Dad had three good years of high yielding corn and wheat crops from 1919 to
1921. Not only were the grain yields high, but the sows had outdone themselves
with high producing litters. Also, the economy was right and prices were above average. My Dad sold his fat hogs for between
four and five hundred dollars ---probably his biggest business transaction ever. With
the proceeds, he bought a brand new Model T Ford---black, of course.
Since there weren’t too many cars back in those days, there weren’t
many garages either. Seems logical. Anyway, Dad kept his car in the barn. It was a reasonably good-sized barn with mangers
for cattle and stalls for horses, some open space for cattle, sheep and hogs, and doors to enclose the whole thing for complete
protection in winter time. There was a cover over a single door that led into the side of the barn on the south side. This
door faced the house. All along the east side, there was an overhang across the whole lower long side of the barn.
The upper story had a granary on one side. Hay could be kept on top of it and
on the other side it was just a hay mow. Between these two hay mows was room to keep farm implements—and the Model T
Ford.
It was the summer of 1921. My brother Lloyd was seven at the time. The threshing
had been completed. The granary was bulging with a bumper harvest of wheat. A huge straw stack was in the barnyard. The hay
mows were full to capacity. The farming tools were inside. So was the Model T Ford.
With summer school vacation nearly over, Dad wanted to take advantage of what
help a seven-year-old could furnish. Dad and Lloyd were way back in the woods with Barney, who wasn’t much more than
a colt, and Belle, his mother. Dad had them hitched to a wagon, and he and Lloyd were loading it with wood for the winter---a
never-ending job. The house was not insulated as well as it might have been, and the cook stove, as well as the heating stove,
had a voracious appetite. Then they heard it…
Three shots rang out. Mom and Dad had arranged a signal. In an extreme case
of emergency, Mom was to fire three pistol shots. This was it! Dad ran as hard as he could to the edge of the woods. Then
he could see it. The barn was on fire!
Dad started running again as hard as he could toward the barn. Just as quickly,
he reversed himself and headed back to Lloyd and the horses. By the time he got there, both Barney and Belle were well aware
that Dad was extremely excited. They were north of the barn and the wind was blowing briskly from the south. They could smell
the smoke. Before they got to the edge of the woods, Barney tried to run away. Dad finally got him stopped at the edge of
the woods. He tied both horses to a tree. He told Lloyd to stay and calm them. Then he started running toward the barn and
the house—again!
The fire had started on the south side of the barn. From where he was, Dad
couldn’t really tell if it was the barn or the house that was on fire, because the house was hidden by the barn.
Two horses started running toward him in the lane leading to the barn. They
were running from a smaller horse whose mane was scorched. The smell was driving all three of them crazy. That’s when
Dad knew for sure it was the barn that was burning. He passed the horses and kept
on running.
Meanwhile, Mom and the girls had started taking whatever they could carry out
of the house. They were stacking furniture and clothing along the road. The house could
burn; however, the wind was blowing strongly from the south, making it unlikely.
That’s what had started the fire—the wind blowing from the south.
As usual, Mom had a fire in the cook stove. Sparks from
the chimney had blown onto the barn where chaff from threshing had collected on the overhang. The roof was wood shingle and
it was dry. Whooooosh! Away it went!
Neighbors from miles around came a-runnin’ to see if they could help.
They moved a lot of the furniture out of the house until it became obvious the house wasn’t going to burn.
Sister Mary had carried out a jumper Mom was making for her. New! Mary told
me that she mostly had to wear hand-me-downs from older sister Edie, so she sure didn’t want to lose the only new item
of clothing she had.
Interestingly, a couple of teen-age neighbors who carried out Mom’s Crown
reed organ tried to lift just one end of it later and couldn’t.
Adrenalin does wonders for people under stress.
From the Black Walnut Farm, Uncle Bela rode his big black horse across the
back fields to see if he could help. After some time, while counting “noses,” he asked Dad where Lloyd was. “Good
Lord!” Dad said. “He’s still with Barney and Belle back in the woods. I’d forgotten all about him.”
It had been four hours since Dad had left him there.
Uncle Bela rode back to the woods where Lloyd was patiently watching over the
horses and worrying about everybody at the house. After assuring Lloyd nobody had been hurt, they headed for the house. The
barn was nothing but a smoldering ruin. And Dad’s new car had been cremated.
