Summer
Summer was a time of family fun and hard work on the farm in
the 1920s. Sunrise came early, and everyone got up early to
do chores. Plowing the fields and planting crops took place
in May and June. In July, crews of men and horses traveled
from
farm to farm with a big machine that threshed wheat and oats, crops that were planted in the fall.
Neighbors gathered to help with threshing and with cooking huge
meals for the hungry field workers. In July and August, farm
families canned and preserved vegetables from the garden. Rural
people also fished and hunted rabbits and other animals to add
variety to their diets. The 4th of July meant fireworks in
town. Churches hosted summer ice cream socials. Families went
to town more often in the summer to sell eggs and cream. While
they were in town, they visited with friends or watched movies that were sometimes projected onto a white wall outside.
 "We
got up by daylight every morning. First… you had
to go down and get the horses in to feed them and get
them ready to go to the field. Then… we would go…
get the cows in and we'd milk four or five cows…We'd
bring that milk in and we'd separate it, get the cream
out of it…Tthen we would go in and have breakfast,
and it was time to go down and harness the horses; get
ready to go to the field. Took quite a while for the horses
to get in and get their grain and hay eaten so they put
in pretty long days." -- Harvey
Pickrel  (Quicktime required) |
No Sunday Baseball in York
 "You
know there's a time they couldn't play Sunday baseball
in York. It was voted on in 1921… and it was defeated
1,300 to 800. And Sunday shows[movies] were voted out
1,400 to 600. Sunday shows didn't come into until 1929…
When we high school kids wanted to go to a show somewhere
we either went to Osceola or to Columbus or to David City.
They had Sunday shows. In 1929, York finally had … shows
on Sunday… Now baseball didn't come into York legally
until…1934. It was finally voted in. Up till that
time York baseball teams that wanted to play on Sunday,
they usually went to Fairmont and played." -- Walter
Schmitt (Quicktime required) |
Written by Claudia Reinhardt.
|
Summer
