We continue again with excerpts from Peter A. Ryan Jr. ‘s memories of living in what is now the (relocated) Temple Ryan Farmhouse, home of the Ewing Historical Society on Federal City Road.
Peter was the eldest of four children living in the house, together with his parents, his grandparents for a time, his father’s sister ‘Aunt Kid,’ and some hired hands.
The simple but labor-intensive farm life is sweetly and systematically recounted in his brief memoir. This month focuses on daily life on the farm. Text in italics has been added.
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Farm life was grueling but truly a wonderful growing up experience. Every single day began before sunrise and ended early evening with feeding and milking the dairy herd. This was regardless of season and other daily chores. Besides housing our family, two hired hands boarded in the house which meant providing them with three square meals, linen, laundry, and a shared kitchen, bath and living area.
After morning milking and barn cleanup, the hands proceeded to the kitchen for a hearty breakfast consisting of home cooked fare prepared on the wood-fired cook stove. Generally noon meals were served in the kitchen as well, with the evening meal enjoyed in the dining room with everyone served at the giant table for 12.
A large pot belly stove, nestled against the fireplace, furnished heat for not only the immediate area but the entire house. Memories of everything from early morning toast to midday baked chicken and evening homemade pie, all cooked on that old kitchen stove, bring back very special succulent memories. [Visit the Temple House and see for yourself. Pie not included!]
Likewise, I feel great appreciation for the tremendous job of homemaking that Aunt Kid and our mother performed faithfully during those memorable years. In addition to household duties tending a large garden and responsibility for hired hands, Aunt Kid cared for her aging parents until they passed away. In later years our mother assumed the same role and cared for our family, certainly no small task. We all benefited greatly from her loving care and the farm experience.
Our Dad was a true horse lover. He loved farming, and was steadfast in his conviction that horses represented the best option for a farm of our size [120 tillable acres]. And indeed, farming with horses is an art and wholesome, incomparable experience. Field preparation required plowing, using a single bottom walking plow, drawn by a two-horse team.
Typically two units would be plowing, while a third team worked the overturned ground . Legs ached during Spring tilling, as walking lop-sided and off balance over raw furrows and loose soil exacted a toll. Grain seeding required the use of a horse-drawn grain drill planter.
Harvest season was perhaps the busiest time, especially hay hauling days, as extra help was employed. Hay had to be ripe, cured and dry, or the threat of future spontaneous combustion loomed large, a risk to avoid. Likewise, overripe or rotted hay had no value as winter feed, so harvest timing was vital.
Depending on season and weather there was always a full day’s work sandwiched between morning and evening. The horses, chickens and pigs required daily attention which varied with the time of year. In off season, care for such things as harness oiling and repair, wood cutting and gathering, and servicing equipment demanded never-ending attention.
In all of this, two things were sacred. First: Sunday, with the exception of milking and animal care, was a day of worship, relaxation and rest. Second: even though the radio was limited to one small unit, if a Notre Dame football game was broadcast, an arrangement was made to plug it in during evening milking.
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Peter provides many more descriptions and stories in his memoir, which, sadly, I can’t keep quoting from forever! He writes:
Many changes developed in the years following WWII…Good help became scarce, and dairy farming faced changing labor and distribution trends. Sadly, the magnificent barn complex was lost to fire in 1955. Dad sold the farm and we left in 1
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But you can still visit the Ryan Farm Exhibit at the Temple House! First Sundays of the month from 2-4; Wednesdays 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.; or by appointment.
Helen Kull is an Advisor with the Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society.
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