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Delbert from Lincoln
09-10-2005 15:33:11
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Re: AC B with Kerosene lights in reply to Missouri Boy, 09-10-2005 09:40:27
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In the 1940"s, during the war years, my dad farmed 1/2 section of land altogether with a F-12 and a team of mules. The one rented place was about 4 miles from home. Dad picked corn by hand with the team and wagon, and the job often took till February or March to complete. On the place 4 miles from home, the landlord had a corn crib. Dad took two kerosene lantens with him. One was clear, the other had a red chimney. I was told it had been borrowed from a railroad. When he go to the field, he set the lanterns out in a safe place and shucked a load of corn, scooped it off by hand into the landlords crib. He then fed the mules, and ate his lunch and rested a little, and let the mules rest. Then he shucked the 2nd load of corn for the day. That one went home to our crib. Often it was dark when he left the field, and he hung the red lantern on the rear of the wagon, and the clear one on the front. Didn"t make much light, but a car could see the wagon, and the mules knew their way home, where the would get unharnessed and feed and water. The newfangled gas lantern, which was much brighter would not work as the mantles were too fragile to take the jolting of the wagon. I think dad rented that land for 3/5 and the landlord got 2/5ths. Ever few days, dad would pick one load of corn and haul it home and spend the rest of the day grinding feed and other necessary farm work. I suppose that extra load was how he kept the 2/5 3/5 straight.
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Rod
