Chores probably took up more hours than
anything else - except sleep. And it wasn't too far behind that.
When our dad wasn't away from home working on some construction
project, the only income we had was from cash crops. That is largely
what chores were about. It was important to produce not only enough
food stuffs for ourselves but also enough to sell in order to buy
other necessary items.
The things we could produce included milk, butter, beef, pork,
poultry, eggs and pecans.
As children, we didn't recognize the importance of work to the
economic life of the family. Thus, we found ways to avoid it whenever
possible.
The regular chores (those done on a daily basis) included milking,
feeding the livestock, carrying water, gathering eggs and , in season,
gathering firewood.
On weekends we were made to help with family laundry and house
cleaning.
As the seasons changed so did the chores. In the spring, we had to
plow and plant. In the summer we had to hoe, pull weeds, gather garden
produce and help can it. Fall meant helping to harvest the field
plantings and gathering pecans. Winter called for a constant demand
for fire wood and extra water hauling for the livestock and chickens.
On cold days, a fire had to be built in the wood-burning stove. The
two older brothers took turns getting up first and getting the fire
started so the house would be warm enough for the younger siblings to
get out of bed. Corncobs soaked in kerosene were often used to get the
blaze going.
Then there were the year-round chores which included fence repairs and
stall cleaning. Horses and cows had to be turned out to pasture each
morning and rounded up again at the end of the day.
Milking the cows every morning and every night, every day of the year
was the most demanding of all chores. It wasn't something to be
neglected because the cows' output would either decline or cease
entirely if they were not milked regularly.
Mornings were the worst when it came to milking. The cows had to be
milked before we ate breakfast. Winters were particularly
unsatisfactory since the short days meant the cows were milked before
light and there was no electricity in the barn.
On cold winter mornings, after the fire was built in the house, we
would bundle up and trudge out to the barn with our milk buckets.
Sometimes we had a full moon. Sometimes we had a lantern. Mostly we
had no light at all and just fumbled around in the dark. We got feed
buckets and filled them, hoping this chore didn't involve rats getting
picked up with the cattle feed. We then groped our way into a stall,
got the cow properly situated and began the milking.
The accepted way to approach the job, always from the cow's right
side, was to sit on a low stool, place the bucket on the ground, place
your head in the cow's flank, and milk two teats at one time. The milk
was extracted by grasping and pulling the teat, using each hand
alternately.
Not all cows were fond of being milked. Some would kick or get her
foot into the bucket. And their tails became weapons if they thought
they were being handled a bit roughly. The tail wasn't much more than
a bother unless it was matted with cockleburs. A tail thus enhanced
provided a near-lethal weapon.
Once the milking was completed, we headed back to the house for a bowl
of oatmeal or a plate of scrambled eggs before dressing and walking
the half mile to the bus stop.
After school, we dropped our lunch pales on the kitchen counter,
changed into our work clothes and headed out to gather the cows for
the afternoon milking. The younger kids had to gather eggs and see
that the chickens were secured for the night.
Then, before daylight the following day, it all started over again.
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