March Diary 1968

[Soapweed]

Friday, March 1, 1968 Journal

That makes two notebooks "down the drain." I hope I can continue with this diary business, as it makes a rather interesting on-the-side occupation.

This morning, I crawled out of bed at 6:00. After breakfast, I went out to get the calves in. My bay mare was easy to catch but she had rolled in a patch of sandburs, which required ten minutes to pull loose. I brought in the calves, unsaddled, and went in the house to get ready for school.

We took the car and arrived at school in good time for band. The period was devoted to practicing marches.

School in general went off quite a little differently than usual today. All the country school kids in western Cherry County came to Merriman for a spelling bee. Also, the ninth and tenth graders had achievement tests.

Our tests were not overly long or hard. Three forty-minute tests were taken in the morning. The teachers took pity on us, and as it was an exceptionally nice day, we were all "turned out" at 11:15.

Quite a few of us boys played football until time for dinner. Usually our games are "two-handed touch," but today we tackled. Some of the country boys joined in, so we had a good game. No score was kept, but I think it was about even-up.

For dinner, we had tomatoes, celery, jello, and a choice of grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches. There were a lot of people but the cooks did a good job of running everyone through in jig time.

After dinner, Ken, John, and I again wandered through the Merriman dump, in search of old relics. John and I both came back with some old junk bottles, but Ken was empty-handed. However, he brought back a real promising jar yesterday. It looked like a religious container of some sort, with crosses on it.

An hour's worth of tests was given this afternoon, and we were dismissed at 2:15.

Mom went to a World Day of Prayer meeting in Cody, so Sandra and Sybil went home with Uncle Stan's bunch. They had an interesting tale to tell when they got home—about pulling a calf with the whole calf bed coming out. Sandra wrote a 1240 word report on it.

I brought the pickup home, changed clothes, and helped Dad and Lloyd pull off some hay to the heavies. I saddled Jig and helped Dad put out a few cows with their baby calves. Then I shoved the heifer calves (almost a year old) out into the meadow where some hay was fed and waiting for them. We also got in the bulls to put horn weights on some of them.

Dick Dale, a real estate salesman, came out. He had some wild land deals cooked up, but they didn't seem too reasonable.

We did chores and came in to a supper of pizza. Lloyd didn't stay for supper as he had some big church doings on.

The Green Valley spent over an hour on the phone with the JL Outfit tonight. [This probably included Dad visiting with Joy Fairhead, and me doing the same with his son, John.]

 

[Soapweed]

Saturday, March 2, 1968 Journal

Today was Saturday so we were privileged by not having to attend school. I woke up at 6:00 and had a good breakfast. Today turned cold on us, so I bundled up pretty good before braving the great outdoors.

I saddled Jig and got in the calves. She acted like an old pro, even though the wind was brisk and my batwing chaps were flapping. We had to check across the meadow, as the calves were fed out there yesterday.

Lloyd got out the tractor and hooked on to the sled while I went to the house and put on my long-handles. It was kind of breezy outside.

Dad and Ronald Snyder had to go over to Weber's to check their cattle, so Lloyd and I started feeding hay. Some hay was pulled off for the heavies. We drove down to the east end of the meadow and loaded on a small stack of rough hay. We fed this to the cows. I got a little too close to the ditch and darned near got stuck. The winch had to be used to get the loaded sled out. We pushed on a butt and gave it to the heifers in the pasture east of the branding corral. Two-thirds of another stack was cabled on. We took this home and fed the two bunches of bulls, the calves, and the cows with small calves. In the last bunch we found a cow that looks like she has a broken leg.

Lloyd and I got in for dinner at 12:20. Dad and Snyd were still over at the Shovel Ranch talking to Dick Dale (real estate agent).

After dinner, I checked the cows. Dad had decided we would take a couple bulls down to the U Cross, so I saddled Hawk Eye and got them in. One of the bulls had broken his horn last fall, so was in no shape to be delivered with the other six that John Kime had bought. Dad was taking the other bull down as company for the wild one-horned one. He was "for sale," too, if the chance arose.

Dad, Sandra, Sybil, and I left for the South Hills a little before 3:00. On the way we stopped and talked to Bruce Weber along the trail road. He had just returned from Omaha. We went through Merriman, then followed Highway 61 to the end, 23 miles south of Merriman. Another 26 miles of Sandhills trail road brought us to the U Cross. Clyde Lefler, the temporary ranch manager, was not there, so we didn't have opportunity to sell the second bull. We talked awhile with Steve Kime and a few other Fawn Lake Cattle Company ranch hands, unloaded the one-horned bull, and came on home.

After we got home, we grabbed a cookie to tide us over until supper and went out to unload the bull. Lloyd had just pulled a backwards calf, so we shut the pair up in a box stall. Lloyd went to Valentine, and Dad and I made a final check through the heavy cows before coming in to supper.

I called up John Fairhead before getting ready to "hit the sack." He is the proud owner of a new saddle, purchased at Black's Open Range western store in Alliance. It is a sharp looker (I saw it in December). John jewed them down fifty dollars, so got a good deal.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 3, Sunday Journal

Today turned out to be quite a little nicer than two years ago today did. The March 3rd and 4th Blizzard of 1966 was a rank one! [It was a terrible blizzard with much loss of livestock. We lost 20 baby calves and 2 older cows. Our neighbors to the west lost half of the 200 calves that had been recently born. The Hay Valley Ranch north of Cody, Nebraska lost over 500 head of yearlings, and three member of their ranch crew spent two days and one night in a pickup cab. They were only a quarter mile from the ranch buildings, but were completely lost in the whiteout conditions.]

After arising at 6:30, I had breakfast with Mom and Dad. French toast, fried eggs (sunny-side up for Dad, over-easy for me), and bacon made up the bill of fare.

I went outside and got four calves out of a tree lot while Dad fixed the hole where they got in. Then I put out grain for the calves. Dad rounded them up and brought them in to their feed.

I started the hay feeding operation as Dad was still doing other work. The hay on the sled was fed to the two bull bunches. I then shoved on some hay in the "Lane" and Dad joined me. We fed this to the calves.

