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The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 6QUICK -FIT INTERCHANGEABLE FRONT-END LOADER ATTACHMENTS Front Loader Pallet Fork II IP it • 48" long solid forklift tines • Sliding adjustable • 5000 Ib. capacity ' Manure Fork • 48"-7 tines •60"-8t8 tines. • 72" - 9 tines • 84" - 11 tines Single European -Style Spear S E500 •, • 39" forged tine • Easy stabbing & removal • Optional 49" tine available Material Bucket oft oft• Wrap-around wearbar for extra strength • Unique formed construction for easy filling and clean-out HORST WELDING R.R. 3, Listowel, Ontario N4W 3G8 (519) 291-4162 FAX (519) 291.5388 Dealer enquiries invited 2 THE RURAL VOICE Guest Column Wet feet drove creativity By Arnold Mathers The Maitland River ran through the farm that my dad and mother bought the spring after their Christmas wedding. Buying the farm was definitely a second choice occupation for dad. He was a part-time station agent for the Canadian National Railway and helped his father and brother on the home farm. When dad and mother planned their wedding, Christmas seemed the best time since mother was a teacher at the local rural school. The about -to - be -married couple made an offer to purchase the village general store and were about to become store keeper/teacher/station agent entrepreneurs. The plan was just about excellent. Dad's work at the station was mainly late afternoon to early evening and on Saturdays and mother's school teaching was the traditional day shift with no weekends. The storekeeping was six days a week from early morning until late evening, an ambitious schedule but with a little help a guaranteed pattern for success. However, fate intervened. At the last minute the owner of the store decided not to sell and retire. Mother and dad were left with a wedding plan and no home. The wedding went off on Christmas day as planned and after a brief honeymoon the newlyweds settled into dad's home with his father, brother and three spinster aunts, a highly unsuccessful arrangement. Early in the spring a farm just a little way down the road came up for sale at a reasonable price. Thus dad became a farmer, an occupation somewhat down his list but they had a home of their own and a job compatible with the school teacher/station agent combination. Having lots of fresh water is an asset to a farm but having the river run completely across the property caused a major problem since the pasture land was north of the river and the house and barn were south of the river. This meant that all summer the cows had to be brought across the river twice a day for milking. So dad also had to wade across the river. Often after heavy rains the voter was over the rubber boot tops and one either got wet feet or took off the socks and boots to wade the river. Of course dad had to carry the socks and boots with him to wear on the other side to chase the cows through the wet pasture grass. Dad soon tired of the daily routine and, ever the young inventor, he hatched an idea to build a bridge over the river. He would dig a post into the soft ground on each side of the river and fasten a length of page wire between the posts parallel to the water. He then put a second length of page wire perpendicular to the lower wire to serve as a side or handrail for his briuge. With the bridge complete he waited for mother to come home from school to show off his remarkable invention. At chore time dad and mother walked together down to the river and as mother stood on the bank watching dad made his way carefully across the woven wire swing bridge. Somewhere about the middle, the bridge began to swing from side to side. As dad tried to slow the swinging, the bridge did a complete flip. Now dad was hanging on, upside down with his head jigging in and out of the water. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to right the bridge he did the only thing possible — he let go and dropped into the water. This ended any attempt to bridge the river and by the time mother came home from school the next afternoon all evidence of the swinging bridge had disappeared.0 Arnold Mathers is retired and lives in Exeter.