ‘are passed over scanner and the total is arrive at by a computer. Bank accounts All of our correspondence and records are computerized. At this point, nostalgia is giving way to wondering what is next. I cannot predict what will happen in the future. Perhaps when the capsule is opened in the year 2037, someone else can take up the continuing progression of life.
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