Baby Chicks in the Mail

Baby chicks in the mail!  These fluffy yellow peeps came in a sturdy cardboard box separated into 4 sections.  Father picked them up at the local post office, where they arrived from the chick supplier.

This was an exciting time as we placed them in a larger containment in the brooder house, under a hood with heating lights.  However, if it was too cold outside, my parents might place them in a large container in our farmhouse kitchen untill the weather changer.

I didn't realize this practice (baby chicks in the mail) still existed.  However, on a stop at our local post office in spring, I heard a peeping sound.  I inquired and discovered, YES, baby chick still arrived in the mail.

Do You Remember Aprons?

Even though I don't wear aprons much anymore, I think about those of yesteryear. Or I see pretty ones in a store or magazine. Perhaps someone has transformed an apron into another wearable item, utilizing the fabric in a unique way. Then memories of aprons surface.

In days ago, a cook wouldn't think of being seen in the kitchen without her apron. Mother had a number of these. Some were the old-fashioned, full bib ones that covered her from chest to skirt hem. Others tied around the waist and covered her skirt.

I recall both grandmothers always wearing the full coverage aprons to keep their dresses clean. Yes, they always wore dresses, never slacks.

Then when Mother or my grandmothers entertained guests, they wore aprons of finer fabric. These also might have embroidery on the hems and pockets.

Why Did Women Wear Aprons?

Traditionally ladies wore aprons to cover their dresses when working at home. In days before electricity and modern washing machines, it was very time consuming to wash clothes. So the longer one could wear a dress, the easier it was.

Also, clothing often was expensive, so an apron helped give longer wear. Young girls and their mothers wore aprons. Sometimes they had matching ones.

However, as washing methods became easier and clothing less expensive, aprons saw less use. Slacks and dungarees (jeans) became common apparel rather than dresses around the home.

Bib Aprons Had Many Uses:

*Obviously, they helped keep a lady's house dress clean.

*They often served as a towel for drying her hands.

*The homemaker used the apron for wiping her face when hot from cooking over the woodstove or doing housework.

They Had Many Other Uses:

*Aprons came in handy for carrying vegetables from the garden or fruit from the trees.

*They could be flapped to chase the dog, cats or chickens from the farmhouse door..

*If a potholder wasn't handy, a lady might use her apron for holding a pan handle.

*If a piece of furniture needed a quick swipe to remove dust, the apron came in handy.

*Aprons were good for wiping children's tears and wrapping around shoulders when a child was chilly or needed a hug.

*If you were careful, you could carry eggs in the apron from hen house to the kitchen.

Pockets in Aprons Were Useful, too:

*Of course, you could tuck a handkerchief there.

*If you were working outside, you might carry a snack in your pocket.

*This was a place for storing children's treasures (stones, feathers, odd pieces of wood) picked up on a walk.

*In a pocket, you might find extra bobby pins, safety pins, a bit of string - odds and ends you might need throughout the day.

(c)Mary Emma Allen

Autumn's Colored Leaves & Memories on the Farm

Autumn was very colorful on our farm with many maples in the yard and in the woods surrounding the fields.  The maple across the road from the house, near the spring, always turned a vibrant red each year.  We could look out the kitchen window, that Father built above the sink, and see the colorful woodland beyond the barn and corn fields.

Frost often covered the yard and pastures in early morning.  We could see the cows' breath as they meandered to the barn.  Lacy bits of ice formed along the banks of the brook that ran between our house and barn from Whaley Lake, then met the Gardner Hollow Brook in our pasture.  Where did it run from there?  Down through Poughquag, I think.  But I don't know after that...unless it was Fishkill Creek.

What are your autumn memories?

Have you ever put together an autumn memories puzzle?

Apple Time Memories on the Farm

Apple time meant hours in the orchard when I was growing up. Although Father was a dairy farmer, he also operated an orchard and grew apples to sell. One of my tasks was going to the orchard after school and on weekends to pick apples for our use and to send to market.


The views from the orchard were spectacular since it was near the top of the "Big Hill" on our farm. From there we could view the Hudson River Valley in the distance and, on clear days, the Catskill Mountains west of the river.

