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Going back in time again to the old days
joeaf1911a1
Member Posts: 2,962 ✭✭
If you can stand it again, good. But if bored just tell me to shut up
and will cease. Guess I just got to recollecting again.
Back in the depression days in our farming village I cant recll any tractors being used. Most everything being horse drawn. Plows, and most farming equiptment. Some light trucks were around like the Ford Model T and the later Model A's with a few of others. But nothing beats having had many sleigh rides in horse drawn sleighs complete with sleigh bells for us youngsters. Farmers fields were always open to us for treaspassing or hunting. Picking a few apples, pears, peaches etc was expected in season. When hunting it was expected to "take out" a few crows if possible though. Trapping season gave a few of us a oportunity to pick up a few bucks.. No liscense needed under age 14. Myself and my trapping partner ran a small trap line . We got up at 4 A.M checked the traps and made it back in time for school.
We had two fur buyers that came each week on different days. We would do a bit of haggling over prices but the usual was $1.50 or so for a decent muskrat. I forget what the other prices were. If I remember, the Victor #2 broadspring trap was used mostly by us. Farm work, hoeing, planting, picking anything that grew was quite low paying though. Then I fell into the 4 leaf clover patch and got a job on a nearby chicken farm, about 2 miles away. Was owned by our County Sheriff and ran by his son. This job paid the great sum of .25 cents a hour (big money for a kid). Collecting eggs, cleaning out the roost houses, vacinating chickens and the likes. About 1,000 white leghorns.
Also he recieved pheasant eggs from the state of NJ and we raised 300
pheasants for release by the state. It meant that each month each pheasant had to be cought, and one wing tied in close with wide cloth tape so it couldnt fly, and each month that wing cut free and the other wing tied so they could fly when released. I got to be a expert with a chicken hook to catch them. As it was, many wild pheasants would come near to look in and be "snagged" with the chicken hook, wing tied and added to the flock. For hunting I used my granpas old 12 ga single barrel Stevens shotgun until later I upgraded to a double. Regular smokeless 12 ga shells were about .70 cents a box, but our local (and only barber) was a gun nut and had cases of older black powder 12 ga shells he sold us for .25 cents a box in most shot sizes. He also had wuite a gun collection and if not busy took us behind his shop and let us shoot a few rounds from some of his guns.
(haircut was .25 cents by the way and usually well needed). During this time, myself and my trapping buddy took the train to NYC and visited Robert Abels gun shop. I bought a nice .31 cal cap and ball
Colt revolver and my buddy bought a .36 cal Colt (at about age 13) for $6.00 ea. The barber had quite a few boxes of 12 ga single O buck loads, and O buck fitted the .31 cal fine, along with the black powder, and caps were about .45 cents for a tin of 100 making handgun shooting reasonable. At his time, el cheapo (U.S. brand) .22 shorts sold for .13 cents for a single box. Older rifles such as the Springfield 45-70, the Remington 50-70, the Spencer 56-56 were a drudge on the market, along with their ammo and could be purchased for little. I did fall in love with a breech loading paper cartridge Poultry? and Kimble? Smiths patent .52 cal carbine which I bought for $3.00. I made the paper cylinders from box sealing and shipping rolls of glued paper rolling them on a wooden dowel of the right size. My brother was a apprentice machinist and made me a bullet mold and the musket caps were inexpensive. Now to school busses. Luckily the bus stop in our village was quite near my home but some had to walk a mile or so to it as it was its only stop there. The bus driver allowed no damn foolishness and it was either behave, or walk to school or back from school as he would stop the bus and put you off where ever it was. Guns were allowed and common on the bus but guns had to be left in our principals office till school end. In his office guns were sold or traded or you could also take your gun and hunt on the way home instead of using the bus. Sorry I was so damn long winded guys.
I feel I am getting boreing again. But if anyone is interested will get into the old prohibition rum running days I saw a bit of and heard
much about around here which the nearby town of Highlands NJ is famous for. Yes, I lived through a little of it.
and will cease. Guess I just got to recollecting again.
Back in the depression days in our farming village I cant recll any tractors being used. Most everything being horse drawn. Plows, and most farming equiptment. Some light trucks were around like the Ford Model T and the later Model A's with a few of others. But nothing beats having had many sleigh rides in horse drawn sleighs complete with sleigh bells for us youngsters. Farmers fields were always open to us for treaspassing or hunting. Picking a few apples, pears, peaches etc was expected in season. When hunting it was expected to "take out" a few crows if possible though. Trapping season gave a few of us a oportunity to pick up a few bucks.. No liscense needed under age 14. Myself and my trapping partner ran a small trap line . We got up at 4 A.M checked the traps and made it back in time for school.
We had two fur buyers that came each week on different days. We would do a bit of haggling over prices but the usual was $1.50 or so for a decent muskrat. I forget what the other prices were. If I remember, the Victor #2 broadspring trap was used mostly by us. Farm work, hoeing, planting, picking anything that grew was quite low paying though. Then I fell into the 4 leaf clover patch and got a job on a nearby chicken farm, about 2 miles away. Was owned by our County Sheriff and ran by his son. This job paid the great sum of .25 cents a hour (big money for a kid). Collecting eggs, cleaning out the roost houses, vacinating chickens and the likes. About 1,000 white leghorns.
