Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2002 2:43 PM

Subject: Fwd: August 31,1912

Arthur Sanford wrote:

So -if s happy birthday, Art ... but interesting to read his account of his birth! Roger

Subject: August 31,1912

that day was also on Saturday and something happened that made it possible for all of you to be reading this. Yep, in 1912 three great events occurred: The Titanic Sank, Arizona became a State, and this writer was born. So on the 90th anniversary of that last named event I begin my saga of My Life on the Farm or should I say Growing up on A Farm. that Saturday in a farm house about mid-morning I was born, not sure of the time cause even tho I was very much there I don't personally remember it - so have to go for this episode on what my family told me. it was threshing time on Dad's farm so that afternoon Uncle Ben came into our place with his big Steam Engine pulling that grain separator and along with him came his two oldest daughters Edith and Pearl to help with the cooking for trhe threshing crew Now while I have no recollection of the noise that steam engine made as it came into our barn yard - am still thrilled when I hear a steam engine. –any kind -- these new fangled tractors that run on gasoline don't appeal to me at all and the engines on trains today leave me cold. well back to Uncle Ben's machine coming in--since it was Saturday afternoon the threshing would not start until Monday but Uncle and Edith and Pearl stayed there to be ready for the big day. and Monday came and then Tuesday and word came that Cousin Emily had come to Uncle Ben's home SO Edith and Pearl had to hurry home to care for their mom and little sister and see that Ernest- a 6 year old behaved himself. That left Mabel, Elsie and Laura to do the cooking for the threshers. with Jennie to take care of Curt and Ray and that left Ben to be careful OR

ELSE (all of kids learned at early age what that OR ELSE could mean so I am sure Ben did it ok). well we all lived on that farm for two more years but only two events are in my memory since those two I heard about many times. Dad had only horses for working that wheat farm--some were tame and some were anything but -- he had one they called Babe who was wild and known to be mean to people --well one day when I was one and half years old Mom looked out the window and there I was in the pasture by the water trough standing beside Babe with my arm around her front leg and she had her big head down and I was pulling her ears. Mom about fainted --now what to do? if an adult went out there that mare

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would be likely to whirl and kick as she often did at adults and that would be the end of me --so what to do except just watch - and that big mare let me pull her ears for a bit and scratch her head then she simply put her head between me and her leg and pushed me slowly away then turned and away she went'. Mom just couldn't believe what she saw but there I was safe and she came FAST and got me out of that place. the only time dad ever mentioned that to me he just said that Babe was the only horse he sold when they left Herman that he hated to see go. The other event of note for me while in Herman was when my Grandmother Ellis died and Mom took me and went to Redfield, Iowa for the funeral and to be with her family at that time.. I have no recollection of the funeral of course And that was the only time I ever saw the house in which my Mom grew up. I visited our family members who lived in Herman when I was 16 but we didn't get to go out to see the old place and of course it was long ago torn down and made a part of a big wheat farm--I don't even have picture of the place but there is proof of my story cause I am still alive after 90 years See you all in Hinckley. ME

9/2/2002