The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-10-25
TWO YOUTHS WHO
HAVE ACHIEVED
STORY OF WHAT INDUSTRY AND
ENERGY WILL ACCOMPLISH
IN MONTANA
After Putting in Crop One Worked
in Garage, Other For Neighboring
Farmer; Have Just Harvested and
Sold Nice Crop
BY e. II. Cooney

0OO
When discussing the raising Of
wheat in Montana, and the possible
opportunity of making money in the
game, consider the Smith boys.
The Smith boys, John, aged %,
and Albert, aged 16, formerly lived
in this section, their father having a
ranch 10 miles west of Great Falls
upon the Sun river bench. The fam
lily moved to Glendale, California, be-
cause of the fathers health.
This spring, early it was, John and
Albert saddled up their little jitney,
filled it with bedding and food, and,
driving day and night-for the Smith
boys have no time to waste-arrived
OF the ranch west of Great Falls in
six days. John, aged %, hoped on
to a little Fordson tractor, and start
ed to plough the morning after arri-
val, and kept at it from daylight I'M
til very dark until $50 acres were
ploughed good and deep.
Albert, aged Is, did the cooking,
fed the tractor gas and oil, kept the
nuts tight, s~harpened the tools ne
cessary, narrowed, and made him
self generally useful. The $50 acres
were seeded to spring wheat - and
the seeding was finished before some
farmers had started to plough. The
next day John hit for Great Falls,
and the next day he was working asI
an auto mechanic at Sc per day, go-|
ing out to the ranch each night after
his days work and coming in beforeI
starting time each morning. 1t saved
room rent, made eating more econo-I
mical, and took away temptation toll
spend any of his salary money in un-
necessary foolishness. Albert, in the
meantime, didn't lose a day coming1
to Great Falls, but hired out to neigh
boring farmers at SO per day and
found. and never lost a day, except
that he and John met at the ranch
Sunday and worked all day at what
might be necessary to the growing
crop-and in getting things ready for
the harvest.
When the grain ripened John and
Albert quit their jobs, hired a man,
bought a cheap team of horses and,
working almost day and night, har-
vested the entire 260 acres, John cut
ting with the tractor and Albert and
the man stacking the grain from 100
acres. The other 100 acres was left
in the shock to be threshed from the
field. When nearly finished, Albert
sent a letter by the rural delivery
man to mother in Glendale, Califor-
mia, to come On the next train-and
mother came a few days before the
harvest was completed, and cooked
for the threshing crew when the
.threshing followed right on the heels
of the harvest. Still doing team
work under pressure the Smith boys
sold their wheat before it was fully
threshed at go cents the bushel, and
the amount threshed ran over 4,500
bushels, or about 20 bushels to the
acre, meaning over $4,000.
And then John, aged %, and AL
bert, 16, we're ready to go back to
Glendale, California, in the tin Lizzie,
mother and the $4,000 with
them to show to dad, for they had
made more than enough money at
working out during the summer to
pay for harvesting and threshing and
other expenses, and have a nice little l
bunch left for any other purpose. I
st only took a vacation from my c
Job in California and Albert has to I
90 to school, SO we have to hurry up '
and get back home" said John. ?
So it might notbe out of place when il
Montana farming by dry i
and method, also by method of solid
work and no foolishness, to consider L
he Smith boys-John, %, and 4"
Albert, 16. v