Also he recieved pheasant eggs from the state of NJ and we raised 300
pheasants for release by the state. It meant that each month each pheasant had to be cought, and one wing tied in close with wide cloth tape so it couldnt fly, and each month that wing cut free and the other wing tied so they could fly when released. I got to be a expert with a chicken hook to catch them. As it was, many wild pheasants would come near to look in and be "snagged" with the chicken hook, wing tied and added to the flock. For hunting I used my granpas old 12 ga single barrel Stevens shotgun until later I upgraded to a double. Regular smokeless 12 ga shells were about .70 cents a box, but our local (and only barber) was a gun nut and had cases of older black powder 12 ga shells he sold us for .25 cents a box in most shot sizes. He also had wuite a gun collection and if not busy took us behind his shop and let us shoot a few rounds from some of his guns.
(haircut was .25 cents by the way and usually well needed). During this time, myself and my trapping buddy took the train to NYC and visited Robert Abels gun shop. I bought a nice .31 cal cap and ball
Colt revolver and my buddy bought a .36 cal Colt (at about age 13) for $6.00 ea. The barber had quite a few boxes of 12 ga single O buck loads, and O buck fitted the .31 cal fine, along with the black powder, and caps were about .45 cents for a tin of 100 making handgun shooting reasonable. At his time, el cheapo (U.S. brand) .22 shorts sold for .13 cents for a single box. Older rifles such as the Springfield 45-70, the Remington 50-70, the Spencer 56-56 were a drudge on the market, along with their ammo and could be purchased for little. I did fall in love with a breech loading paper cartridge Poultry? and Kimble? Smiths patent .52 cal carbine which I bought for $3.00. I made the paper cylinders from box sealing and shipping rolls of glued paper rolling them on a wooden dowel of the right size. My brother was a apprentice machinist and made me a bullet mold and the musket caps were inexpensive. Now to school busses. Luckily the bus stop in our village was quite near my home but some had to walk a mile or so to it as it was its only stop there. The bus driver allowed no damn foolishness and it was either behave, or walk to school or back from school as he would stop the bus and put you off where ever it was. Guns were allowed and common on the bus but guns had to be left in our principals office till school end. In his office guns were sold or traded or you could also take your gun and hunt on the way home instead of using the bus. Sorry I was so damn long winded guys.
I feel I am getting boreing again. But if anyone is interested will get into the old prohibition rum running days I saw a bit of and heard
much about around here which the nearby town of Highlands NJ is famous for. Yes, I lived through a little of it.
Comments
not bored here Joe, please continue when you get around to it, i'll be sitting here waiting
I'm glad you are telling some of your stories here, and some folks might think ahead enough to save a few of them on the hard drive to show kids/grandkids some day down the line. I did.[:)]
You bring back memories of my dad telling us about growing up during the depression with four brothers and sisters. He felt lucky that grandpa had a job working for the East Ohio Gas Company. I remember him telling of men showing up at the door looking to do some work for a meal. Grandma always found something for them to do to earn a spot at the table.
Keep up the stories. I am grinning ear to ear with the memories.
Thank you! [:)][:)][:)]
You and your buddy rode a train into New York City and bought cap and ball pistols. Damn, that sounds like something from 1870.
I also like your story about the .52 carbine, and the homemade paper cartridges.
OK, give us the scoop on the rum running. I make quite a bit of wine and beer. In fact I have a five gallon batch of beer brewing now. So, had I lived in your day I would have been a Federal criminal.
So tell us the tales of the rum running.
By the way, I have an uncle, who used to run booze across the Great Lakes in winter when they were frozen. He worked for Joe Kennedy.
Tell us some more.
Times haven't changed for the good
40 years ago used to shoot pidgeons
in the farmers fields at his request.
Gave me his brother's 270 and a town cop
reloaded for me and taught me long range
shooting. Got to know the cop cause he worked with my
dad and he also lived aside one of the farmer's
fields where I shot the cop's cat. Thought my
fanny was in a sling but all turned out fine
and he said it was a good shot and didn't
like the cat anyway.Time goes buy too quickly.
Never knew his teaching would come in handy
one day
enjoyed reading that 1911 for a minute i thought i was hearing my father talk to me , guess i had better call him.
This post alone is why joe should keep posting. I'll be over to see my Pop later today. Thanks, Joe.
[:)][:)][:)]
An older friend of mine tells me of growing up in Kansas in the 20s and 30s and how he and his brothers all took 22 rifles to school and hunted on the way home. He said the only rule was No Loaded Rifles in the classroom and they all just leaned them up in the coat closet.
Kristov: Thanks, but I know my spelling etc has gone downhill a bit but must admit we had good schooling and either passed or were "left back" in the same grade for another year. Rosie: No, never will get into writing a book. I do have many pages (about 7 so far) on my computer in rough draft form on this type of history. Plus several pages of local railroad histories, the electric trolley system for about 8 or so of our local towns, and the steamboats, both frieght and passenger to nearby Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Red Bank NJ that used to run. This area has a very interesting history "back when". As many old friends and relatives are gone I just try to keep some history written down for my own satisfaction and the next generation. Been at this for about the last 6 or so years as another hobby. And guys, get your older dads/ grandads to open up as it was a interesting era to live in and see how we have progressed. For better or worse.