Hay is the foundation of the diet for all grazing animals and consequently harvesting hay is one of the biggest jobs on a farm. In the summer we all see cows and horses eating grass in pastures but this isn’t possible during winter months or times of drought so it was important to put enough hay aside for these times.
Grandpa Maloney had lots of cows at the farm in Bath. Johnny and I used to go down to the barn west of the farmhouse and watch as uncle Frank rounded them up for the evening milking, after which they would stay in the barn until the morning. The next morning they would milk the cows again before sending them out to graze in the pastures.
I think the farm at Bath was primarily a dairy farm although I believe they sold some of the cows for meat and I will talk about all that at another time.
I don’t know much about cultivating hay except that it takes a lot of time and hard work to get a good crop. Grandpa and uncle Frank and uncle Harold were out working in the fields every day during the summer months providing it wasn’t raining. They worked from dawn til dusk only taking time out for dinner at noon and a short nap around 2PM.
People talk about global warming nowadays like it’s a fact. No offence, but it was much hotter then than it is now, believe me. These days if the weather is hot it’s like, “stay indoors” “don’t work too hard” “go to a shopping mall where there is air conditioning” “drink lots of water” Of course drink lots of water; were not stupid. Everybody is so mollycoddled these days. Oh and this really gets me. Instead of beginning with the real temperature, they always start with the humidex in the summer and the wind chill factor in the winter. Why can't they just give us the proper temperature first before all the other stuff for gosh sakes.
Anyways, one thing I do remember about our visits to the farm in Bath was when it was time to load the hay into the barn. I had the job of what was called “pulling back the rope” .
After the hay was gathered from the field in the large wagon which was pulled by either a tractor or a team of work horses it was brought back to the barn to be stored in the loft. There were no bales of hay in those days: it was all loose.
I don't remember which barn they used to store the hay. There were at least two barns, maybe three on the farm in Bath. I know there was a barn east of the house past the wood shed and a bit north of it but there was also another barn west of the house and down a short fenced in gravel road where they used to milk the cows.
Anyways, if I remember this accurately, large bunches of hay were lifted into the loft by a pulley and claw system until the wagon was empty. One of our uncles or grandpa would stand in the wagon and operate the large mechanical fork device which was able to grab large amounts of hay at a time. Then the pulley which was attached to this device was hooked up to the back of the tractor which would be slowly driven away from the barn, hoisting the bundle of hay up into the loft.
One of our uncles would be in the loft guiding each load as it went up. I remember aunt Mary helping with the hay as well when she was there.
Johnny occasionally had the job of driving the tractor. One of our uncles would call out to Johnny when it was time to stop the tractor. Then whoever was on the wagon pulled the fork release rope and the hay dropped into the loft. At that point, Johnny unhitched the rope and that’s when I did my part which was to pull back the rope to the barn for the next bundle.
I usually stood at the entrance to the barn a safe distance from the wagon but away from the hot sun.
Johnny was at least 12 before he was allowed to drive the tractor. I am certain that driving a tractor at such a young age would be frowned upon these days but this was in the 50s when kids had a lot more responsibilities than the kids of today.
Johnny loved driving the tractor and I honestly really liked my job of pulling back the rope. I miss those days.
To this day, whenever I see uncle Frank and we talk about our visits to the farm he always
mentions " Maureen pulling back the rope."
Grandpa Maloney had lots of cows at the farm in Bath. Johnny and I used to go down to the barn west of the farmhouse and watch as uncle Frank rounded them up for the evening milking, after which they would stay in the barn until the morning. The next morning they would milk the cows again before sending them out to graze in the pastures.
I think the farm at Bath was primarily a dairy farm although I believe they sold some of the cows for meat and I will talk about all that at another time.
I don’t know much about cultivating hay except that it takes a lot of time and hard work to get a good crop. Grandpa and uncle Frank and uncle Harold were out working in the fields every day during the summer months providing it wasn’t raining. They worked from dawn til dusk only taking time out for dinner at noon and a short nap around 2PM.
They always brought a pail of well water and a cup with them. Summers during the 50’s were really hot
Anyways, one thing I do remember about our visits to the farm in Bath was when it was time to load the hay into the barn. I had the job of what was called “pulling back the rope” .
After the hay was gathered from the field in the large wagon which was pulled by either a tractor or a team of work horses it was brought back to the barn to be stored in the loft. There were no bales of hay in those days: it was all loose.
I don't remember which barn they used to store the hay. There were at least two barns, maybe three on the farm in Bath. I know there was a barn east of the house past the wood shed and a bit north of it but there was also another barn west of the house and down a short fenced in gravel road where they used to milk the cows.
Anyways, if I remember this accurately, large bunches of hay were lifted into the loft by a pulley and claw system until the wagon was empty. One of our uncles or grandpa would stand in the wagon and operate the large mechanical fork device which was able to grab large amounts of hay at a time. Then the pulley which was attached to this device was hooked up to the back of the tractor which would be slowly driven away from the barn, hoisting the bundle of hay up into the loft.
One of our uncles would be in the loft guiding each load as it went up. I remember aunt Mary helping with the hay as well when she was there.
Johnny occasionally had the job of driving the tractor. One of our uncles would call out to Johnny when it was time to stop the tractor. Then whoever was on the wagon pulled the fork release rope and the hay dropped into the loft. At that point, Johnny unhitched the rope and that’s when I did my part which was to pull back the rope to the barn for the next bundle.
Somehow or another the fork fell back into the wagon, ready for another load. I’m not sure how it all happened but this is how I remembered it.
I usually stood at the entrance to the barn a safe distance from the wagon but away from the hot sun.
Johnny was at least 12 before he was allowed to drive the tractor. I am certain that driving a tractor at such a young age would be frowned upon these days but this was in the 50s when kids had a lot more responsibilities than the kids of today.
Johnny loved driving the tractor and I honestly really liked my job of pulling back the rope. I miss those days.
To this day, whenever I see uncle Frank and we talk about our visits to the farm he always
mentions " Maureen pulling back the rope."
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