memories from Marian Leisz Hammang

In addition to all the work of dairy cattle, our dad also raised bees, which necessitated removing the cones from the hives, placing them in a special unit to turn the handle fast and remove the honey...this was our job! Dad also had purple grape vines which produced a delicious wine he would prepare. Unfortunately, some of his sons liked it so much, he had to build a special vault in the basement to keep the supplies locked up!

Dad also had all the supplies needed for repairing leather boots and shoes. He had a large volume on medical knowledge...for both animals and humans. We NEVER went to the doctor...immunization shots were unheard of until polio was discovered. Dentists were only used to pull decayed teeth. Our dad had excellent teeth. Our mother, on the other hand, did wear false teeth at a young age.

Our dad was about 5'9" tall. He had a very loud voice and carried a tune well. We were told he sang in the church choir in his early years. He also had the loudest sneeze of anyone I've ever heard...our farm would vibrate (it seemed) when he sneezed outdoors. People called him "Tony." As a kid, I learned to manipulate him (when he was drinking beer at the hotel on Saturday nights) by talking in German and saying exactly what my sisters said to say, so that we could get nickels for ice cream cones!!

Traveling salesmen would arrive at our farm on occasion...our dad had a real weakness when it came to saying "no" to their pitch. Our mother was unhappy with the huge overstuffed office chairs (leather) that she had to fit into our rather small living room!! On another occasion, we daughters were encouraged to wear the fancy high-heeled shoes worn by women years before with long gowns, etc. Dad bought a couple dozen of those gems...none of us could, or would, wear them!

On Christmas, our family would select a special tree from our pastures and bring it in the house a day or so before the holiday. We had special ornaments including real little candle clips...but we were not permitted to light the candles. I remember standing in the cold and snow with my dad (while with the rest of the children) we would be given a stocking that had an orange, peanuts in the shell, and lots of hard candy. This was a real treat for me...and I remember thinking how nice it was for my dad to take me.

I remember when I was about 4 years old, my dad and maybe Uncle Frank drove to see their brother Joseph in Ohio. This was a very long trip for them and certainly they were not accustomed to city driving. I don't remember details, but I do remember there was an accident involving our dad...he was injured. Our mother received the news and became very distraught, and while crying, said to us, "WHAT CAN I DO NOW/" My sister Gladys, only 8 years old, said, "Don't worry, ma-ma, I'll take care of you!" Out of the mouths of babes! At any rate, our dad did return in time and was able to resume his farm work without problem.

"On the farm when we were kids, 

Grandpa would put us up on the 

big white horse while he 

plowed the garden."

"I remember catching frogs behind the chicken coop down in the stream. We would run them up and put them in the cow tank. The cows would come in to drink and kind of play with the frogs. It wouldn't bother them."

"We had some old wagon wheels and 

we made a chug. We would set it on top 

of the hill by the side of the grain shed, 

and one of us would have a great ride down into the field. Then the three of us would push it back up again."

"We'd always have us do chores before 

we could play. It was like, 'You have to pull one row of weeds before you can go out 

and play.' But then we'd get a treat, 

a trip to town, or fishing or swimming. 

We always liked that!"

"Us kids would always be running barefooted everywhere in the summertime. We'd run through the farmyard, the fields and even through the cow pies 

with our bare feet."

"We used to watch relatives break horses. They'd rope the horse and then some guys would hold the horse still with ropes and one of us would get on. They would let go of the ropes and we tried to ride it as long as we could, until we got bucked off."

All the children helped with chores. There were a lot of vegetables to hoe. They raised their own potatoes, popcorn, cane to make syrup, pickles to sell (the children's job eas to pick the pickles so their mother could sort them in sizes to sell). The family also raised rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, onions, carrot, beets and cabbage to eat. 

Dill pickles were made in barrels. Big Hubbard squash were raised during the summer, wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pin cherries, and high bush cranberries were picked for jams and jellies. They also picked cranberries in the marsh—placing them in big metal milk cans with handles, as there were no plastic pails then.

Pumpkins were raised too. Lots of pumpkin pies were made. A big pile of pumpkins were stored by the barn, all covered with straw, for pig feed during the winter. Potato peelings were boiled for the pigs. Mangels (a variety of beets) were raised, cut up and fed to the cows. Navy beans were raised and dried to trade in the store for essentials. 

The families ate mostly pork for meat. They fried some of the meat, packed it into crocks and poured melted lard over it. When cooked, the crock was sealed tight and kept in a cool basement for months. They made sausage and smoked hams. The hams were left hanging in a smoke house. A piece was cut off as needed. A light smoke was started about once a week. Dry corn cobs were used for fuel to keep the flies away.

Sauerkraut, a staple for most German farm families, was made in big barrels. The children had to do the stomping to get juice for it. When the growing season for cabbage ended, about a bushel of heads were cored out and shredded on a cabbage cutter. The routine was to shred a head, place the shredded cabbage in the crock, spread a handful of salt over it and stomp it down with a round wooden block on a handle until it had a watery sheen on it. Then do another head and continue the procedure until the crock was almost full. To keep the kraut from floating, a circular board was laid over it with a football sized granite rock on top of it. After a few days the salt would draw water out of the cabbage which then created a water seal. The kraut took about two to four weeks to ferment. During that time the rock and board were removed and washed off weekly. The kraut was “ready” when it tasted good to you. We would take kraut out as it was needed but also canned some of it.

The milk was hauled by horse and buggy or sleigh in winter to the local cheese factory—no snow plows in those early days!  played ball with neighbor kids. They fished in Turtle Creek. And as they grew older, they went to house parties and barn dances.