A Winter’s Morning on the Farm 50 Years Ago (1923)
Written in 1973 by William (Bill) Theodore Packard(1902-1975)
It’s 5:00 in the morning and us boys in our feather beds upstairs hear father opening drafts and putting fresh chunks in the sitting room stove. Next he is shaking down and building a fire in the kitchen stove. Then he puts the tea kettle on the front to boil and the pot of potatoes which mother had peeled the night before. By this time us boys have jumped out on the icy floor, grabbed our clothes, and fled down to the living room stove to dress.
On go the sheepskin leggings and rubbers (one of the best winter rigs ever invented), on with heavy jackets and with kerosene lanterns and milk pails we and father head out through the woodshed to the barn.
Father has his shovel and throws enough snow from the doors to open them. As we enter the barn, there is the pleasing warmth of the stable and the lowing of one or two of the cows. Perhaps a horse greets us, for they must eat early and be ready for a day’s work; perhaps plowing roads through the new snow or perhaps drawing wood from the wood lot.
While father feeds the stock around, the boys start milking the 12 or 15 cows. Next the milk must be carried to the house and run through the separator to remove the cream, which is the cash part of the product, and the skim milk brought back to the barn and fed to the calves and pigs. A saucer is always given to the old barn cat, of course. Now the hens are giving their morning feed and reminded that eggs are worth more in winter than summer.
As we head for the house and breakfast, which will be ready, father looks at the thermometer. It is just zero. It was five below when we first came out. The sun is just starting up over the horizon and promises a beautiful day. The wind, which blew hard yesterday, is very light now.
After breakfast, while some clean the barn and water the cattle, one or more of us harnesses up the horses and hitch to the old bobsleds. Now, with saws and axes, we head for the woods. How the runners growl on the frosty sled tracks. Also, how the bells jingle on the harness. By noon it has warmed up and it is an enjoyable day in the woods.