Another load of hay was needed, so we cabled on a stack from the yard north of the trees. A little more was fed to the calves, and we moved on to the cows with small calves. I was up on top of the stack, pitching for all I was worth, when all of a sudden something jumped out of the hay and scared the heck out of me. A raccoon went galloping down the stack, leaving her youngsters behind. Dad and I gathered up the three "kittens" and took them home in one of Dad's overshoes. We fed the heavies and put the tractor and sled away for the day.

We put cake in the pickup and went over east to cake the heifers. Also, we put out salt to the big bunch of cows before going home to take baths before dinner.

Grandma came home with Mom and the girls from church. We had dinner and then took Grandma down to the barn to see the new features of our saddle room. We then drove through the heavies.

Uncle Joy's and Uncle Stan's came out this afternoon. Ken, John, and I just roamed around this afternoon. We are thinking seriously of building a cart for future camping expeditions. We dug through axles, wheels, etc. to find suitable apparatus. Having a horse pull a cart would certainly be an easy way of packing grub and bedrolls.

For supper, we had "Ruebens" (corned beef and sauerkraut sandwiches). Salad, potato chips, pickles, etc. made up the rest of the meal.

The Morelands and Fairheads were recruited to sing for the upcoming Town and Country Day celebration, to be held in Gordon. The three men and we three boys, with Aunt Lois as pianist, practiced this evening. Possible selections include: Cool Water, Leanin' on the Old Top Rail, and either Old Faithful or A Voice in the Old Village Choir. The guests went home about 8:00.

Dad checked the cows while I fed the bulls and horses. A cow was calving, so we drove up on the hill to check her. One foot of the calf was not coming right, so I walked the cow on foot into the corral. Dad straightened it out, and we left the cow to calve without hindrance.

The baby raccoons have taken good to bottle feeding. I claim the male, and the girls each own a female. My sisters do all the work of feeding the baby coons, but I lay claim as I helped find them.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 4, Monday Journal

I piled out this morning at 6:00. After a good breakfast, I went outside to a scrumptious new day.

I saddled Jig and went out to bring in the calves. Lloyd forgot to close a gate when he fed the bulls earlier, so the calves and bulls were all together. Dad and Lloyd sorted, getting things straightened around again while I brought in the rest of the calves. I took care of my horse and went to the house to get ready for school.

On the way to town, I hit a bump knocking the fan in the car out of position slightly. A very noticeable vibration was heard during the remaining distance to town.

We worked entirely on "Hermit of Kildare" during band practice. Lesson 97 was pounded out during typing class.

Mr. Nelson was on a big "discipline kick" during Geography. He wouldn't recognize us unless we went through a ritual of raising our hand before we talked. In my opinion this is a big waste of time in a class of six.

Mr. Card gave us a fairly reasonable assignment in Geometry. Biology was devoted to dissecting frogs. (I washed up pretty good before dinner.)

Maggie and her associates rigged up mashed potatoes, rice meatballs, corn, buns, and cinnamon rolls for dinner. I studied until 1:00.

In Literature, we read a story in letter form. For an assignment, we had to write a page and a half report on what the letter was about.

As most of the kids have been driving at night lately, John and I were behind on time behind the wheel in Driver's Ed. I drove and John observed today. We went east to the Eli crossing and south to Stan Boltz's place on the river—then back to town.

The boys didn't have Phys Ed, as the sophomores had a class meeting to decide on arrangements for the prom. Our theme will be "Three Coins in a Fountain."

After school, I went down to Grandma's and helped her work on a write-up for the Bennett County Historical Society. They are going to publish a book on early Bennett County history, and need some reliable information.

I came home in the pickup, as Mom took Sybil to Gordon in the car, for a doctor appointment. After changing into my work duds, I fed the bulls and the two jingle horses. Then I helped Lloyd finish grinding a load of bull grain, and we unloaded about half of it in a creep feeder for some small calves.
Tom Scott's son, Jerry, came out and got a bull today. Dad traded the bull for $350 credit on Scott manufactured goods.

Also, Kenneth Bachelor came out today. His dad, Bill Bachelor, used to own the Green Valley. Kenneth hadn't been back for 30 years, though he lives near Valentine. He reported that at one time there were over 30 men working on his dad's Bar T Ranch.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 5, Tuesday Journal

I woke up to another luscious day at 6:00. After breakfast, I went outside to get some good fresh air before another stuffy day at school.

Jig was more rambunctious than usual and would have pulled off some fancy stuff if I'd given her half a chance. The calves were strung out over the whole east end of the meadow. The horse was not overly enthused about crossing the ditch, but after a little effort she lunged across. It took longer than usual to get the calves in, so I had to hustle right along in order to get to school on time.

We took the pickup to school. In chorus, we sang several different songs. Typing went along as usual. My time never exceeds 25 words per minute.

Mr. Nelson gave us a test in Geography. I lucked out with a 92%. Shirley, Jeana, Ken, and John got grades of 88, 89, 90, and 91 respectively. Kind of unique.

Carole hid under Mr. Card's desk before he showed up for Geometry. We fed him a big line that she was sick. About halfway through class, she slipped back into her seat while he was writing on the blackboard. Mr. Card turned around, looked kind of baffled, and grinned when he caught on.

We continued our dissecting of the frogs in Biology. This is kind of an interesting occupation, as everything fits together like a puzzle.

Hot dogs, beans, and a slice of pineapple made up the menu for dinner. [Maggie Harner made the best homemade hotdog buns, and I can still taste their deliciousness in my mind. Of course, it's getting to be about supper time as I think about it.] Over the noon hour, quite a bunch of us went outside to play tackle football. Jerry Bennett got his shirt tore, and David Davis' back was thrown out of kilter. I made one touchdown and only one tackle that turned out very glamorous.

In Literature we read our reports. Mrs. Jess promised us a big chapter test for tomorrow. John and I went driving again in Driver's Ed. John drove to the Irwin turn-off and south to the Pioneer School. He made a U-turn, and we headed back for Merriman. The rest of the day was used as a study hall.

