Lara
Friend of the Arts
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic Coast
Love the song and the images in this video Nancy. I don't remember any songs from Don McLean except "Bye Bye American Pie". Thanks for posting it.
Country images you don't see much anymore
- Thread starter NancyNGA
- Start date
Pappy
Living the Dream
My grampa was a crosscut saw man. I tried being on the other end one time. Hah, no way I could keep up with him. He had several saws too. He was a whiz on the one man saw.
Meanderer
Supreme Member
Crosscut by Tim Lydon
"I am cutting firewood near my home in northwest Montana when my old chainsaw, plagued by various ailments, finally sputters and dies. In suddenly quiet woods, I inhale its last cough of hydrocarbons and consider the pile of logs at my feet. It’s far short of our winter heating needs. Overhead, golden cottonwoods rattle a warning: I’ll soon run out of time to gather this year’s firewood.
The next day I buy a new saw, which comes complete with a burly plastic carrying case. No doubt it’s sexy, its powerful bar protruding from the engine housing, its plastics gleaming. But there’s more to a chainsaw, nags my conscience. Its carburetor is manufactured in China, then shipped across the ocean. The oil and gas I’ll feed it each year, while trivial in gallons, depend on a web of drills, chemicals, pipelines, and refineries. Across the globe, they fuel war and turn the planet’s carbon cycle inside out, pushing the climate toward chaos. And what of the saw’s future? Ultimately, its plastics are destined for a landfill, where they’ll leach petrochemicals for decades. It all seems an extravagant cost for a little firewood.
Years earlier, as a Forest Service wilderness ranger in Colorado, I learned to use a two-person crosscut saw. I loved the smell of fresh-cut logs unmarred by gassy smoke and the swish of the metal blade through heartwood. The short reach of that unmistakable sound made the woods feel like they went on forever. It was surprisingly efficient, too. I begin wondering if I can cut our firewood by crosscut". (Continue)
"I am cutting firewood near my home in northwest Montana when my old chainsaw, plagued by various ailments, finally sputters and dies. In suddenly quiet woods, I inhale its last cough of hydrocarbons and consider the pile of logs at my feet. It’s far short of our winter heating needs. Overhead, golden cottonwoods rattle a warning: I’ll soon run out of time to gather this year’s firewood.
The next day I buy a new saw, which comes complete with a burly plastic carrying case. No doubt it’s sexy, its powerful bar protruding from the engine housing, its plastics gleaming. But there’s more to a chainsaw, nags my conscience. Its carburetor is manufactured in China, then shipped across the ocean. The oil and gas I’ll feed it each year, while trivial in gallons, depend on a web of drills, chemicals, pipelines, and refineries. Across the globe, they fuel war and turn the planet’s carbon cycle inside out, pushing the climate toward chaos. And what of the saw’s future? Ultimately, its plastics are destined for a landfill, where they’ll leach petrochemicals for decades. It all seems an extravagant cost for a little firewood.
Years earlier, as a Forest Service wilderness ranger in Colorado, I learned to use a two-person crosscut saw. I loved the smell of fresh-cut logs unmarred by gassy smoke and the swish of the metal blade through heartwood. The short reach of that unmistakable sound made the woods feel like they went on forever. It was surprisingly efficient, too. I begin wondering if I can cut our firewood by crosscut". (Continue)
Pappy
Living the Dream
now thats a saw.
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
Great photo's! The old timers were taught how to perform manual labor, keep the saw sharp and set properly, use the whole saw, let the weight of the saw do the work. etc... The same type of knowledge on how to use a scythe, pick axe, shovel, etc... These days people tend to pick up a tool then use force and fury to get things done, they ruin the tool and wear themselves out in a very short time. It was a different time that involved different skills.
Pappy
Living the Dream
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
This view of an old harness shop reminds me of the one in our little village. By the time I came along in the 60's the old fella made his living making some tack for the horsey set, repairing shoes and making belts, he also had a little penny candy display! He was a gruff old guy that liked to see if he could scare you by rapping his cane on the wooden counter, the sound would echo through the dimly lit store. He rarely smiled but if you stood your ground and didn't flinch you cold tell it pleased him. He would do anything for you if he liked you and woe be unto you if he didn't!
