Browsed by
Tag: farm

1877 Katharina Schum
Great-grandma and the switch

Great-grandma and the switch

Comments 0 Comment

Farmer Gary has exactly one story to tell about his maternal great-grandmother Catherina Schum. She was born Catherina (also spelled Katharina) Jent here in northern Spencer County, Indiana, on February 15, 1856. Census records tell us she could read and write – but only in German. She married widower Henry Schum on February 13, 1877. What a lovely couple! We don’t know much about Katharina, except that she told the 1910 and 1920 census takers her occupation was Farmer. Most…

Read More Read More

1918 Wigger family
‘Tighter than bark on a tree’

‘Tighter than bark on a tree’

Comments 0 Comment

Farmer Gary has always been crazy about his dad’s uncle Rob Wigger. Rob was a lovable character. He’d grown up on a farm near where we live today, so his visits were always full of questions for Gary. To me, it felt like a pop quiz. Gary passed with flying colors each time. We’ve been digging around all week looking for a photo or two of Rob, and what we have is a beautiful family portrait, probably taken in 1918….

Read More Read More

1924 Hilda, Hugo, Jim, Al, and Irene Mehling. Plus a stack of straw.
The Mehling cousins

The Mehling cousins

Comments 0 Comment

Farmer Gary and I recently attended what is now, I believe, an annual reunion of cousins on his mom’s side. The two of us gave presentations to the group of 40 or so (mostly) retirees. And no, for some reason I didn’t take photos. But there will be a video. Here’s last year’s: The cousins are the offspring of Mike and Rose Mehling’s progeny. The photo below is from 1924, so Gary’s mom isn’t in it. Rita was born in…

Read More Read More

Photo courtesy Yooperann https://flickr.com/photos/yooperann/
Rhubarb recollections

Rhubarb recollections

Comments 2 comments

Farmer Gary has been buying and cooking sweet corn like mad these last few weeks of the season. He’s also been complaining about the prices – ranging from four ears for a dollar to a dollar a piece! His shucking and cooking of corn on the cob reminded me of childhood summers. And rhubarb. Mom used to stew it and then top a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it. There was something else she’d make with it, but I…

Read More Read More

Sue May Whiteside Williams signature
Sue May Whiteside Williams

Sue May Whiteside Williams

Comments 1 comment

Sue May Whiteside Williams is an impressive name. For 44 years, I’ve wondered who she is … or was. Why do I know the name, but not the person? Well, long ago she wrote it in a book. It was a book we received as a wedding present. I read it aloud to my groom during our first month as husband and wife. The book was a gift from my godmother, Georgeanna Lane, who wasn’t able to make it to…

Read More Read More

A convoy, courtesy our poltergeist
The poltergeist

The poltergeist

Comments 0 Comment

You’d think they could come up with another word: It’s bad enough that AARP emails us daily with new ways to pull tendons and cramp muscles, now the app for our generator is getting into the act, bragging about its activity. But I’m getting ahead of myself … A month or so ago, Farmer Gary made the following proclamation: “This house has a poltergeist.” It had been a lively couple of days: Luckily, the company that installed our whole-house generator…

Read More Read More

Three generations of light bulbs

Three generations of light bulbs

Comments 0 Comment

Last night, Farmer Gary replaced the light bulbs in our ceiling fan. We have a vaulted ceiling in our bedroom, so he used a stepstool and replaced all four, even though only one was out. The other three would be saved for use closer to the ground. Practical as always, that man. As is typical in our house, that quick chore touched off a series of stories. In this case, stories about light bulbs. The first involved Grandpa Mehling. Gary…

Read More Read More

Amish Crossing photo courtesy Shaun and Jacki https://flickr.com/photos/shaun_and_jacki/
Waste not want not

Waste not want not

Comments 0 Comment

All of us who grew up in households headed by children of the Great Depression are no doubt familiar with the proverb waste not want not. It basically decrees that you should make do with what you have. And so it is with Amish names. Over these past 500 or so blog posts, I’ve mentioned more than once that Farmer Gary is enamored with the Amish. It was only today, though, while recording this story, that I tied together that…

Read More Read More

alfalfa hay
‘In God we trust …’

‘In God we trust …’

Comments 0 Comment

Have you read this book by my second-favorite storyteller, Jean Shepherd? In God We Trust … All Others Pay Cash was the inspiration for the cult-favorite holiday flick A Christmas Story. Jean Shepherd, by the way, grew up in Indiana. And his father worked for the Borden Milk Company. Today’s story is from my favorite storyteller, though, who also grew up in Indiana. Farmer Gary tells this tale with a twinkle in his eye, as he was spared direct involvement…

Read More Read More

Christmas Barn
Kowzerout!

Kowzerout!

Comments 0 Comment

Decades ago – before we were even engaged – I told Farmer Gary if I ever wrote a memoir, the title would be Kowzerout! We’d been dating for a few months, so Gary invited me to the farm for Sunday dinner. It felt like something out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, as his mom, Rita, put on a nice spread. After we finished dinner, Rita shooed us into the living room while she washed the dishes. (She refused my…

Read More Read More