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This is a story Dad told regarding deep snow and harsh winters: In 1930 his parents had just bought a small ranch adjacent to his grandparents’ homestead. They lived 5 miles from the nearest store. Granddad worked at a coal mine about 8 miles away. He ran the stationary steam engine that provided all mechanical power.
On one occasion that winter they got 30 inches of snow. It snowed all night and all day, and another night. The last few winters had been mild and they weren't as well prepared as they might have been. Dad, then eight years old, had no over-boots, and had to do without.
There was no snow removal machinery in use then, so the roads were not cleared and people had to make do as best they could. The mine kept working and Granddad had to make his way there, at least part of the way on foot. He stayed at a boarding house for some time, so Grandma was alone at the ranch with the kids. She milked the cows and did the chores. Dad was 8 years old and not much help.
After a time they completely ran out of groceries and so they had to make the journey to the nearest store. The snow was still too deep for the car, so Grandma hitched a team of horses to the wagon. It had enough height to get through. She took Dad on the wagon and left his younger sisters at home. I think there was an elderly relative there to look after them but I’m not sure.
It was then, and remains now, dirt roads all the way, except when they had to cross the highway which had been paved in 1927. The highway had not been cleared either but a few cars were able to travel on the pavement.
The horses were a good team, steady and dependable. The horse on the left side, closest to traffic, was ol' Dan. Dan was a good horse, but he was deathly afraid of cars. He didn't bolt, or rear, but would stop and “crouch” in absolute terror until the car was gone. Grandma was able to hold him and there were no catastrophes, although with scared horses you never really know...
They made it to the store, Grandma purchased the necessary groceries, and they returned home safely.
Dad told this story once at the end of his life. He remembered the events but hadn’t thought them particularly worth mentioning until then. It was just how people lived.
Discussion (3)
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You used the term ranch, so I presume this wasn't the mines in southwest Indiana or southeast Illinois. A former Ricochet member led me to information on how at one time the miners in that region did farming part-time and coal mining the other parts of the year. And I think that was earlier than the 30s, so maybe this took place further west?
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The location was southern Colorado. There is a lot of coal there. Granddad farmed and ranched there for the rest of his life, but he worked full time at the mine for many years. Sometimes he had to hire neighbors to do the plowing, although sometimes he would have to go out and straighten furrows when he got home. He was a hard worker.
Dad worked the graveyard shift in the mines, and ranched during the day. He also was a hard worker.
I'm not a hard enough worker to be a rancher or farmer.
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My dad had a few stories like that he started telling as he got older. His grandfather was born in 1872 and lived into the early 1960's. Gramps never learned to drive. He would take a horse or his wagon and team into town. He was still out plowing fields with a team of horses into the 1950's, until his children took his means to do so away when he was eighty. He was a tough and a crusty old man.
My dad visited the old man. Dad was in his twenties and in the army. He had bought a convertible.
"As long as I'm here, can I drive you into town, Gramps?"
"No, I don't need anything."
My dad went off to the lavatory and came back, and couldn't find the old man. He finally looked outside and saw Gramps sitting in the passenger seat of his car.
He walked out, and the old man looked up at him, "Took you long enough. Let's go."