After school, I drove down to Lessert Hardware and exchanged an empty skelgas tank for a full one. (These are used to run the hot water heater in the bunkhouse.) Mom went to a drapery workshop, so the girls waited in town at Grandma's to ride home with her.

I drove home, changed into my everyday work clothes, and grabbed a glass of chocolate milk. Dad got in the horses, and we caught Sassy and Penny. We loped over east and cut out 35 heavies that are getting kind of close to calving. The weather is real nice, and this is supposed to continue for the next couple days.

We got in two cows whose calves are in the barn. The horses were taken care of, and we came in to supper. Lloyd ground up a load of grain, and had fed the bulls earlier.

P.S. Mr. Card was kind of on the prod today. He made the sophomores get to the end of the lunch line, as we had been first all year.

 

[Traveler]

Also, Kenneth Bachelor came out today. His dad, Bill Bachelor, used to own the Green Valley. Kenneth hadn't been back for 30 years, though he lives near Valentine. He reported that at one time there were over 30 men working on his dad's Bar T Ranch.

Was that the haying crew, or did that many work there all the time? Talk about putting a bunch of bulls together and getting their differences settled. :lol:

 

[Soapweed]

Also, Kenneth Bachelor came out today. His dad, Bill Bachelor, used to own the Green Valley. Kenneth hadn't been back for 30 years, though he lives near Valentine. He reported that at one time there were over 30 men working on his dad's Bar T Ranch.

Was that the haying crew, or did that many work there all the time? Talk about putting a bunch of bulls together and getting their differences settled. :lol:

I am pretty sure that would have been just during the haying season, though with everything done entirely with horses and "by hand," it took a lot of men with muscle to do anything. This was about the time the open range was being fenced, with both boundary lines and cross fences going in, so this took a special crew. The wet meadows were being ditched to supply more hay, and this was done with horses going round and round in a circle, powering a "capstan," which is "a revolving cylinder with a vertical axis used for winding a rope or cable." All of this "winning of the west" took lots of horse power and man power. It would have been an interesting time to have been a participant.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 6, Wednesday Journal

I arose at 6:00 and had breakfast. Then I went out to get in the calves.

My bay mare handled about as well as she ever has. She moved right out without too much prodding and crossed the ditches like an experienced "river horse." We got the calves in without too much leeway before time for school.

Dad usually does quite a bit of checking on horseback in the mornings. Today he got in Crackerjack to see if he remembered any of his previous training. As luck would have it—he didn't. I guess he got away from Dad, jumped a wire gate, and caused quite a commotion before he was finally recaptured.

In band, we worked on overtures. We finished up our manuscripts (started a few days ago) in typing. I came through with a 94% on a map test during Geography.

I had a little bad luck—my notebook fell off the desk and spilled all of its orderly contents. Don't think that wasn't a mess trying to arrange everything it the proper order.

Mr. Card gave us ten sufficiently hard problems to do in Geometry. We drew pictures of the anatomy of a frog while in Biology class.

For dinner we had a kind of goulash--which was hamburger, macaroni, and corn mixed together—buns, and a slice of pear. After dinner, a big football game was in progress. I played for about half an hour and then went in to study for a test.

During Literature class, we had a chapter test. I got 93.5%, just below an A. Mrs. Jess gave us a short assignment.

Mr. McKay took Mary and Carole driving, so the rest of us did some studying. Our class is not too well off financially, so we discussed possible ways of making money. Box socials, mountain oyster feeds, etc. were some of the suggestions.

In Phys Ed, we lifted weights and worked on stuff for track. I ran in a couple of 220 yard races with John Fairhead and Bill Marrs—losing by a landslide.

Mom was in town for extension club (at Maude Gardiner's) so the girls stayed at Grandma's to ride home with her. The car still rattles where the fan knocks on something, so it's kind of embarrassing to drive down Main Street.

After I got home, I went down to where Dad was working in the cow barn. He said we were going to put on some horn weights, so I got Jig and brought the bulls into the corral. Before we started on this job, I helped Lloyd put some cake in the grinder-mixer. He then ground corn until quitting time. We put horn weights on eight bulls, did up chores, and came in to supper.

Dad's latest report is that we have about 86 calves now. We are hoping to have 200 by April 1st.

John Fairhead gave me an old milk bottle that he found by Roy Leeper's place. I lent him a bridle to use as a pattern for one he is going to make.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 6, Wednesday Journal

I arose at 6:00 and had breakfast. Then I went out to get in the calves.

My bay mare handled about as well as she ever has. She moved right out without too much prodding and crossed the ditches like an experienced "river horse." We got the calves in without too much leeway before time for school.

Dad usually does quite a bit of checking on horseback in the mornings. Today he got in Crackerjack to see if he remembered any of his previous training. As luck would have it—he didn't. I guess he got away from Dad, jumped a wire gate, and caused quite a commotion before he was finally recaptured.

In band, we worked on overtures. We finished up our manuscripts (started a few days ago) in typing. I came through with a 94% on a map test during Geography.

I had a little bad luck—my notebook fell off the desk and spilled all of its orderly contents. Don't think that wasn't a mess trying to arrange everything it the proper order.

Mr. Card gave us ten sufficiently hard problems to do in Geometry. We drew pictures of the anatomy of a frog while in Biology class.

For dinner we had a kind of goulash--which was hamburger, macaroni, and corn mixed together—buns, and a slice of pear. After dinner, a big football game was in progress. I played for about half an hour and then went in to study for a test.

During Literature class, we had a chapter test. I got 93.5%, just below an A. Mrs. Jess gave us a short assignment.

Mr. McKay took Mary and Carole driving, so the rest of us did some studying. Our class is not too well off financially, so we discussed possible ways of making money. Box socials, mountain oyster feeds, etc. were some of the suggestions.

In Phys Ed, we lifted weights and worked on stuff for track. I ran in a couple of 220 yard races with John Fairhead and Bill Marrs—losing by a landslide.

Mom was in town for extension club (at Maude Gardiner's) so the girls stayed at Grandma's to ride home with her. The car still rattles where the fan knocks on something, so it's kind of embarrassing to drive down Main Street.

