 |
||
 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Ralph and Eleanor were married in September 1943 and in November that year Mathilda married Peter
Modaff. In 1946, Ralph and Eleanor took over running the farmhouse and Mathilda and Peter and her daughter, Shirley, moved to the upper part of the house. The Bermeses had two sons when they moved to the farm and a daughter was born when they lived there. There were 27 cows to milk and they raised pigs, chickens, a goat, a couple of steers and turkeys that roamed the farm. The turkeys were butchered before Thanksgiving and some were sold. Corn, hay, soy, beans, oats, and barley were grown on the farm. One of the cows was named "Grandma" and the three children loved to ride her. During the war, Edward served in the submarine division of the Navy and Leroy served in the Army. In 1948, Mathilda, Peter, and Shirley moved to a house in town and Leroy and Audrey were married and moved into the upstairs of the farmhouse. In December 1951, the barn burned to the ground. Ralph had to sell the cows at a loss. After the fire, Mathilda sold the farm in 1953 and Ralph and his family moved to a farm in Cloverdale that was owned by Mrs. Harry Wright. The farm was later sold to a developer who built Will-O-Way subdivision. Fifty years ago, most of the farmers were self-sufficient because they had their chickens for eggs and meat; their cows for milk for the family and for sale. There were the steers and hogs for meat and everything was used when the animals were butchered in the barn. The hogs feet were pickled, head cheese out of the head, ground up meat for sausage. The pork chops and some of the sausage (made into patties) were cooked until brown and put into layers of lard in crocks, which were stored in the basement to keep cool. The rest of the sausage was made into links. When a steer was butchered, it was divided in half between Ralph and his mother. If you had a freezer, you would have a professional butcher come and cut it into roasts and steaks. The butcher would package it for the freezer. The first year, Ralph had his half hanging in the milkhouse because it was cool in there and he would cut pieces as the family needed it.The butcher would take some of the meat to the store and grind it into hamburger.The tongue of the steer was boiled until tender and sliced thin. The wife would take a big piece of meat and cut it into small pieces and cook it and then place it with some juice from the meat into pint jars to put into a pan of water in the oven until the lid popped. These came in handy when unexpected guests arrived around dinnertime. When the meat was heated, the juice became gravy. Cherries were pitted and frozen. Grapes were made into juice and jelly. Apples, dried onions, cabbage, squash, and pumpkins were stored in the cool basement. A large garden was always a must on the farm from which beans were canned or frozen; tomatoes were canned whole or made into juice. The fresh vegetables were served all summer and into fall. Traveling threshers would go from farm to farm during harvest times. These were busy times for both husband and wife on the farm. The man would kill two or three chickens and the woman would dress the chicken (scald and pull out all the feathers and clean out the insides and cut the chicken into pieces and cool them in cold water). Then she would bake a couple of pies for lunch. She'd put the chicken in the oven, preparing potatoes and vegetables for the hungry men. When they were finished eating, the dishes had to be washed and then she would start all over again for the evening meal. The threshing would usually take one or two days. In later years, most farmers got their own threshing machines. From then on, it made it a little easier for a farmer's wife. |
|
|