West Virginia Farm Stories From the Early 1900s: ; Selected Installments Focus On Farm Life

Summary

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Editor's note: Mary Cordelia Riffee Figgatt, 104, undertook to write her memoirs of growing up in Putnam County so that her descendants would understand how life was lived in the early years of the 20th century.

She began to compile them when she was 93 years old. For seven years, the former Putnam and Kanawha County schoolteacher wrote in her spare time, completing the work when she was 100 years old.

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West Virginia Farm Stories From the Early 1900s: ; Selected Installments Focus On Farm Life

Here is another installment from her book, "West Virginia Farm Stories from the Early 1900s," which is available for $14.95 plus tax at bookstores throughout the state, or by mail from the West Virginia Book Company, 1125 Central Ave., Charleston, W.Va. 25314, or by calling 888-982-7472. The publisher, Mountain Memories Books, can be reached by calling Bill Clements at 304-342-1848.

Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese and Guineas

The above were not animals but fowls.

However, they were a source of income and a good supply of meat.

They were small and could be consumed in one meal.

Turkeys were better for commercial purposes.

They were larger.

Mostly, they were served during the winter holidays.

They brought in a greater sum of money when sold.

Therefore, they were mainly raised for an extra income.

Chickens were raised mainly for eggs and a ready meal.

The extra eggs could be sold; also any chickens that were not needed were sold.

Chickens require such a small space.

It was profitable for the farmer with limited space.

If unexpected company came, all one had to do was call up the chickens, pick one up, jerk off its head, douse it in a pot of boiling water, and soon have it ready for the frying skillet.

Fresh eggs were so delicious for breakfast too.

Guineas were used for their eggs and meat.

They were used the same as chickens.

Some people like to have them as noisemakers.

They would let one know when company was coming by saying, "pot- rack, pot-rack." I liked to hear them.

Ducks and geese were used in the olden times mainly for their feathers.

Occasionally, one would be served as a treat for the holiday dinner.

Eggs that were not needed to set to hatch for little ones were used for cooking and table fare.

The Lord supplies our wants in many different ways.

Haymaking and storing on the farm

We always had a mowing machine and a hay rake.

A mowing scythe was just used to trim the fence corners and places the machine could not reach.

After the grass was mowed down, it was left on the ground to dry or cure as it was called.

Then the rake, which was pulled by horses, gathered up that dried out grass and left it in windrows.

Now, it was ready to put into shocks to further dry out before hauling to the barn or making it into stacks.

We didn't dare put it in the barn or stacks while it was damp for fear of a fire that would be caused from spontaneous combustion.

Now that it had dried out, it was called hay, which was hauled to the barn until it was full.

What will we do with the rest of the hay that the barn didn't hold? We had no balers as they do today to make those long bales or those big round ones.

Of course it will be stacked in the field to keep for the animals when the barn hay is used up.

My father was a perfect stacker.

He always got that job.

First, he made a foundation of logs or rails for the stack to set on so the hay would not get wet or even damp.

Then we would place the hay as it was pitched to him to form the stack.

It was tapered as he reached the top.

Two rails were wired together and laid across the top to keep the wind from blowing it off.

Also a stick three or four feet long was inserted in the middle of the top.

All these precautions kept the hay in top condition for the animals.

When the barn was almost empty, it was time to go to the stack for more.

A frozen morning was a good time to tear down the stack and haul it to the barn on a sled pulled by horses.

How nice to have plenty of feed for the animals when snow and ice were on the ground.

Cash crops on a 150-acre farm

These are what we depended on to bring in cash to pay taxes, insurance, and other necessities:

Cattle: Calves and two-year-olds.

Sheep: Mostly males. Females that we didn't need to replenish the flock. The wool was what was clipped from the adult sheep. If the wool was not clipped, they would shed it when the weather got warm.

Pigs: Pigs that were not needed to be kept for butchering.

Turkeys: All that were not needed for seed.

Chickens: Mostly young roosters that we didn't need to keep to eat and the old laying hens.

Peaches: The extras t...

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