After I got home, I went down to where Dad was working in the cow barn. He said we were going to put on some horn weights, so I got Jig and brought the bulls into the corral. Before we started on this job, I helped Lloyd put some cake in the grinder-mixer. He then ground corn until quitting time. We put horn weights on eight bulls, did up chores, and came in to supper.

Dad's latest report is that we have about 86 calves now. We are hoping to have 200 by April 1st.

John Fairhead gave me an old milk bottle that he found by Roy Leeper's place. I lent him a bridle to use as a pattern for one he is going to make.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 8, Friday Journal

I crawled out of bed at 6:00. We had breakfast and then I went out to get the calves in. My bay mare was out in the pasture with the rest of the horses, so I had to get them in with the pickup. I then saddled up and went after the calves. They came in better than usual, so I didn't have to rush around as much as usual getting ready for school.

We sang "Dry Bones" and "De Animals Are Coming" in chorus. Typing went along fairly smoothly. Today was kind of "100 Day." We typed Lesson 100 in Typing, and at home we have over 100 calves. Lousy humor, but what the heck.

Mr. Nelson gave us some more Geological facts during Geography. This was the last class we had today, due to a big volleyball tournament at Chadron. At 10:00 we were dismissed to go to a pep rally. Ken, John, Bill Marrs, and Jim Welch acted as cheerleaders for the girls. [I am quite sure I rebelled and didn't go along with this line of thinking, but what the heck.] The girls left for Chadron at 10:30, but the boys that were going had to wait until 11:00.

I didn't go. I caught up on my homework and read a book "North Woods Whammy," by Clyde Brion Davis until 11:30. I talked Mr. Card into letting me go home for the afternoon.

I got the mail and came on home. I left the car out, as Mom needed to go to town this afternoon to write out invitations to a party for Bill Arnot and his new bride [Rose Marie, mother of Ingrid Albrecht Fairhead].

Chuck Walters, a feed salesman for Mueller Feeds of Martin, SD, was here for dinner. He and Dad discussed politics until shortly after 1:00. (They were both on the same side of the fence, so it was an agreement instead of a quarrel.)

We muley-maked calves about all afternoon. Chuck helped until after 3:00. He "kept the books." Usually we use electric dehorners, but as the alley was muddy, we used paste today. 79 calves were processed—23 bulls (these we left the horns on), 25 steers, and 30 heifers, besides one calf belonging to Lloyd McNare.

This job was worked on steady, except for one break on my part when I saddled Penny and rode through the heavies. We finished muley-making at about 5:30. Lloyd fed the calves in the tree lot pasture but most of them stayed in the meadow. I rode Hawk Eye out and pushed the calves to their hay. They were very reluctant about crossing the south ditch, so Dad came out in the pickup and called them across. By this time chores were done, so we came in to supper.

Sandra fixed up some malts for a bedtime snack. The she and Sybil set about the task of feeding the raccoons. The job itself doesn't take too long, but Nancy Jean [age almost two] thinks it is her duty to help out. She proves to be a great hindrance.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 9, Saturday Journal

I was kind of tired last night, and in writing my daily lingo I forgot to mention the only exciting incident of the whole day. Lloyd had cautiously climbed on Crackerjack to get in the bulls, and the horse "blew up." Old Lloyd sailed heavenward and came down with a thud.

This morning I crawled out at 6:00 to a foggy day. After breakfast, I used the four-wheeler [pickup] to get in the horses. I caught Sassy and got in the calves while Lloyd put out the grain. As it looked like it could storm, Dad and I got the heavies in from the south lot.

Lloyd and I took off on the hay feeding rounds while Dad caked and put out salt. We loaded on two-thirds of a stack and fed the cows with baby calves. Lloyd fed the rest to the heavies while Dad and I rode down east to cut out some more heavies. We sorted 15 heifers out of the pasture east of the branding corral, and 11 cows (three already had new calves) from the big bunch in the east part of the meadow.

We got our first hundred calves without losing any. Today a heifer's calf was backwards, and when Dad finally got it pulled, the calf was dead. Also, before I forget it—all three raccoons headed for the hereafter today. One night, Dad got tired of hearing their noisy chatter so he put them out in the entry way. It isn't heated, so they got pretty well chilled. This is thought to be the reason for their untimely deaths.

Lloyd and I loaded on a stack butt and fed it to the calves before dinner. After dinner, we fed the rest of the hay to the young bulls.

We took the tractor and empty hay sled up north. Two thirds of an old stack was cabled on. Most of this was fed in the main part of the north meadow, but some of it was saved for the heifers east of the branding corral.

Sandra and Sybil came out of winter hibernation today and helped Dad do a little riding. They moved the main cow herd up to the north meadow where we had strung out hay.

Lloyd and I loaded up a half stack in the yard by the "high telephone pole" [a special place where we could get the big tall beaver-slide stacker pulled under] to be used tomorrow. It was spitting snow when we arrived at home again, but it was just a flurry. The wind blew all day.

I got in the horses again and used Sassy to get in a cow to be milked out. Dad and the girls also got in some cows for this purpose. We milked them out, and then went after more. I used Jig this time, as she needs the practice.

We did chores and came in to supper. Lloyd didn't stay, but headed for Valentine to spend Saturday night at his mom's house.

The Merriman girls won a big volleyball tournament at Chadron today. Thirty teams were represented from as far as 300 miles distance. Merriman came out on top (they haven't lost a game this year—I was just corrected, I guess they did lose one or two). From second-hand information, I gathered that a great display of emotion was shown over their elation.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 10, Sunday Journal

A thin blanket of snow greeted us this morning. I climbed out of bed at 6:00 and had breakfast with Mom and Dad. Sunday breakfasts are devoted to catching up on the latest gossip, with Lloyd not being here. I can't recall any juicy tidbits of news from today, however.

I saddled Jig and loped out west to get in the old bulls. They are in with the cows with baby calves, so a minor sorting job was necessary. I also had to get two calves out of the tree lot behind the machine shed.

I got in the calves and fed them while Dad milked out some cows. He then went over east to cake the heifers, so I started the hay feeding operation. I had the young bulls fed when Dad got back, so we both fed the yearlings and then the cows and calves in the horse pasture.

