Make Up a Story
Stories from Around the World
A Day On the Farm
By the storytellers of St. Teresa's
Chickens!
They're feeding the chickens - the farmer, the owner, the girl.
His name is Ludger, after my grandfather who came from Canada. There wasn't any work there so he came to America. Even on the farm there was no money coming in.
He looks happy.
The thing he's holding is unique - it's a feeder.
That would be handmade, someone just made that up.
The chickens were very happy because they knew the farmers real well - they knew who fed 'em.
First, Ludger went to get the chicken feed.
He had to take 'em out of the barn or wherever they were - all over the farm, it's huge!
Ludger has a family - a few children (Fred, Juliet, Steven, Gladys), a wife Bertha who we called Grammy Kimball with a big long apron. Grampa was still living: he'd stay there all day in his chair with the animals on the farm. Grandma and Grandpa also brought up George who had a career in the service.
They had a dog named Danny.
Horses, a cat, pigs (pigs were good to eat - bacon and ham).
It's cloudy, spring, windy.
We hear chickens, travels - there wasn't much travel in those days, more horse and buggy - we hear LaFawn the delivery man, we hear moooooooo.
We smell manure (manure was very important for the garden, flowers, everything. You forget the smell - there was a lot of wind), chickens, grandma made bread, we smell when you cooked, apple pie.
Ludger dreams of owning his own farm, a nice car, some lambs - he could use their wool for yarn.
Some of his family likes farm life, some don't - it was hard to find work outside, if you had a good job you kept it.
The kids milk the cows, gather the kernels, plow the fields.
Bertha does nothing - she bakes, she cooks the meals.
Next, he's gonna go to bed.
Someone has to do the laundry - Bertha does it.
I'm sure they had enough room for a couple of horses to ride around that beautiful land.
He keeps the animals groomed - you don't see too many animals nowadays, the machinery has taken over.
There's a lot of things that's being changed as you go on. Children go their way, whatever they learn to further their education They leave their parents to make their own way.
You could go to college and end up in the country - in Canada they have good colleges too.
If you want to improve yourself, sometimes you gotta leave your home life to get what you deserve.
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