The Rural Voice, 2003-06, Page 28A PIG STORY
In this age of automatic feeding and watering, a
Greg Countg couple recalls a time when things
weren't so easg — but it did create comic memories
By Greg Brown
Most farmers have colourful
stories about adventures and
misadventures down on the
farm. There are tales about livestock,
the weather, their first car or tractor
and neighbours. Included in the
misadventure category is usually a
story about pigs.
Gerald and Audrey Cornfield's
"pig story" began shortly after they
were married in the autumn of 1947.
They were wondering if they were
ready for winter and how they would
pay the mortgage on the farm they
had just bought at Epping in northern
Grey County. They had wood for the
cookstove, coal oil for the lamps, a
bag of flour and a bag of sugar.
There was hay in the barn for the two
horses and the milk cows, and grain
from the fall harvest.
Gerald's father had given them a
young sow, but she didn't have any
pigs yet. When she did start having
litters she raised enough pigs to pay
for the farm, but that's another pig
story. The Cornfields' only income
was two or three dollars a week from
the cream they sold plus a little
Gerald eamed delivering cream from
the Rocklyn area to Kimberley with
the team and sleigh. To make some
money they bought about 45 weaner
pigs which they would feed for the
winter.
Towards the end of December the
well went dry, so they had to draw
water from the creek for the pigs,
instead of carrying it in buckets from
the well. The cattle and horses were
let out to water. The Cornfields
remember that winter as if it was
yesterday. Gerald recalls, "It was a
winter like this past one with lots of
snow. We had a team of horses and a
sleigh, and we had one barrel. We
24 THE RURAL VOICE
tied the barrel up against the
dashboard, we would go down to the
creek, and I would dip it out and hand
it up to Audrey and she would dump
it into the barrel. We would drive up
to the barn and carry it into the other
barrel that was inside the stable door.
to feed all these pigs."
The creek was 300 - 400 yards
down the hill from the barn. On the
hillside the water would slosh around
in the barrel, splashing onto the rack
of the sleigh where it froze. The
sleigh became just like a skating rink
causing the barrel to slide around
even when it was tied, and it would
either upset or slop water
everywhere.
The cattle had no trouble walking
to the creek even though the snow
kept getting deeper because they kept
the trail packed. They would be let out
twice a day, go for a drink, head back
to the barn and Audrey and Gerald
would let them in and tie them up.
Gerald continues the story, "I
don't know who came up with the
idea, it was probably me, but we
decided to let the pigs draw their own
water. So we opened the door and
they took off down this track one
behind the other. The track was only
a foot or so wide but it was nice and
hard from the cattle packing it.
"So the pigs took down that track
right to the creek and drank. It was
cold, and the first pig drank and
decided he ought to come back to the
barn before the last bunch got off the
track. So half a dozen or so started
back and when they met (the pigs
headed the other direction) they upset
either one or the other off the track.
The snow was soft so when they lay
–on their side, they'd squeal and
couldn't get on their feet. So we went
down to try and roll a pig back on the
track but at the same time there was
another one there to knock them off.
He wouldn't wait because he wanted
to get back to the barn and you can't
tell a pig anything anyway." He tells
the story with a chuckle but it
probably wasn't so funny at the time.
They had to get the pigs back in
the barn, and perhaps feeling a little
desperate, they harnessed up the
horses and hooked them onto the
sleigh — Audrey remembers them as
a wild team, but that's another story.
Gerald says, "We drove along the
track and two of us would lift the pig
onto the sleigh until we had three or
four, lying on their sides on that icy
rack." Some of them were able to get
on their feet, staggered around on the
rack and fell off the' sleigh before
they were back at the bam.
Gerald doesn't go into a lot of
detail on how they eventually
got all the pigs back into the
barn but it is undoubtedly a picture
that is still clear in their minds.
Needless to say they never tried that
again, and sent the rest of the winter
drawing water for the pigs. Gerald
concludes the tale with the moral of
this story. "You can't fatten a pig
with him drawing his own water."
Those were indeed different times
from what young couples are faced
with today. That era created a
generation of farmers who were hard-
working, self-reliant and innovative.
Some people consider that time as the
"good old days", but for Audrey and
Gerald Cornfield, who enjoy the
comforts of their new, modern home
in Meaford, they are glad those days
are in the past. However, they enjoy
sharing their many memories, from
which wonderful stories are told.°