Mom and the girls went in to Sunday school and church. Dad and I had planned to attend church, but some heavy cows had other ideas. One two-year-old heifer needed a pull job, so we got her in to perform the operation. The calf came easily enough but it only lasted a few minutes. Dad tried everything, including mouth-to-mouth respiration, but to no avail. Needless to say, we didn't make it in to church.

Mom and the girls made it home by 12:30 and fixed a good dinner. The Bill Gaskins family was going to come for dinner, but bull buyers showed up at the last minute so they had to call the dinner engagement off. Also, John Fairhead and I had planned to go down to the Leach and Noble places to hunt for antiques, but the JL Ranch moved steers today, so that deal was postponed.

We spent the afternoon in a quiet sort of way. I read until 2:30 and slept until 4:30. Dad retyped Grandma's information for the Bennett County Historical Society (I started the job, but Dad took over as I haven't had much spare time). The women of the house slept, read, and watched TV. I managed to sit through "Gentle Ben," which isn't too bad of a show.

When chore time rolled around, Sybil and Nancy Jean bundled up to accompany Dad when he checked the cows. I neglected to mention it earlier, but the calf's mother that we pulled yesterday died last night. I shut three cows in the corral and turned their calves in with them. Then I proceeded to feed grain to the bulls and take care of the horses. Dad reported that the yearlings had gotten a gate down and are in with the heavies. We will sort them tomorrow morning.

We came in about 6:30, but didn't have supper right away. I indulged in a chocolate Pepsi float, which wasn't too bad. Later, I had a roast beef sandwich. Nancy Jean kind of got on everybody's nerves. She brought up a little chair from the basement and carried it around all night.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 11, Monday Journal

I greeted the new day at the usual 6:00. After breakfast—minus the customary fried eggs as we were out—I went outside to get in the calves.

I jogged out in the tree lot pasture to get the calves in on Jig. Dad got the calves that were in the heavy lot. I then put my horse away and went to the house to get ready for school.

Mom, Sandra, and Nancy Jean were planning to go to a spelling contest in Valentine, so put gas in the car. They left at 7:30 (Sybil went with them). I stalled around awhile and then headed for town in the four-wheeler. I was to leave it at Weber Equipment to get it worked on.

The song "Silken Veil" was played all of band practice. Lesson 101 was typed in Typing class. In Geography, Mr. Nelson lectured on volcanoes. We've been taking notes lately and haven't had to bring our textbooks to class. For a Geometry assignment, Mr. Card had us draw a scale drawing of the English room. That was much easier than the conventional assignment.

We had a more interesting Biology class than usual. Mr. Krotz assigned jobs to us for the fourth annual science fair to be held March 21st. I will patrol McKay's room where the fourth grade projects will be displayed. The whole period was killed on "discussion."

Dinner consisted of mashed potatoes, "gravy train," green beans, corn bread, and plums. I worked on my scale drawing of the English room over noon hour.

In Literature, we read some short stories and worked on a medium sized assignment. Ken and Ernie went driving in Driver's Ed, so the rest of us studied until time for Phys Ed. We went out on the track. I loped around it a couple times and called it good.

I walked down to Weber's to see if the pickup was ready. They hadn't had time to do anything with it, but as Mom wasn't home from Valentine, I was going to drive home in it. It clanged so much, I went up to Grandma's to wait for Mom. Mrs. Nelson [a teacher, Mrs. Charles Nelson (Elsie) from east of Gordon who had taught our country school in 1961-1962] and Vickie Linenbrink stopped by to visit with Grandma on their way back from the spelling contest.

Sandra flunked out in the written part of the spelling contest. She missed 7 or the 50 words, so didn't participate in the oral part. I rode home with Mom and the girls, and then went out to help Dad.

He had a cow in the barn ready to pull her backwards calf. We rummaged through the whole barn trying to find the calf chain, but without luck. We improvised by using a neck chain. [Before ear tags were in widespread use, polled cattle often had neck chains with numbered brass tags hung around the neck for identification purposes. Dad had taken in some Angus cows on shares from Ralph May of Valentine, Nebraska, and that is where the "neck chains" came from.]

John Burton stopped by to visit this afternoon. Later in the afternoon, Dad and I got in the heavies. We then sorted a few cows from the yearling bunch that got in when the gate went down. Chores were done up, and we came in to supper.

Jerry Schneider [from south of Cody, NE] brought a load of ear corn this evening. About an hour was spent unloading it. [I think it was pushed into the west side of the machine shed with a tractor after being dumped from the truck.] He came in for coffee and talked a while.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 12, Tuesday Journal

At 6:00, I floundered out of bed. Breakfast consisted of the usual—an egg, bacon, pancakes, an orange, chocolate milk (I haven't graduated to coffee yet) [and I never did], and an option on cereal.

Lloyd had gotten in the calves and fed them before breakfast, so my job was to get in the old bulls from the horse pasture. My bay mare is getting experienced enough you can "do something" on her now. She is coming along real well, and her only fault today was that she tried to lay down while I saddled her. A calf was in the tree lot, so it took quite a while riding through the "jungle" to get the obstinate creature out.

We took the car to school. We sang in chorus (imagine that?) and then went to the other building for typing. This proved to be uneventful, so for lack of anything better to do our "mighty five" went to Geography class. Fumaroles (secondary volcanoes) was the main topic of discussion.

Mr. Card graded our scale drawings in Geometry, and handed them back. A rather hot discussion followed, as some of the girls didn't think they got as good a grade as they deserved.

Biology class was dedicated to talking more about the upcoming Science Fair. I switched projects today, as I haven't found much information on beef nutrition. My new project will display Sandhills grasses and native trees of the country.
For dinner, we had turkey gravy on mashed potatoes, biscuits, peas, and chocolate pudding. I spent the noon hour doing a Geometry assignment and cramming for a review quiz in Literature.

I passed 100% on the quiz in Literature. John Fairhead wrote the whole deal out left-handed as kind of a novelty. Not only did he get 55% for a grade, but Mrs. Jess made him copy it over again so she could read it.

