These wonderful memories were shared with me by former Middleport residents. They’ve asked that their names remain a mystery. I have left their recollections written in their style and voice.
I hope you enjoy reading about life in a simpler time
… Christa Lutz, Middleport Village Historian
A Funeral
February 22nd, 2021
Years ago, a black wreath on the door meant there had been a death in the household. My mother would send me with some ham and baked goods. I would also go to the neighbors to collect money. These were farmer’s wives who would give ten cents from their small grocery money. One time I was taking food to a nearby family. I was asked if I wanted to see Pa. You didn’t say no to an older person in the neighborhood. Pa was laying on their sofa covered in a nice quilt. His head rested on a soft pillow. I thought he was sleeping. A few years later, a man I knew better also died. I had waved to him on his porch every day when I came home from school. Later he had trouble lifting his arm and he had to wear a black patch over one eye. Mother said I could go to the house funeral. It was a big house, three room all with sliding doors and many chairs. His casket was in one of the rooms. Since I was older and had known him better this funeral bothered me more. Later, his wife asked if I could clean for her. I never said anything but I dreaded having to clean the room where the casket had been. I dusted and used a carpet sweeper (no electric) but tried to do it quickly. I also picked currants there for 2 cents a quart.
Threshing Day
February 22nd, 2021
This was always a very important day. Before combines, the wheat was cut with a binder. The machine took several bundles, tied them with twine. A tractor pulled the binder. I rode the binder, counted about 6 bundles then lifted my foot. The bundles laid in the field to dry. Later our hired hand would put them in small groups called shocks, with one on top to keep the rain off the rest. Then a team of horses and in later years a tractor would go by the rows. Men forked the wheat on the wagon and spread them out. At home, they were put in a rectangle, and covered with a canvas. The threshing man would go from farm to farm working with all the area farmers. The machine was run by a big belt from a tractor. Men forked the sheaves onto a moving belt. The machine shook the wheat, the seeds went down a chute and into burlap bags. The straw went out another tube to make a stack that was used for animal bedding. The threshing machine owner hired hoboes and jailbirds. There was a bar/saloon a few miles from our house. Because they were all paid in cash, they stopped there for food and drinks. My mother would make many pies, fried chicken and potatoes to feed them and neighbor men who came to help. We also sent our hired man to other farmers on their threshing day. The threshing man lived nearby. The workers slept on canvas under the machine. One morning one of the men had gone-what to do? Charlie said “Rosie can blow the stack”. I was only 12 but I climbed up and blew the stack. Charlie was spreading the straw. I put a little on his head just for fun. No hoboes or jailbirds ever said a swear word or spoke to me. I did this job for several years. Our family stopped farming and combines took the place of the wonderful threshing days.
Good Neighbors
February 22nd, 2021
Years ago, no farmers posted their property with “Keep Out” signs. Our neighbors knew their men could hunt deer in our woods and nearby fields. As the years went by, people we did not know hunted through our woods. That is when Dad had Hari bring in the three brown cows from the pasture. They were then kept closer to the barn. Some hunters would shoot anything brown that moved. My brother and dad did not hunt but we did not mind if the deer was going to be used for food.
Farmers were smart even without book learning. Some had learned to plant by the moon phases. One farmer had recorded in writing what crops he planted, where and when he did his planting, the weather and the moon phases. His books were at an auction and I wish I had been older and knew how to bid on them. Perhaps the Amish farmers still use nature in that way.
Spring Fun
February 22nd, 2021
Opposite our country school was a ditch with steep sides, but in the Spring filled with shallow water maybe three to four inches deep. It was daring to “Jump the Ditch”. If you slipped in and got your shoes and socks wet, you got a “Hot Foot”. You hoped that it dried out before you got home.
Hot, Hotter, Hottest
February 22nd, 2021
We had hot summers years ago before AC. We didn’t even have big fans. Our windows didn’t open very wide. Many a summer night I put a sheet and pillow on my cool linoleum floor. If you picked cherries or tomatoes in the sun all day, you can sleep anywhere. We kids didn’t carry any water. Thirsty, eat some cherries or a tomato. The men doing field work carried water in thermos jugs. Some wore wide brimmed straw hats like the Amish, wore long sleeved shirts and long pants. No sun screen needed. Even though we were sweating, we didn’t have body odor. I wonder if processed food with sodium and chemicals cause our bodies to lose moisture and smell. Before indoor plumbing, we washed in sinks or the men might use outdoor tubs. Lava soap was the usual choice or Lifebuoy. We caught rain water in barrels from the down spouts on the corners of our house. This was “soft” water before “acid rain” was known about. Some words come and go. We drank well water with no chemicals. We ate lots of organic food. Today the stores sell body scrubbers. We got the same thing using one of Mother’s rough towels that had been dried in the sun. I don’t remember the word “cancer” growing up, maybe other words were used instead. I am glad I had an innocent growing up. During WWII city people had “victory” gardens. Ours was 60 acres.
