The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings to readers in Henderson, Hancock and surrounding counties. I'm a hopen' this letter finds everyone in a good mood and doing well.
"Just wait, -in time th' grass becomes milk" (have patience for what you want).
And so it happened with the opening of Route 34, Friday, July 18, at around 6:00 p.m. Traffic became heavy while it was still daylight, but as soon as it turned dark, the motor count went down. Some was a complainin' that IDOT, or whomever, had not reacted fast enough to the problem.
Myself, I think it's wise that we "Don't muddy up th' well, that we git water frum" (don't be ungrateful to your benefactor).
To have any part of "decision makin' on matters of this flood would not be an easy job.
Most, if not all of the folk I know involved in the job, are tryin' their best under a very difficult situation. A thank you once-in-awhile pays dividends.
Sugar water is most generally way better than vinegar, if one expects positive results.
Remember, hindsight of times is 20-20 and IDOT employees, county and city officials, etc. are our neighbors, friends, and allies.
Remember, "Th' water that's past, don't turn th' mill wheel" (Don't look back, look to the future).
Let's all work together as a team-in harmony-as we move forward.
In the old days, a team of horses that couldn't or wouldn't pull together, did not get much, if any, work done.
"A kite don't rise with th' wind" (adversity causes strength).
At the fair, some of youin's was a askin' how we farmed with horses when it got so beastly hot in days of old, during summer months, especially when I wrote of cultivating.
Well, for one thing, we didn't farm as many acres as now, and what we did farm was more diversified than just row crops. The heat and horses put limitations on what you could get done in a day.
Some farms would use the full moon, such as we had last week, to work their horses to the cool of the night.
All in all, I guess, even with a full moon, me thinks we had better night vision than we seem to have today. We shore enough didn't have artificial lights on them horses.
A good farmer took care of his horses, and worked "em carefully. He took time to water and rest "em. He curried them, and saw to it the leather was properly cared for and didn't rub raw on the horse.
He fed his horses properly, but didn't over do it with too much energy building too much heat. And, in takin' care of his horses, he was forced to take care of himself.
Food was used for fuel in them days, only it was oats and hay for horses rather than corn for Ethanol.
Come time to sleep, for mankind in those hot summer days, we tried many tricks in the book, for comfort and a good night's rest. Without air conditioning, some slept on the porch, some in the yard, and some just simply sweat it out.
It was plenty hard on the women in the kitchen, also, with their cook stoves and all that added heat.
Many folk had summer kitchens to keep the heat out of the house.
And when those men folk came in from threshin' or workin' in the field, "hungry enough to eat buzzard's bait."
The women folk, as I recall, always had a meal ready-fit for a king. Too bad some of our young people missed out on some of that fine cookin'.
Custard pies, fried chicken, fresh vegetables-most everything was raised right there down on the farm.
Most farm kitchens were open to who might drop by-be it neighbor, friend, or just a passing person down on their luck.
It seems that the most available kitchens were somehow marked by those down on their luck and frequented more often.
Some hoboes, or people of the road, would even be put up for the night, often out in the barn. Others did a few chores, choppin' wood, ringin' hogs, or other odds and ends for room and board for a few days.
People seemed to be generous and more trusting, as I recall in my memory. Never givin' a thought to lockin' a door.
Well, anyways, this flood of "08 shore is one for the memory book, least ways as far as I can recall.
Someone else will be left to retell the stories of this flood. Somebody who at this time may be "still wet behine' th' ears" but at a later date, after maybe we are gone, can relate history as they remember it.
I'm a hopen' they tell it true and straight as I have tried to do for you.
Catch ya later
Barnyard Bruke