Ken and Ernie drove again in Driver's Ed, so the rest of the afternoon was "free." I caught up on my work, and drew some pop bottles for Mary and Jeana. They will run the concession stand and the pop bottles will be their badges of authority.

After school, I drove the four-wheeler to Gordon to get it worked on. Mom, Sandra, and Nancy Jean followed in the car to pick me up and bring me home. Dad took Sybil home with him to help sort out heavies in the north meadow (Lloyd was unavailable as he had other work to do—feeding hay and grinding grain for the bulls).

I delivered the pickup to Annett's Ford Garage, and then walked to Penney's to find Mom and my sisters. They got some big gold buttons for a vest Mom is planning to make for me. They hit about every store in town. I very quickly became leg weary, so sat in the car and read "Giggle Box." [whatever that was]

On the way out of Gordon, Mom stopped at the Ideal to get groceries. I got a "True West" magazine. We got home about 7:30.

We had a late supper of hamburgers. Nancy Jean has been quite difficult since we got home. She suckered me into taking her downstairs, and she broke a brand new lightbulb.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 13, Wednesday Journal

I blundered yesterday and left out a main detail. Two men and a woman from Randall, Nebraska stole a car there. They left it in Valentine, and got another one. This one was left in Merriman, where they absconded with Goodwin's car. It was found in Crawford, where they got another one. They were still going strong in the chain reaction, and are probably on the west coast by now.

My alarm went off early this morning—at 5:30—so I turned over and slept until 6:00. After breakfast, I got in the calves on Jig and then came in to get ready for school.

We set up a new seating arrangement in band. Everyone sits in the same order, but we now face north instead of south. A real slow "tone poem" by the name of "Village Chapel" was souped up quite a little. It really sounds sharp played in marching time.

Mr. McKay proudly displayed his new false teeth in Typing class. He looks kind of different somehow, and will probably be able to really "put the food away" with his new choppers. [Mr. McKay could always put away a great deal of food. He'd come through the lunch line with his plate piled high. Someone would say, "Are you hungry, Mr. McKay?" He would reply, "No, and I don't want to get that way."]

We discussed earthquakes in Geography. Also, the government is thinking strongly of putting a dam across the Missouri River. The Niobrara will then be backed up to even with Alliance, and the water would be stored for use in quite a few of the western states. I very much hope this doesn't go through.

Mr. Card gave us an average sized lesson in Geometry. We then talked on all kinds of topics and world events for the rest of the period. I got part of my assignment done during this time.

Biology class was used to make signs for the Science Fair. I made a couple of "Concession Stand" signs, and then made a few more arm bands.

Rice was the main dish for dinner. (I guess you could have either rice or beans.) While Shirley Micheel was shaking cinnamon on my rice, the lid of the shaker came off spilling gobs of cinnamon all over my dinner. I ate it anyway, and it didn't taste all that bad.

My noon hour was spent studying for an English Literature test. I squeaked through with a 93.5%

Vonda Goodwin and Linda Morsett drove today, so the rest of us studied. At 2:45, we had a class meeting in the Kindergarten room. We are getting ready to order prom decorations, but need some good money-making projects to afford to put on the prom. The boys and girls are going to have a contest to see who can raise the most money.

After school, Sandra and Sybil stayed with Grandma to go to a church deal. I came on home, and Mom went it later to get them.

I saddled Jig and got in a cow that wasn't claiming her calf. Then I rode down east of the branding corral and moved the heifers to the pasture between the north and west meadows. [This pasture has been known as "Heaven's Gate Pasture" since April 9th of 1997, when 13 yearling heifers perished in a pond on a snowy day.] I got home about 7:00 (quite a little after dark) and then helped Dad put up some shelves in the saddle room. I rigged up a makeshift bridle out of a couple old ones to be used on my young horse, Stampede.

We had a late supper. Lloyd went to Valentine this afternoon, so he didn't partake. Snyd (Ronald Snyder) came over this evening to shoot the breeze. He, Mom, and Dad usually have some pretty good conversations.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 14, Thursday Journal

I crawled out of my nightly hibernation at 6:00 a.m. I sat down to a good breakfast and then went out to do my "morningly" chores.

The wind blew at a pretty good clip all day. I climbed on Jig and got in the calves. Five cows and calves are in with the yearlings, so I checked them over also. One of the small calves is not doing too good, and his mother wasn't sucked out. I then went to the house to get ready for school.

We sang two new songs in chorus, but turned them back in as they didn't work out. The piano is getting slightly out of tune, which makes singing considerably more difficult.

Mr. McKay was not at school today and won't be again tomorrow. His uncle died, so he went back to Canistota, South Dakota for the funeral. Mr. Card took over typing class.

Glaciers were talked about during Geography. A good sized assignment was given in Geometry over more ratio and proportion stuff. I made a menu for the concession stand in Biology.

Beef and noodles on mashed potatoes, corn, homemade bread, and apple crisp was served for dinner. I spent the noon hour studying.

In Literature class we read a story about Joseph Lister and another about Tom Dooley's life over in Viet Nam.

We had a class meeting when Driver's Ed normally takes place. We decided what all to order for the prom, and tried to think of ways to make money. The rest of the day was used as study hall. I caught up on all my work.

After school, we kids came right on home after getting the mail. Mom, Dad, and N.J. took two bulls to the Gordon sale, and they were not back yet. I checked the heavies while in the car, and then changed clothes. The shelves are built in the saddle room, so I looked through my would-be "antiques" to see what would be appropriate to display.

I saddled Jig and rode up to get in the cows. We had one new calf in the bigger pasture and two more new ones about five minutes after they got in the smaller lot. We have about 135 calves now. I rode through the lot again to be sure all the cows were in. I was loping along at a pretty good clip when my horse stumbled and fell with me. I was thrown clear, and neither of us were hurt. Chores were done up and we came in to supper.

Below is a list of the 1966 crop of bulls and who they were sold to. Dad sold the last three today, and he only kept one bull back.

