Don't Fence Me In

 

My first job on the farm was driving the pickup while my dad built or picked up electric fence.

I was 6 at the time.

This winter, I returned to my roots. But instead of driving the pickup for my dad, I was helping Randy. There were some differences.

• I can now reach the brake and the gas with no problem. My sister, Lisa, and I were a tag team back in the olden days.
• I was helping on the Stafford/Reno County line rather than northern Pratt County.
• Back then, I wouldn't have gotten away with saying, "Wait just a minute while I get a photo."

Randy is used to my photo obsession. And since I was the only available worker, he put up with my need to stop and focus on the meadowlark watching our progress from the fence post. And, really, he's the one who called my attention to it in the first place. What could he expect?

Randy rode on the tailgate, and I drove the pickup between electric fence posts, where he'd jump off and toss each in the back of the pickup.

Back in the 1960s, I didn't have to help wind wire onto the spool. So I learned a new job. (Maybe he said OK to all the photos because he knew I was going to eventually be wielding a pitchfork - ha!)

The wire was threaded between the tines of the pitchfork, and I was supposed to gently move the handle back and forth to evenly distribute the wire on the spool.

 I couldn't keep from channeling the American Gothic painting as I did the job.

And, besides, Randy is always glad to get a photo with the old Ford 8N tractor.

There is something about tradition. That tractor seat has been occupied with five different generations now.  Melvin and Clarence bought the tractor back in the 1960s, when Randy was in grade school. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age.

Clarence (Randy's Grandpa, seated), his Dad Melvin and Randy holding Brent in 1988.

Randy was insistent that the tractor served as a focal point for a 2012 Easter-time photo with Kinley and Jill. (I should have taken a photo with Randy and the girls when they were here this fall.)

April 2012

The wire winder itself is homemade from a Model T frame, adding to the longevity of this farm workhorse.

It may be tired, but it's not retired. Come to think of it, that could apply to Randy and me, too.