The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-07-24, Page 41Fewer cattle seen in the fields
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19
Changes in style of living
I think our biggest change of af1 is in our
mode of living. I can picture my early home
There was a large orchard. They made ex-
cellent places to climb and play. There were
varieties of apples for all purposes and over
a large season, There were cherry and plum
trees and small fruits. Mother did notdry
apples but Dad's family had. Dad did not
sell apples but many people had found this a
good means of revenue in the early 1900's..
They were packed in barrels and .shipped
overseas usually.
There was a smokehouse to cure meat.
Then later pork was cured by treating with a
mixture in a barrel. In later years, Mother
used to cook the pork and "pack it in crocks in
fat in the cellar. Farmers were almost self-
sufficient. Some even took wheat to, the mill
and exchanged it for flour. Sugar and tea
were the most often purchased. In winter, a
beef might be butchered and hung up where
it would be frozen or left in snow.
The . average farmer had 100 acres and
• rotated his crops of grain and pasture. Now
. farms are very large and, with no fences,
often' cover several hundred • acres..
Everybody kept some cows and raised their
offspring to market stage.. Then in the 19, 0's,
farmers began buying cattle from 'Western
;Canada to feed to market stage.
',Canada
1985, this is no longer very profitable
and we see few cattle on our fields. Cows
provided milk to use, cream to sell and for
years, everyone made their own butter.
Then came the day when creameries sent
trucks around, to collect cream and
housewives bought the. 'butter. Trucks no
longer call for cream but many in the
township send milk to be made into cheese
or to .a dairy. The whole system of milk`
distribution has changed. Dairymen have
quotas. Milk is put into a tank, cooled and
held until a truck calls. All milk is pasteuriz-
ed for sale in stores and farmers buy milk.
Now buys fruits and vegetables
The farm wife depends on her garden but
few fruit trees are left. Trees. must 'be
sprayed to be free of disease and rabbits and -
mice take a toll of small trees. So the farm
wife along 'with her urban friends buy her
fruit and some vegetables.
- In the 1920's, farm wives practically all
made their own' bread. Then in the 1930's,
many began purchasing bread from local.
bakeshops. Marty still do. But .a trend to
make their own is coming back with'. easier
methods and the type of bread produced by
large company bakeries:
Electricity changed the life of .people in
the township and village. Everyone in the
township was not served until 1948 or so.
Now a motor drove the pump for water in•
• stead of the windmill or hand pump. Homes
could have electric stoves and refrigerators
which helped preserve, food. Motors were of
great value also in the. barn or workshop.
Labor saving devices made the work of the
housewife easier and she often began taking
another job. -
When I started teaching in 1924, no one
continued teaching after marriage. This has
changed as well as the greater number of
types of work available to women besides
teaching school, nursing or secretarial. The
coming of the freezer to the housewife in the
1960's made a great change in foots preserva-
tion and economy. The same could be said
for the coming of the tractorin the 1940's.
Horses are not seen except usually at our
fairs and are no longer the main means of •
power on the land or around the village.
I have seen the change from ploughing
with a team on a one -furrow plough to a '.
i•t
The Kincardine News 'Ripley Reunion 'W Page 21
hereto da
Y
huge tractor with six plows attached. These
tractors do not run on home-grown hay and
grain but on costly gasoline.
When I was young, we cut the hay with a
mower drawn by horses, I raked it into win-
drows with one horse, Dad put it up into
coils, and drew it into the barn when dry,
and a hay fork drew it up into the mow
where it was spread by hand. It was a great
day when we got a hay=loader amino longer
did Dad have to pitch the hay up onto the
wagon. In. early days, it was all done by
hand: The grain was; handled in a . smilar
manner: Now we have hay balers and com-
bines and a machine to put the bales into the
barn.
Pioneer families were large .
This brings me to thinking of the change in
population. Pioneer families were large.
There, was plenty of labor available for all
the work in the fields and house. By 1900, our
population began to be -much smaller. Now,
the number of village shops is only about
half former times and farm population is on-
ly a fraction of former days. Smaller
families and more better paying jobs away
from the area has taken our young people.
The opening of the nuclear energy plant at
Douglas Point brought many new people
'and many of our natives got' work which
helped to pay for homes and farms. Now,
the work force is much decreased again,
and the flurry ofprosperity is declining.
To say that pioneer life was all work and.
no fun "would be very wrong. Most of it was -
• Turn to page 22 •
JIanI boa S?L/LES:
for doing it again
A great place to make new friends.
A super time to see our old 'ones
See you in Ripley.
Arne & Ache L //an
Bervie -
Auction Service
R.R. 4 Kincardine,
395-2233
all good wis
The Town of Kincardine
extends sincere good 'wishes to the residents and visitors taking
part in the 1985, Ripley -Huron Reunion. We congratulate the
ReunionCommittee and everyone else who have worked so
hard to achieve such an outstanding, program of events.
We would like to extend an invitation to all taking part in the
festivities to visit our town during your stay in the area. We are
very proud of our shopping areas, beaches,' parks and dining
facilities.
Again, best wishes for a very successful Reunion:
Chtirles Manna
Mayor,
Town of Kincardine