1968 Green Valley Hereford Ranch two-year-old bull sales:

Charles Dahlgren – five bulls @ $400
Wallace Mills – 1 bull @ $500
Garould Fairhead – 4 bulls @ $625
Joy Fairhead – 3bulls @ $583.33
Fawn Lake Cattle Company – 7 bulls @ $571.42
Ned Fair – 2 bulls @ $475
Charles McNare – 1 bull @ $500
Schneider Ranch – 1 bull @ $500
Floyd Ohlman – 2 bulls @ $441
Cliff Ohlman – 1 bull @ $425
Lloyd Morton – 1 bull @ $425
Jack Lewis – 2 bulls @ $400
Andrew Peterson – 1 bull @ $300
W.J. Hess – 2 bulls @ $370
Bottorff – 2 bulls @ $375
Gene Otte – 1 bull @ $420
DeWolf – 1 bull @ $400
Harold Hicks – 1 bull @ $360
Bub Nelson – 1 bull @ $490
Bill Austin – 1 bull @ $400
NewJohn – 1 bull @ $435
Winjet – 1 bull @ $460
Tom Scott – 1 bull @ $350

TOTALS – 43 bulls - $20,337- Average - $472.72

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 15, Friday Journal

Last evening before retiring for the night, Dad and I pulled a heifer's calf. It came easier that the average heifer's calf, so this didn't take us too long.

At 6:00, I rolled out this morning. Mom fried up a good breakfast which she, Dad, Lloyd, and I sat down to. I then went out to get the calves in. [The prepositions dangled all over.]

I saddled Jig and loped out to get in the calves (really they are yearlings now). Most of them were in close, so the job didn't take too much time. I put Jig away and headed for the house to wash up, change clothes, and in general, get ready for school.

We took the car. The only interruption in our trip to school was a stop at the post office to mail a letter.

We "slaughtered" a few marches during band practice. Mr. Card was in charge of Typing class, so we couldn't have our usual "brawl session."

Geography was spent learning about eras, periods, and epochs, and the different happening during these times. We are in some minor trigonometry stuff in Geometry.

In Biology, Mr. Krotz said we could use the period at study hall. I didn't get out of the room quick enough, and was suckered into doing about an hour of carpentry work. I sawed a bunch of boards in the boiler room (which was so hot the sweat ran in rivers). Then I screwed a side arm to a black board and called it good.

Just before dinner, I went out to the bookmobile and got six interesting-looking books. Dinner consisted of a tuna conglomeration on toast, peas, a slice of pineapple, and peanut butter cookies. I studied over noon hour.

Mrs. Jess read two short stories to us in Literature instead of us reading to her. On one of these, we had to form our own conclusion.

The rest of the day was "free time." The "M Club" filled the pop machine and smuggled out a couple bottles in the process. I don't know how legal this practice is, but I guess it is traditional among the "M Clubs" of many year past. [My conscience was bothering me.]

School is turned loose at 3:30 on Fridays (3:50 on other days). We came on home to find a riding job waiting for us. I rode Jig, Dad used Silver for the first time in quite a while, Sybil hopped on Spot, and Sandra rode Ribbon. Sandra and I rounded up the two-year-old heifers in the "pasture between meadows," and got an unsucked cow and her calf from the west meadow. Dad and Sybil sorted the cow bunch in the north meadow. We brought home over twenty heavies.

Grandma and Orpha McCray came out. They brought out some stuff for Mom to type.

We did chores and came in to supper. I read some in the book COW PEOPLE, by J. Frank Dobie.

I put gas in the car, as Dad was going to go to a movie on civil rights at the café. Then I drove through the heavies before he left. I timed it just perfect to pull the veil off of a calf's head and save its life. I waited for another calf to be born before going in the house.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 16, Saturday Journal

I forgot to mention a couple details from yesterday. Gary Fairhead was holding the board while I sawed in Biology class. I momentarily lost control of the hand saw, and it slipped—cutting poor Gary's finger.

On the way home from school, Sybil was singing at the top of her lungs. I told her to quit—which she did for just a minute. She resumed her singing, and I told her if she continued I'd make her walk home. Between the overhead sign and the house, Sybil bellowed out another strain of "What's it all about, Allllffffeeeeeee?" I let her out of the car, and later as she walked up the driveway by the house, she was still singing, "What's it all about, Alfie?"

Today was Saturday and a delightful change from the grind of school. I awoke at 6:00, had breakfast, and went outside. It was windy then, but it got much worse before the day was done.

I rode Jig, and got in the yearlings. Then I shoved the heavies out of the first lot and into the bigger south part. I loped out into the "pasture south of the meadow" and gathered up 46 cows with small calves. Dad came along on Penny, and we drove them towards the corral. It would be about as easy to drive a swarm of flies as it was to get the cattle into the corral. The cows went in okay, but it took 15 minutes of sweat and grumbling to get all the calves through the gate into the corral.

While Dad went to boil his knife, I rounded up the bulls in the horse pasture and shoved them into the lot where the chicken house used to be. I then went to the house to get in on a snack with the rest of the family. I was sitting on a kitchen chair and leaned back to get a cookie on the counter. The chair broke all to heck, and I about got knocked out when my jaw came down on the edge of the counter.

The girls helped Dad and I muley-make. This time we used the electric dehorner. Lloyd fed hay all morning. The only exciting incident was a "nut fight" between Dad and the girls—if you know what I mean. (That doesn't sound too good.) We got done and came in to dinner. A good nap followed.

We took the cows and calves to the west meadow. Sandra, Sybil, and I rode, and Dad came later in the pickup. We were short one calf, but the cow went back to him, in the pasture south of the meadow. The girls led my horse Sassy home, and I helped Lloyd finish feeding hay. We fed the 130 cows with small calves in the west meadow, the two-year-old heifers in the pasture east of there, and then went to the main bunch of cows in the north meadow. We pulled on half a stack of old hay, fed it off, and brought the tractor and hay sled home.

