Mower County transcript., 1892-05-18
ABSOLUTELY PURE
FARMER BEN's COLUMN.

FARMER BEN's COLUMN.
Well. amt been feelin' we'll for a few
days; kind o laid up with the grip and
rheumatic and its give me chance to do
some thinkin', My wife says I've been
cross and ain't got Nc patience to be sick,
and tell her I'd rather fight in battle
than stay in the house so long. I've
been thinkin' of the early days when
first came into this county. had q
tolerable good yoke Of cattle and l
thought could do lots of work with
them, and did. I doubled up with one
of my nelghbor's teams for breakin' and
tell you we did about as we'll as lots of
these brag horse teams nowadays. I
wonder why farmers don't use any oxen
now. They are easy kept and cheaper,
and don't get spawned easy, and hold
out good. If farmers want so pesky
proud they would use oxen now for lots
of their farm work
In the early days, neighbors didn't live
very nigh. We didn't think nothin' Of
goin' off FIVE or ten miles to spend the
day. Nobody was stuck up either. If
anybody had anything, it was free for
all. If anybody got a little flour it was
passed around among the neighbors. I
remember goin' over to Rose Greek to a
gatherin' in them days. The Fullers, and
Wrights, and Marshes, and Mills, and
Richardson's, and Mandevilles and others
were there. tell you we didn't have to
play no cards and we didn't have to dance
and we didn't have to talk about new
dresses and politics to enjoy ourselves.
We just had a splendid visit. Everybody
was so friendly and sociable. Nobody
had any silk gowns or standup collars,
but they looked mighty sight better than
some of these town fashions that look
like scare crows nowadays. In them
days comfort was thought more of than
style or looks It seems as though us
: few early settlers comm away out here
in the wilderness SO far from our old
homes had warm feelins toward each
other that people don't know nothin
about in these days.
I've been thinkin' too, of the long years
we spent on the old farm, and tell yor
it makes me feel bad that those old times
amt goin' to be any more. There my
boys and my gal Sarah grew up, anG
there we all took hold together to git q
l1vin'. And now my boys are gone of
and wife and Sarah and me have moved
into town. l think now that if hae
done different with my boys, they NIGH
have stayed to run the farm. didn'
give 'em fair chance. I got wha
clothes they had to have and though
that was enough. I begrudged them {
quarter which they some times asked fol
spendin' money. It want right. Cal
see it now. They helped in the field anl
barn like hired man and saved nirin
help. If they hadn't been with US guess
we wouldn't have paid for the old farm
yet.
I ought to have made my boys kind Of
partners in the farm. They would hayI
had an interest for themselves and woulG
have been contented and careful. Tha
is what the Pillsburys do in their biz
flour mills in Minneapolis. They Civ
their hands share in all the profits abov'
q certain figure and their hands worl
harder and take more pains good deal
If had given my boys colt or calf Of
piece of ground for their own crop, the,
would have been different. But the,
grew up and never had anything the,
could call their own. I did differen
with our gal Sarah. / gave her Cal
years ago. That calf grew to be COW
and had calves. Sarah sold her stock TO
1928 at last and put that into new organ
I notice that she always took lots O
pride and interest in what was hers. I
would have been so with the boys.
schooled 'em and clothed 'em, but tha
was about all.
think now that by different manage
ment, by lettin' those boys feel that the,
were workln' for themselves all the time
they wouldn't have wanted run to tow
so much and they wouldn't have been s.
forward to leave home But it's TOO lat
now. I can see 1t. can see that th'
farm might have been SO pleasant that i
would have been the happiest place TO
us all and we might all be still together
Us farmers miss it when we don't fix u
our homes and git good readin' and hav
good buggy and team for drivin', AM
let proper company come, and give tn
boys and girls 3 share. Country lii
oughtn't to be unhappy. It wouldn't be
if we managed right. Town folks ar
always crazy to get into the country
4 That shows that town life amt all pleas
ant either. Oh, if / could live over agal
the past thirty odd years in this county