Dundee third graders learn about farming in the ‘old days’

Dundee third graders in Randi Kominek’s class learned about farming in the “olden days,” when they listened to stories from “Farmer Ron” Kanitz and “Farmer Walt” Berns.

The men talked about farming at the Old Mill Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 17. The students attended class at the Old Mill Museum all week.
“Farmer Ron” grew up on a farm near Milan, and Farmer Walt grew up on a farm near Dundee.

Farmer Ron explained his outfit to the students. He was wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt, and overalls.

“Farmers only shaved once a week in those days,” said Farmer Ron, “So I didn’t shave today.”

He also carried one red and one blue bandanna. The red one was for blowing one’s nose, and the blue one was for tying around the neck to keep hay and straw out of the back of a shirt while stacking straw or running a threshing machine.

“I couldn’t find a straw hat,” said Farmer Ron. But he had a long pencil in his pencil pocket, noting that there also was a short pencil pocket, a pocket for the farmer’s billfold, another for a notebook, and a special pocket in the front for his pocket watch, which was attached with a leather tie.

“You could also use binder twine or something, so you didn’t lose your watch,” he said.
He brought along a sign, which was divided into four sections, each with a number in it— 25, 50, 75 and 100. He explained that in the old days before refrigerators, people put these in their window to order blocks of ice. The numbers told the ice man how many pounds of ice they needed.
Farmer Walt explained basic farm equipment items to the students, including a lantern.

“In those days, we didn’t have electric lights in the barn, so we had to carry a lantern and hang it on a nail or set it down while we did our work,” said Farmer Walt.

The students raised their hands and pointed at objects they were curious about.

The men explained the purpose of coffee grinders, milk cans, pig scrapers, hay lifters, potato forks, fanning mills which shook and removed dirt and shaft from grain, hay knives, wool trimmers and something that put a ring in a pig’s nose so it wouldn’t root up the ground.

“This is a bean sorter,” said Farmer Walt, at a piece of equipment in the museum. “But our bean sorter was to dump the beans out on the kitchen table on winter nights and we’d sit there and clean the beans.”

Farmer Ron also demonstrated how to use a corn hook to remove the husk and expose the corn. Then he snapped off the stem, cranked up the corn sheller, and put the ear of corn in. With a quick whirl, the empty cob came out and the corn fell into the tray.

The students were very impressed.

Farmer Walt described how farmers prepared milk in the days before refrigeration. After the cows were milked, the milk was taken to the milk house. In cans, it was surrounded by cool water. The children had to sit at the cans and stir them with special perforated scoops to cool the milk. Then the milk was sent to the dairy.

Farmer Ron also had a deer antler on a stick, which was used before people could afford to buy rakes to cultivate garden plots.

They described cold winter mornings on the farm, which were vivid in their memories. They remembered upstairs bedrooms that were so cold glasses of water would freeze overnight, and hot water bottles to keep their feet and beds warm.

They had to pump water for their morning oatmeal, feed the animals, and take their lunches to school in pails.
“I had to walk two miles home from school every day,” said Farmer Walt. “So I’d be pretty hungry when I got home, and hope for a big slice of warm bread and jelly.”

He also had to fill the wood box from the wood shed, carrying four or five armfuls of wood.

They also described some of the games the children played at school recess, such as fox and goose, Annie on Over throwing balls over a roof, and so on.

They also remembered picking up nuts. The nuts were in hulls, which had to be removed. After the nuts were dried, they were cracked, and the families would sit in the evenings and pick out the nutmeats for winter baking.

The students were amazed at all the work which went into everyday things, that they now enjoy so easily.