Everywhere I look I see dire warnings about the possible collapse of our country. I'm never quite sure if there is truth in it or if it all is just fearmongering for clicks. Whatever the reasons, perhaps it might be a good thing to know how those who came before us managed without all of the modern conveniences we have today.
My paternal grandfather died before I was born. But with the help of my grandmother's sons, she stayed on the northern Minnesota farm until her death in 1955.
Grandma's house had electricity by the time I knew her. But there was no plumbing or running water. The bathroom was an outhouse several yards from the house and water was provided by a hand pump just outside the kitchen door.
Her kitchen boasted a very large cast iron wood burning stove used for cooking, baking and sometimes, heat. Grandma didn't have an electric refrigerator, but still used an icebox like this one.
The icebox needed blocks of ice to keep food cool. The method Grandma's sons used to get ice would not work in a warm climate but was perfect for northern Minnesota.
About February, Grandma's sons would hook up their team of horses to a large hay wagon and off they would go to a nearby lake that was frozen over. Armed with axes and saws, they would cut large blocks of ice from the lake, load them onto the hay wagon and take them home.
There was a root cellar dug into the side of a small hill near the house. A wooden door had been put into place to keep critters from helping themselves to the squash and pumpkins and rutabagas stored there. One side of the cellar was for the ice. The blocks were hauled down into the cellar and covered with straw. This way, the ice was insulated and stayed frozen all spring, summer and fall until it was time to harvest more.
The icebox had a compartment to hold food and another to hold a block of ice. There was a container in the bottom to catch the water as the ice melted.
I suppose the family could have invested in an electric refrigerator, but like most folks of that era, they were a frugal bunch. Raising a family of nine children on a farm that had mostly sandy soil did not provide great wealth. But they managed to raise all nine kids and they did a good job of it. Life was not easy, but I don't remember anyone complaining.
I sometimes think today's young ones consider it tragic if a Starbucks closes. They could stand to learn from those who coped with hardship on a regular basis. Not only coped but thrived.
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Amen, Vicki. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteBe safe and God bless.
Merry Christmas to you, too!! And may God richly bless you and yours.
DeleteLoved the post. I also love modern conveniences and would not want to experience those days.
ReplyDeleteThanks, BW...I would hate to give up my gadgets as well. Where I use a microwave, stand mixer and bread machine, Grandma managed just fine without them. Not too bad an idea to have at least some knowledge of the old ways. Just in case...
DeleteOn a trip, I ran across an "Icy Ball" in a little SD museum. It looked like an asymmetric dumbbell with one big and the other small connected by a pipe. It was a simple ammonia refrigerator (with no moving parts). The big bell was heated, driving ammonia out of a water solution into the water in the colder small ball. The small ball was put in the "ice box", the ammonia would evaporate back to the big ball cooling the ice box for a day or so before having to be recharged. No moving parts or electricity required. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Don, for the information on the "Icy Ball." I had never heard of this before, so I looked it up. It is a weird looking thing, but apparently works in a situation like my Grandmothers. I'll bet that my Dad and his brothers would have preferred an "Icy Ball" to cutting ice blocks and hauling them home in the middle of a typically subzero Minnesota winter. :)
DeleteHi Vicky , My dad ... a kid before electricity , cars , radios and stuff were common always called the refrigerator the " icebox " ... even in his 70's ... also when the ice cream guy came up the street in summer he would be singing " frozen ice cream penny a block big as your fist and hard as a rock"... inflation ! , also a story he told was when he was 7 years old a wealthy man came down the road in his horse and buggy ... it was windy and his tophat blew off ... dad picked it up , brushed it off , handed it up to the man ... and he reached in his pocket and gave dad a silver dollar ( about 50 bucks back then ! ) ... Christmas Blessings to you and yours , Patrick
ReplyDeletePatrick...I wish I had thought to do this sooner, but these days I am writing down the stories my Dad told me about growing up on a farm before all the modern conveniences. I thought about the ice box because I saw it in my Grandma's kitchen. Drinking water was in a bucket, sitting on a small stool by the back door. There was a dipper in the bucket that everyone drank from. Amazing! Nobody died from sharing a dipper of water. :)
DeleteSeems to me that we might do well by paying attention to how our parents and grandparents managed before we became so spoiled. :)
Wishing you and yours a very blessed Christmas.