A Bridal Shower
February 22nd, 2021
This was a big event for farm women who never got out much. Our neighborhood farm family was having one. All ages attended. There were 2 nice games we played. Mother was good at both. First the bride- to- be was blindfolded. Different spices were given to her to smell. A woman wrote down her guesses. Then my mother was blindfolded and smelled the same spices. There was much laughter and teasing of the bride on what kind of cook she would be when she guessed wrong on many.
The other game was played with old newspapers that had been saved. Teams of 3 or 4 were chosen. One person in each group became the bride and the rest of the group got the newspapers and a box of straight pins. Each team went into different rooms. They had 20 -30 minutes to make a bridal gown. My mother’s team usually won. She had learned to be a seamstress as a young girl in Hungary. She would fold a pleated bodice and make a train. All her team was pinning together her creations. Then there would be punch and cake. We all wore our Sunday best to show it was a very special event. It was simple times, simple fun.
The Travelers
February 22nd, 2021
Years ago, hoboes walked along the Ridge Road. They traveled alone. Farms were marked where they could get food and a barn was open for them to sleep in the hay. A man would knock on our screen door. When mother answered, they asked for food. She told them to sit under the big tree, we would bring it out to them. I would take out a paper cup of cold well water and a sandwich in wax paper. The sandwich would be a thick slab of meat from our smokehouse on homemade bread. It had catsup or mustard. Later they knocked on our door to thank us. They left nothing behind.
The second group came once a year. They were gypsies in 4 or 5 covered wagons, each pulled by 2 sturdy horses. A farmer let them use an empty pasture nearby. The wagons were put in a circle. The women with some children wore bright colored blouses and long skirts. They came with their children and sold small sewing items. They also told fortunes by reading your palm, long lines meant a long life. This cost 5 or 10 cents. The men offered to do farm work for a few days. They also fixed pots with holes on the bottom. They used small silver circles of metal and pounded them with a hammer into the hole. The pot lasted another 5 years.
My brother and his friends would sneak over after dark and lay in the grass. There would be violin music and dancing around a big campfire. My dad said a family always had a violin player behind the horse drawn wagon that carried the casket from the church to the cemetery. His violin playing matched the crying of the women behind him.
Hoboes and gypsies disappeared after about 20 years. People were not opening the door to give food to a stranger. Later generations of gypsies tired of the nomadic lifestyle and settled in one place so their children could go to school and get better jobs. An era ended.
The Kiss
February 22nd, 2021
Every year the drama club put on a 3 act play. Many people came to see it. A new English teacher chose a play that was daring for its day. The cute cheerleader and the star basketball player would exchange a real kiss, instead of a hug. I wanted the part and had practiced the parts to be read. After the try outs for the cheerleader part, I met with the English teacher. She said I had been chosen to be a haughty aunt. I looked very disappointed. She said, “Any- one can do a kiss. Your part takes real acting.” It didn’t make me feel any better. I turned away the night of the kiss. I did have more kisses as I got older from a real boyfriend.
Square Dances
February 22nd, 2021
Most farming communities had a Grange Hall, where men met who were members. It also was the place to be on Saturday night for their square dances. There was one in Johnson’s Creek. Today the Baptist Church across the road uses it for a fellowship center. All ages came. Parents knew it was a safe place for older teenagers. For some it was a date night. There were chairs around the edge of the big dance floor. The caller would say “square up” which meant 4 couples would be facing each other. The caller had records and called out what movements the square would do. He called 3 dances which were a set. There would be laughing and swinging.
The only daring dance ended with “Kiss your honey if you dare” which you wanted to do with a boy you liked. Then everyone rested, with only pop or water from the fountain to drink.
My husband said they had square dances just for their friends at his house when he was young.
His father had records and he was the caller. These were big houses with big rooms for big families. The furniture was pushed to one side. Simple fun in carefree days or at least for one carefree night.
The Auction
February 22nd, 2021
I was young when there was the Depression and its aftermath. Farmers lost their farm and everything was auctioned off. Sometimes the auction was after the farmer had died. I asked my mother if I could go to one at the next farm. It was safe and I could walk there. I took a quarter tied in a clean hanky. I sat on the fence. Women might have been in the house cooking food if the auction lasted all day. A big black barrel came up. I bid a quarter and no one else said a word. Everything had to be removed by sundown. I ran home and got my big brother. He drove the tractor and wagon over when the auction ended. I felt like crying because the bottom of the barrel had some rust holes. I could not be mad at the farmer’s family. Everyone had time earlier before the auction to look things over. I didn’t! My brother made me feel better when he said “everyone can use another burn barrel”. Everyone should have a big brother like I did.
Business in Middleport
February 22nd, 2021
I had earned money picking cherries, tomatoes and cider apples. I was 16 and had taken Driver Ed from Mr. P. My boyfriend, who lived two miles away, and I were picked up from home. Mr. P always complained that we were the slowest to change places. We had learned where the blind spot was to steal a kiss.
I asked my dad if I could buy a car. He said I had to have the money for the car and the insurance. I carried the cash and walked 3 miles to Middleport. A high school graduate owned the used car place. He had a car for $800, put plates on it, we had a done deal. He said I had good looking legs in high school. My sister told me he said the same thing to her. Good salesmanship – he sold two cars.