Father initially purchased a second farm adjoining ours.  It had an old orchard, but the trees did produce.  There were old varieties including Baldwins.  Father decided to expand and planted 500 trees in the next field which was on our original farm on the "Big Hill."  These consisted or Red and Yellow Delicious, Mcintosh and Cortlands.

From somewhere he purchased a sprayer pulled behind the tractor.  He learned about apple growing and marketing and did most of that work himself.  It was his hobby turned productive.

In the fall, the rest of the family was recruited as we picked and picked and picked.  A neighbor lady, named Kate, came each fall to pick apples.  Kate did housework and yard work for various people to earn her living.  She seemed to enjoy climbing up the ladder into the trees and picking apples.

When apple time comes around each fall, my apple memories surface.  The hard work translated into the work ethic instilled into farm children of those days. 

You also might want to check out: Apples, Apples Everywhere - Favorite Recipes from America's Orchards.

Garden Gathering Time

As summer came to a close, we were furiously gathering goodies from the garden (a large one at the far end of the house) to enjoy, but also to preserve for winter food.  Much of our food was grown on the farm.  We purchased very little if we could raise it ourselves.

Mother and we girls were canning tomatoes which we enjoyed stewed throughtout the cold weather months.  Potatoes were dug and put into the bin in the cellar.  Pumpkins and squash soon would follow.  The last of the cucumbers we made into pickles.

The beans had been canned with a few pickled as a special treat.  Sweet corn had been cut from the cob and canned. Beets were pulled, then canned or pickled.

The garden was becoming bare and we looked forward to plentiful meals during the winter.

(Image: sxc.hu)

Preserving Summer's Bounty
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
5-Piece Home Canning Kit
7-Piece Home Canning Set

Dogs on the Farm

Several dogs come to mind when I think of life on the farm.  They were cow dogs, but were gentle with us children, too.

Shep was the dog of my early childhood.  He was a collie and was living there when I was born.  Dan, our hired man, sent Shep for the cows in the pasture late afternoon, and he would round them up.  I don't know if Dan was the one who trained him or whether my dad did.

Shep was tolerant of us children and seemed like one of the family.  We even had a birthday cake for him on his birthday in December.  As I recall, Mother said that was the month he was born.

Bud Rover followed Shep, who died of old age.  We acquired him as a pup, when Shep was getting stiff and unable to round up the cows.  He was part German Shepherd and part collie.  My sister and I wanted to call him Rover and my brother opted for Bud.  So Mother combined the names to satisfy us all, and Bud Rover answered to either or all.

Dan took him along when getting the cows for milking, and Bud Rover soon learned his task.  However, he wasn't so good on his own as Shep was.

Dasher was a dash hound we acquired, I don't know from where.  Low to the ground and comical, he wasn't much of a cow dog.  But he became one of the family and followed my brothers around.  By now, Dan had retired, and we youngsters called in the cows and sought out the elusive ones in the pasture.  Dasher came along for the run on his short legs, but didn't scare the cows much, I think.

I left for college when we still had Dasher and married after graduation.  However, my brothers had several dogs to help them on the farm in those years.  Generally the dogs we had were working dogs and expected to help us in the pasture.  They often liked to follow us to the hay fields, too.

What were the dogs in your life on the farm?

Farm Dogs: A Celebration of the Farm's Hardest Worker

Sharing a Farming Heritage

As I browsed through my first copy of Mary Jane's Farm magazine, I began to reminisce about my farm girl heritage. I grew up on a dairy farm in the Hudson River Valley of New York State during the 1940s and 50s.

Even though those memories are ingrained in my mind and form part of my heritage, my daughter and grandchildren, nieces and nephews won't know about them unless I record the stories in some form.

My husband grew up on a dairy farm in New Hampshire, as did his father. My parents came from farming backgrounds in NYS.

Although we don't live on farms now, the years of childhood shaped our lives and character. They instilled a work ethic that has taken us through the decades.

Photos of the farming activities bring back memories, as do writings of my parents and grandfather.

I'd like to share these memories and experiences with those who enjoy reading my blog. Perhaps you'll realize the value of your farming heritage, too.

(Image; sxc.hu)