Nancy these other black and white pics are for you!
http://www.viewsofthepast.com/topics/occupations/list-occu-stores.htm
Nancy these other black and white pics are for you!
http://www.viewsofthepast.com/topics/occupations/list-occu-stores.htm
Great story, Bea. I always wanted to know my grandfather, who died before I was born. He had a reputation of being somewhat crotchety in his old age, and didn't care much for children. I always wondered if I would have been the "woe be it unto you," or the "do anything for you" to him. Isn't that weird?
Thanks for the pictures. I've bookmarked them. I've been looking for a picture of the inside of an old general store like one I remember.
Thanks for the pictures. I've bookmarked them. I've been looking for a picture of the inside of an old general store like one I remember.
Pappy
Living the Dream
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
Where I grew up small backyard grape arbors were common. Both my grandmothers had them, but not even as fancy as these.
View attachment 36118 View attachment 36120
View attachment 36121
Where I saw my first Japanese beetles as a kid. (Aw shucks, I had to go and get negative. Boo!)
View attachment 36122
Nice memory!
We had one that was neglected and overgrown, it made a great place to play and could become most any type of building we needed based on our imagination that day!
Wild Turkeys
"In the early 1900s, wild turkeys seemed to be on the road toward extinction, as unregulated hunting and widespread logging had wiped them out over much of their range. In the last few decades, however, the birds have made an incredible recovery, reaching levels near those of their pre-colonial days." Live Scence
(There were a few at my place back in the 80's, but I haven't seen any for years.)
"In the early 1900s, wild turkeys seemed to be on the road toward extinction, as unregulated hunting and widespread logging had wiped them out over much of their range. In the last few decades, however, the birds have made an incredible recovery, reaching levels near those of their pre-colonial days." Live Scence
(There were a few at my place back in the 80's, but I haven't seen any for years.)
Pappy
Living the Dream
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
Shuffleton's Barbershop, by Norman Rockwell
Appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, April 29, 1950
Great picture!
The folks at Hallmark liked it too!
Stump Fences
Yeah, a little strange, I suppose. But I've thought some about how difficult it must have been for the first settlers, especially in the Eastern US, to clear forest land for crops, and pasture. How to get the tree stumps out, and what to do with them?
"There were two common forms of land clearing that were used during this time. The "Southern method" involved the deadening and girdling of trees and shrubbery, a method that had traditionally been used by the Indians. The alternative, known as the "New England method" involved cutting down trees as well as burning them. Either way, most settlers were able to clear only two or three acres per year."
Illustration:
A stump fence can last up to 150 years. Remnants of a fence in central Michigan, January, 2017
MORE
Yeah, a little strange, I suppose.
But I've thought some about how difficult it must have been for the first settlers, especially in the Eastern US, to clear forest land for crops, and pasture. How to get the tree stumps out, and what to do with them?
"There were two common forms of land clearing that were used during this time. The "Southern method" involved the deadening and girdling of trees and shrubbery, a method that had traditionally been used by the Indians. The alternative, known as the "New England method" involved cutting down trees as well as burning them. Either way, most settlers were able to clear only two or three acres per year."
Illustration:
A stump fence can last up to 150 years. Remnants of a fence in central Michigan, January, 2017
MORE
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
It was definitely a lot of work to clear those stumps! Imagine a lifetime spent clearing a small, by today's standards, hundred acre farm at the rate of 2 to 3 acres per year.
In the early days when they farmed by hand I think they tried to work around them and just let them rot. Then came modern farming and a variety of stump pullers, some of which were more trouble than they were worth.
I'm thankful that most of the hard work was done by the time I came along!!!
.
In the early days when they farmed by hand I think they tried to work around them and just let them rot. Then came modern farming and a variety of stump pullers, some of which were more trouble than they were worth.
I'm thankful that most of the hard work was done by the time I came along!!!
.
Pappy
Living the Dream
Putting the old manure spreader to good use.