Lloyd fixed some fence and I did chores. I fed the bulls and Spot, our "jingle horse" for tomorrow. Then I went to the house and made a couple peanut butter sandwiches for supper. The rest of the outfit went to Gordon. I was rather pooped, and I didn't want to do my diary tomorrow so I stayed home. I watched Lawrence Welk on TV, read some, checked the cows, and have been plagued with phone calls ever since.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 17, Sunday Journal

After breakfast this morning we did chores. Lloyd was spending Sunday in Valentine. I fed the two bunches of bulls while Dad did some checking riding Spot. Then I put out the grain for the calves, and got them in on Spot. Dad milked out a few cows.

Dad hauled a calf up to the west meadow where the cow was already located. He also caked the heifers while there. I got out the tractor and started feeding hay. I pulled on a half-stack of good hay in the first yard. Dad returned from up north, and we fed the bull bunches and the yearlings.

[Our feeding method was to secure the steering wheel and start the IHC450 tractor in low gear at its slowest speed, then get off by stepping on the drawbar of the tractor, and moving quickly out of the way of the forward moving hay sled. You grabbed a drag-fork off the front rack of the sled, and pulled the hay off by hand in small clumps, making a nice windrow as the feed outfit drove forward on auto-pilot. Looking back on this method, it was probably dangerous and not OSHA approved, but that is how it was done. You had to be continuously vigilante on where the tractor was headed, and allow ample time to step back on the drawbar to stop the tractor before hitting fences, trees, steep hills, and other obstacles. If there was a highline pole out in the middle of a feed ground, and you tried to head the tractor in a direction to avoid hitting it, invariably it would make a gentle curve and hone right in on the pole. I learned early on to head the tractor directly for the pole, and then it would usually veer slightly one way or the other and miss the obstacle.]

I went in and took a bath while Dad made one last check through the heavies. Then we got into our "Sunday duds," polished our boots, and took the pickup to church (Mom and the girls had already gone in the car).

Dad and I hadn't been to church since January 28th, but it all looked about the same as I had remembered. We got out shortly after 12:00.

Grandma Grace, Rev. and Mrs. DeWitt, and our bunch ate dinner at the café. I got well filled up on a hamburger steak.

Dad and I buzzed home to check the cows, meeting Bruce Weber on the way. One heifer was calving, so we changed our clothes to not get messed up pulling the calf. I put my saddle on plump old Spot and jogged out to get the heifer in. Spot really knows her business on a job like this, so I gave her her head and enjoyed the maneuvers on the way in. I took care of the horse while Dad worked on the heifer. The calf popped out without serious trouble. We filled the pickup with gas, changed clothes again, and headed for town.

A sort of reception was held at the Joy Faihead Ranch for Bill Arnot and his new bride. Over 90 guests attended. Bill's wife has a twelve-year-old daughter, so Bill kind of got a "ready-made" family out of the deal.

John, Ken, and I spent the afternoon in a rather interesting way. John showed us antiques, saddlery, old wagons, etc. around the place. He then wanted to check on an old wagon tongue about a mile south of Garould Fairhead's place, so we went down in their pickup. John drove too far into soft country and got stuck. We wedged boards under the tires and pushed, but to no avail. We ended up walking in a two mile round-about fashion back to Uncle Garould's place and borrowing a little Ford tractor to pull ourselves out.

We went back to the "party," but our outfit didn't stay too long. We came home, then Dad and I changed clothes and went out to do chores. I fed the bulls, and Dad used Spot and a flashlight to get in the heavies from the south lot in case of a storm. We put in a cow that was about ready to calve, and then I rode Spot out in the south lot to see if any cows were missed. We came in then.

It is raining now, with an abundance of thunder and lightning. I rather enjoy these "inspiring nights," if the next day isn't a blizzard.

 

[Soapweed]

1968, March 18, Monday Journal

As I write this tonight, a blizzard is raging outside. This is my fourth such experience, and I'm not overly enthused about weathering another one. The country is in need of moisture—which the eight or ten inches of snow will provide.

I awoke at 6:00 with a slight kink in my back. Getting dressed presented quite a problem.

The coach, Mr. Nelson, wanted a pickup load of bull rushes to bed down the high jump pit. After breakfast, I got out the green pickup and was figuring on unloading some old bedding on the road and getting the rushes. In opening up the end gate of the pickup, my back went completely haywire.

I stiffly made my way back into the house and got a little help stretching out on my bed. Mom shoved the heating pad under me, and Dad gave me a pill to help relax muscles.

Reading and listening to the radio occupied about all of my morning. Nancy Jean ("Henry" or "Hank") provided some entertainment when she wasn't on the prod. Dad took the girls to school. When he returned, I hobbled out of bed and joined the folks for a snack.

By noon, I was feeling well enough to go back to school. I had an early dinner and changed into my school clothes. I took the car and drove in rain all the way. The Shovel Ranch was moving cattle, so I had to get the car past them.

I arrived at school about midway through the noon hour. The make-up assignments were not too rough. Part of English was spent talking politics, and the rest was used for reading Literature. Believe it or not, Mr. McKay took a couple girls driving for Driver's Ed, despite the rotten weather. I caught up on my work.

Mr. Card turned the country kids loose at 2:30. Sandra, Sybil, and I headed homeward, stopping first to get groceries and the mail.

My back was almost its old self, so I went out to help Dad and Lloyd. Lloyd and I took the four-wheeler out to get the "M". It wouldn't start so we tried to pull it. The traction was poor so we came back and got the "450". Due to a broken bolt, one rear wheel on this tractor could very easily come off, so we had to take it easy. We pulled the "M" and brought both tractors home.

I used Penny and got the rest of the horses in. I caught up Sassy, and Lloyd got Hawk Eye. We braved the high winds and blowing snow, and got the cattle from the heavy lot into the corrals. The first time out the heavy cows were brought in, and the cows with calves were brought in later. Dad took a few pictures of all the activity. Who in the heck enjoys looking back on BLIZZARDS with photographs?

Lloyd and I loped out into the tree lot pasture and brought the yearlings into the feed bunk lot behind the windbreaks. We took care of the horses and fed the bulls. Dad and I drove out with the four-wheeler to see if anything was accidentally "left out in the cold." The cows, two-year-olds, and cows with calves are all up north. Some hills are available for protection, but it is kind of a conversation topic as to how these cattle are faring.

Two bits says we don't make it to school tomorrow.