Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-01-07
HAMPTON, Pt1OEBUS AND OLD PC
The OLD TIME FARM BOY

Iof the way the country boys .ivcd
sixty ANA seventy years ago. or even
forty years ago, when the writer was
a boy? At the age of six we boys q
speak more especially about boys, as
there We're no girls in our family he,
gan to have our regular chores TO
| 10. At seven we began 10 milk. and
at the age of ten We We're expected
to be out at { in the morning ana do
orr share of the milking. feed the
pigs and calves. eat our breakfast and
away to the field (no compulsory ed
ucatiunal laws in those days. driving
oxen TO pillow or narrowing with an old
forty tooth drag; hoing crn. for Il
must be hood nj least three times. We
boys Mt ten We're expected to hoe Il
hill ANA skip u Hill 10 keep up with
The men; fetch the water for the men
to drink and ride the old mare To cul.
tivate, for the man who held the cul-
iivator must have Il boy TO ride the
horse, but he must not let her stcr
on Il hill of corn. for If he did th/
whole field WAS thought to have gone
TO ruin. wonder what the farmers
of those days wonld have Thought 20
see the farmers of today gliding
through the corancld with n two
horse, double-row cultivator doing the
work of six men.
Husking Corn and PAIRING Apples.
The boys of those days had to work.
The majority of farmers seemed to
think that all boy was created for
was what work they could get out of
him; that boy ever became tired
was something against the laws OF
nature; if he Jagged he was lazy. The
school days OF the farmer boys of
those times were from about Decem-
Der to April /, but mind YOU. we
were expected to 90 to the barn
evenings and husk corn until the
husking was all done. After that wns
done, then for the apples. for about
10 to 100 l'ishcls must he pared. quar-
tered and cored, and strung on strings
with the rib Of an old umbrella for
needie. ana hung up behind the kit
chen stove to dry This work was
all done evenings About two or
three bushels were considered TO he
fair evenings work oh, YES. We
used to have corn huskings ana annie
parings. 1t broke the monotonv. and
we youngsters had lots of fun. hut
guess the boys of today would think
II was rather tame sport, for now tho
hotels and saloons have more attrac-
tins. The average farmers how of thn
twentieth century has more money TO
spend Oh him in one year than tho
BOY OF iiftv years ago had in his en-
tire boyhood days. There was not
even a $1,000 boy in those DAYS.
at The ages of nine and ten. re-
spectively, my brother and | rode orr
sold hohailed mare. SLIPPERY Jane.
to school, n distance of two miles
What would the boys of this age think
10 see two such youngsters astride of
one horse? But as we became lit
tie older we drove her hitched TO
fathers old pnng. In connection with
this never shall forget an incident
although 1t was a very common &c
c'rrcnce for boys of those days to b.
left alone and with the care of tho
premises, My brther was ten ana
eleven years old. We came from
school one very cold. stormy night In
February We stopped on our way
to leave girl who lived at II neigh
boris, and who rode to ana from,
school with us. The ncighbor was a
relative of the family, and he told MS
mat our people had all gone away
early in the day as n near relative
oil tile family had died, and that We
must hurry home and do IN the
chores. which consisted of about for
~ head Of cattle to care for. also
horses, hogs, hens and various other
things. Our neighbor relative told MS
10 hurry home, do up the chores. eat
our supper, be careful OF fire. ana Get
to he'd early. and get M early next
morning, do up the chores. give our
cowhide boots fresh coat of grease
and make ready 10 go to the Iiineral
Tor the relative where our people had
gone the day before. Well. we trude-
ed home as fast as We could hurry
ne old mare, the snow was falling
last and Il stiff wind was coming mn
in tine west. Our home was mile
from the main highway, and over a
mile from the nearest ncighior. and in
the very shadow of the heavy timber
We arrived home to find it deserted
except Tor our old shepherd dog lin.
and the house as cold as an iceberg.
fon can bet we We're not very long
in doing up those chores and gettine
ourselves tucked away in bed. Il
seems that can hear now the wind
nowl around that old fashioned Dutch
mouse up there on the hill that cold
and stormy night. The next morning
we were up bright and early to make
ready for our journey. some five or six
miles away. Our neighbor relative
came and helped us some about
chores. so we could get started as
early as possible for the funeral was
TO be quite early. for the body wns
TO be shipped by railroad. At last we