THE WAUPACA POST

October 3, 1991

 

WHEN THEN WAS NOW

By Wayne A. Guyant

 

            Pick out your favorite easy chair, close your eyes and make yourself comfortable for a trip down memory lane.

            Do you remember getting out of the warm feather tick on those cold winter mornings, only to find the stoves all out, and ice on the water pail?

            You try to start the fire in the kitchen cook stove, so you could start breakfast, only to find that you had not brought in any dry kindling the night before to start the morning fires, and there was no dry wood in the wood box.  Corn cobs soaked in kerosene were excellent for starting a fire.

            Did you ever take a dare from someone to stick your tongue on the pump handle on one of those cold winter days, only to find that you were stuck there – until someone came with some warm water to pour on the pump handle, or you lost some skin?  “Ouch!”

            Since you had no modern conveniences, such as running water, you had the old outhouse in the backyard.  Sometimes you wished that you had started out a little earlier.  And there was nothing more disturbing than to find only the smooth pages of the Sears-Roebuck catalogue.

            Remember the old-fashioned flat irons that were heated on top of the kitchen range?  These were not only used to iron the freshly-washed clothes, but were many times wrapped in a blanket and placed at the foot of the bed to keep your feet warm if you self in a cold, non-heated room.  If you did not have a charcoal heater to keep your feet warm while riding in a sleigh or a cutter, these flat irons made a good substitute.

            Back in the days when we received our first big winter snows, the old flivver was put in the garage, up on blocks until spring.

            The country folks used to be a cooperative lot; at least they were in Blaine when I was growing up.  They worked hard and played together.  Many exchanged work when it came harvest time. At thresh-ing time, each one helped his neighbors.  Oh, what meals the ladies put on at threshing time.

            When the cook yelled, “Come and get it,” she had better get out of the way.  They did not take a lot of time washing or primping up.  They were hungry and wanted to eat so that they could get back to work as soon as possible.  Sometimes they ate in shifts to save time.

            Ethel Bowers, who was raised under the influence of city life in Waupaca, married my father and was introduced to country life on the farm.  Her first experience with threshing crews was something else. She ha expected the men to clean up and put on their best manners at the table. She had put her best tablecloth on the table, but when the men sat down to eat, she just stood there in shock, as the men passed, or reached for the bread, meat and potatoes.

            There was silo filling and corn shreading to be done before the winter set in.

            In the winter each farmer would put up his own wood pile, to be sawed by some power-driven circular saw.  I distinctly recall helping saw wood a few days before Christmas, when it was 10 below zero. The saw rig was powered by an old stationary gasoline engine. The engine would continually stop, and to keep warm we burned the sawed wood nearly as fast as it was sawed.  Better saw rigs were being built by mounting an automobile engine on a car frame with a swinging saw.  You who never helped saw wood don’t realize how dangerous it was.

            Another winter chore was putting up ice for summer use.  It was generally very cold weather when that task was done.  More than one man took a dip in the cold water when a large chunk of ice broke from the main part.

            Saturday night was time to relax and enjoy life. If there was no dance at the Blaine Hall, or in the area, there was a card party in one of the homes in the community.  Dr. Sam Salan and his Troubadours from Waupaca were popular at the Blaine Hall.

            Each family in a club would take their turn at hosting a card party.  Generally the family that was the farthest away would take its team and sleigh and pick up neighbors as they went.

            How we kids enjoyed this.  We would tie our sleds behind the sleigh. We spent as much time picking ourselves out of the snow, as we did on the sleds.

            Once at the party, we would play kid games until we were tuckered out, and then we would lie on the beds and cover ourselves with the coats that were there.  When it came time to go home our folks had to sort out their right kids from under the coats.  This was the tough part, to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning, put back in our warm coats and go out in the cold again for the trip back home.  We were satisfied to ride in the sleight going home.

            Remember the old dry cell operated telephone that hung on the kitchen wall?  The one with the receiver hanging on the left side and the hand crank that was on the right side?  In those days it was all party lines, and when the phone rang, it rang on every phone on that party line.

            Each party on the line had a certain number of rings such as two short, one short and one long, etc.  One long ring was for central.  It seemed as if some people had nothing better to do than to listen to every ring that came on their phone.  It did not take long to memorize the rings for all on that line, so if you wanted to keep tabs on a certain party you listened in. This was how the news and gossip traveled, and sometimes there must have been some red faces.

            It was nice, after the chores were done, after ad ay of hauling in hay, to go to Pine or Pickerel Lake for a swim.  You met most of your neighbors there for a good time. I remember of one instance when a rather heavy woman jumped off the springboard and landed straddle on a fellow’s neck and drove him to the bottom.

            What happened to the 5¢ ice cream cone, package of gum and the Baby Ruth candy bar?

            How much did you pay for your first automobile?  An ad in the Waupaca County Post in 1934 went something like this, “The Ford V-9 for 1934, the only car under $2,000 with a V-8 cylinder engine, dual carburetion and gives 2-1/2 more miles per gallon.”  The new Terraplanes and Hudsons were on display in 1934, at Rohde Motor Co., at the Modern Garage at 219 Jefferson Street, Waupaca.

            The Terraplane 6 sold for $565, for a coupe at the factory, and a Hudson 8 at $695, for a coupe at the factory.  Leo J. Fuhrman, 114 Granite Street, advertised his Oldsmobiles at $845 for a beautiful V-8, and a six-cylinder for $640.

            Van Nelson Company, at 200 North Main Street, received a carload of Overlands in March, 1914.  He also handled Jeffery cars.  This building was for many years the Nelson Paint Company, and now stands empty.  There is a story in itself on this building.

            A. M. Hanson had his ad in the 1909 paper for his Maxwell cars, the car for the farmer and a car for the businessman, selling from $500 to $1,750.

            In 1916, Myron P. Godfrey sold 40-horse power, 4-cylinder Studebakers, selling at $885.

            Here is a car that not many people remember; the Allen.  William Koenig was the agent located at 106 East Union Street in 1916.  It had a long wheel base, 112 inches, ample power, 37 hp, lightweight, 2,300 lbs., and priced at $795.

            F. L. Hoaglin, proprietor of the Waupaca garage, advertised in 1912, Ford Model T, 2-passenger, 4-cylinder and 20-horsepower for $590.  This Ford was full equipped with top, automatic windshield, speedometer, two gas lights, three oil lamps, horn and tools.