The last few days I have been doing something I have wanted to do for some time, build a paver based patio at our cottage where my new office will be. Well it is now 99% complete but I wondered where I got this desire to do these projects and to do what it takes to get them done. You must know it came from the Osage and most importantly from my Dad and Mom, Cliff and Opal Olson.
I recall when we would prepared the fields for planting once it started there was no stopping until the fields were planted. We awoke before daylight and made sure the tractor was fueled and the implement was greased. We drank while we drove the tractor and generally we would stop for lunch and supper was brought to the field so we could keep going until it was dark. You may think riding/driving a tractor is easy work but I bet you never road on an older tractor that had very little spring in the seat and there was no cab to protect you from the heat and the wind and dust and in fact we did not have a radio on ours. By the end of the day your body was worn slick from bouncing and constantly turning your head to check on things. I mean to tell you once you put in those many hours (bad English but that is the way it was) on a tractor your body was so spent you did not care to eat, only a bed would suffice and it would only last for a few hours before you were back on the tractor.
Hay season occurred often during the summer starting with straw hay from the wheat fields then we would have a cutting of alfalfa, generally there were 5 cuttings a summer, then hay grazer which was the worst and once a year we would cut and bail prairie hay. So you can see why about every kid, even if you lived in Shidler like Steve Chrisco and many more, hauled hay to make money. There was always work to do and the help was always needed. Back to the hay grazer, it looked a lot lot johnson grass or corn stalks but better for cattle and worse for workers like me. It was always heavier and it took longer to dry and longer and more difficult to bail and was more difficult to stack in the barn. In the winter it was the most difficult to get out of the barn because it would kind of melt down to almost stick together and when you removed it from the barn it was more difficult to handle and it was hot from all the moisture in it. The cattle loved it as I think it was sweeter and had more energy in it, thus the heat. Well haying season almost never ended and it was another start before daylight and end after dark kind of job. The rule was get it done especially before it rained.
One last example of why laying pavers is a job and a joy.
My folks were one of the first I can remember to insist on landscaping around the house with shrubs along the foundation and sidewalks to give shape to the gardens and a nice path to the parked cars on the East and South side of the house. I remember Steve Dowell, the county agent who lived in Fairfax, coming by to visit with Dad and Mom about what to plant and how to plant those shrubs around our new house. If you look close in the picture you will see that old house we built and I believe it was about 40 feet long and 30 feet wide for about 1200 square feet and it was a perfect rectangle, not like all the houses today. It did not have a garage as that was always detached in those days. Anyway my folks seemed to have a passion for making things look nice. Before gas weed eaters we had idiot sticks (at least that is what we called them) which had a blade on the end of stick but both sides of the blade was sharp so that when you swung it both ways it would cut weeds or grass. Anyway, Dad and Mom did not like weeds around anything and Mom really liked flowers so we had marigolds and zinnias every year plus a few tulips and daffodils. I assume their motivation was looks but sometimes I think it was to make sure we had something to do. We even cut the weeds in the coral area just so it would look nice. We even cut the weeds in the junk pile and yes every farmer had a junk pile where they could get parts from old equipment to repair the newer stuff.
Well what these three stores have to do with pavers explains why my hands hurt and ache and my muscles are tight. In fact I got tickled at an Edmond person telling me how tired they were after working from 8 to 12 outside in the 105 degree heat last weekend. I worked Friday after work at my office until after dark plus Saturday from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. barely stopping for lunch and a limited supper then going to church on Sunday and finishing up my project Sunday afternoon till dark plus Monday 7 to 9 and I don't mean two hours. The idea is to get it done and don't count the pain. Oh ya! It was 105% outside where I was working and the bricks were hotter than H___.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
I recall when we would prepared the fields for planting once it started there was no stopping until the fields were planted. We awoke before daylight and made sure the tractor was fueled and the implement was greased. We drank while we drove the tractor and generally we would stop for lunch and supper was brought to the field so we could keep going until it was dark. You may think riding/driving a tractor is easy work but I bet you never road on an older tractor that had very little spring in the seat and there was no cab to protect you from the heat and the wind and dust and in fact we did not have a radio on ours. By the end of the day your body was worn slick from bouncing and constantly turning your head to check on things. I mean to tell you once you put in those many hours (bad English but that is the way it was) on a tractor your body was so spent you did not care to eat, only a bed would suffice and it would only last for a few hours before you were back on the tractor.
Hay season occurred often during the summer starting with straw hay from the wheat fields then we would have a cutting of alfalfa, generally there were 5 cuttings a summer, then hay grazer which was the worst and once a year we would cut and bail prairie hay. So you can see why about every kid, even if you lived in Shidler like Steve Chrisco and many more, hauled hay to make money. There was always work to do and the help was always needed. Back to the hay grazer, it looked a lot lot johnson grass or corn stalks but better for cattle and worse for workers like me. It was always heavier and it took longer to dry and longer and more difficult to bail and was more difficult to stack in the barn. In the winter it was the most difficult to get out of the barn because it would kind of melt down to almost stick together and when you removed it from the barn it was more difficult to handle and it was hot from all the moisture in it. The cattle loved it as I think it was sweeter and had more energy in it, thus the heat. Well haying season almost never ended and it was another start before daylight and end after dark kind of job. The rule was get it done especially before it rained.
One last example of why laying pavers is a job and a joy.
Well what these three stores have to do with pavers explains why my hands hurt and ache and my muscles are tight. In fact I got tickled at an Edmond person telling me how tired they were after working from 8 to 12 outside in the 105 degree heat last weekend. I worked Friday after work at my office until after dark plus Saturday from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. barely stopping for lunch and a limited supper then going to church on Sunday and finishing up my project Sunday afternoon till dark plus Monday 7 to 9 and I don't mean two hours. The idea is to get it done and don't count the pain. Oh ya! It was 105% outside where I was working and the bricks were hotter than H___.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- When you have a job to do you do it until it is done/complete. As my Dad would say, "Getter done"
- No pain No gain, people don't pay you for the easy stuff
- I like to make things look nice.
- What kind of person do you want working for you?
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
1 comment:
Down in South Texas, the "idiot sticks" were call several different names but they all ended in "yo-yo": Mexican Yo-yo, Aggie Yo-yo, or Sooner Yo-yo.
Butch
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