A Time Forgotten

Time and geography made me a person of parts; part city boy, part farmer, part cowboy, part Indian, all part of a time forgotten near a little town that is buried under a city. It was a time when farmers worked every day, went to church on Sunday afternoon and went to town on Saturday.

In the town that was buried beneath a city, there was a unique center of social activity called The Wagon Yard. Unmarked by any neon signs and without any cover charge, it existed on a quarter of a city block of dirt, complete with a wooden watering trough, small piles of mule droppings in various locations and interspersed with muddy pools of urine. Farmers parked their wagons and visited back and forth, Made pallets under the wagon for the children and tied their team to the rear of the wagon where they could browse on the straw in the wagon bottom. This socialization usually began about 9:00 AM and lasted until about 3:00 PM.

The actual beginning occurred sometime Friday evening between the milking of the cows, feeding the chickens, slopping the hogs, and feeding the mules, seperating the cream, gathering the eggs, and putting fresh straw in the bottom of the wagon. Of course a constant passenger in the wagon was a three gallon crock moonshiner type jug wrapped in burlap 'gunnysack' which was soaked in the well water as the jug was being filled with that same cold water. The jug had its very private residence under the seat on the right side of the wagon. No one touched the jug except mom and dad.

At fourthirty Saturday morning the day started on the farm with lighting the lamp, building a fire in the wood burning cooking stove, taking a lantern to the barn to milk the cows and feed the mules while the little ones gathered the eggs and slopped the hogs while mother was preparing breakfast and packing the eggs, butter, and cream to be taken to the Farmer's Produce to be sold. Chicken feathers saved from the chickens they had eaten could be sold there to. Sometimes live chickens and turkeys were sold in town, too.

There was no ice, refrigerator, or electricity but the baby's milk must be kept cool in the #3 wash tub with well water soaked blankets packed around them and the lunch that mother had prepared; usually salt pork, egg and biscuit sandwiches.

As dawn broke about 6:30 the family started their seven mile journey to town. After stopping at the creek to let the mules rest and drink, they should get to the wagon yard by about 8:30 or 9:00, get unhitched and pallets made under the wagon. Then time to take care of business, On the next street north was Clapp's produce where their cream was tested for fat content and bought, their eggs and butter sold, together with the feathers and a few hens they had brought for sale.

With that cash, mother could go across the street west to Stewart's Grocer and give them her grocery list. No nestkarts and walking up and down aisles and selecting your groceries. The grocerboys would gather the items on your list and have in boxes for you to pick up after you had completed the other necessary business of the day. Honest weight was usual but, on occasion- - - .
The kids went to one of the four theaters in town, the Palace was the most popular, after getting Ice Cream at La Sill Parlor. Mother had to go to Kresses 5 & 10 Cent Store to get some new dress goods and Dad needed to go to the bank. There was a poolhall and domino parlor but. surely, Dad wouldn't go to that nasty place where they smoked Dutch Master Cigars which, as everyone knows, had been laced with opium.

One of the mules needed to be re-shod and Christmas' Blacksmith Shop bordered the wagon yard on the east. Everyone knew to be back at the wagon before 3:00 PM and ready to start the journey home.

The mule was brought from the blacksmith shop and the team hitched to the wagon while the family stowed everything in place. They drove to the front of the grocery store and picked up their groceries then started their homeward journey. The baby was a litte cranky and its milk had curdled. Sundown; they arrived at home and unloaded, put the team in the barn, built the fire in the cookstove, lit the lamp and the lantern while mother put the baby down and began preparation of supper while the mules were fed and the cows were milked and the little ones gathered the eggs, fed the chickens, slopped the hogs, seperated the cream and went to bed.

All of these had to be repeated on Sunday Morning in order for them to go to the school house, have a picnic dinner on the ground, go to church. and have a 'singing'. "Church in The Valley by The Wildwood" "Old Rugged Cross" "Sweet Hour of Prayer' and of course "Amazing Grace'. A prayer of thanksgiving preceded the journey to home. Clouds in the west showed promise of rain for the parched crops in the field. (Trooper Wood)