Driving accidents

 Bicycles were freedom in the country.

And learning to ride was a rite of passage.
And a trauma in some cases. 

  

 

Our driveway was lined with large maple trees
with the sidewalk on the opposite side. 

The Old Farmer gave the bicycle lessons.

When I old enough to stand up on the peddles of a bicycle

way too big to sit on I was given a few rides with the
Old Farmer holding the back of the seat and running alongside.

When it was determined that I  had the feel of it
I was pushed off from the step, did a few wobbles,
took off ..... and rode right up a tree!

 

Apparently that is not the first time this happened
as the Old Farmer's Older Daughter also had this same tree
jump in front of her...

Remember riding double?

 

 

I remember the Old Farmer's Older Daughter also having
a tractor driving lesson. I stood back and watched from a safe distance.
The Old Farmer took the tractor down the hill behind the barns.
Then got her up, gave a few pointers on first gear and the brake.
Then set her off across the creek, (which was a very shallow small creek).
And right up into the bushes on the other side of the path!

(She has no memory of this incident.)

 

 

 But I digress, the bicycles were hand me downs that were too big
and we had no training wheels or helmets or knee pads.

We spent the summer happily riding back and forth

to our friend's houses along a mile stretch of our country road,
usually many times back and forth. Occasionally we strayed farther afield.
 

 

 

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The Hazards of Farm Life

The Old Farmer enjoyed life, everything had a joke in it.
I previously referenced the tipping of the manure sled, aka the Stone Boat.

While it could have had serious consequences, it was a great joke in the retelling. 

 

In its former incarnation as a Stone Boat.

it was used to go around the fields picking up stones.

One day a stone wall appeared between two large trees in the back yard.

 

In the spring the tractor was hooked up to the plow, then the drag to get out the
weeds, followed by the disc to smooth it for the vegetable garden. Over the top
of the sharp discs was a square rack of angle iron that could hold stones to weigh
it down and more effectively dig into the soil.

The Old Framer's Daughters and any other kids that were around were sometimes
loaded up on the rack to ride around the garden, note that this rack was open,
and our feet dangled and the discs were inches below!

It is a wonder anyone survived childhood in those days.

 

 

Then there was the time they set the telephone pole on fire.

Poles were coated on the bottom half with creosote (coal tar)
back then to keep them from rotting.

 After a day of planting field corn the Old Farmer and his son

went to burn the paper fertilizer sacks at the bottom of the field where they were piled.
Need I say more? Fortunately there were burlap bags too and a creek nearby.

They were able to beat out the flames. After these minutes of panic

 this also became a funny story.
The Old Farmer could laugh at himself.

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