"Sun and winds burned the skin on their faces and necks to leather. Eyes narrowed against the prairie sun. The binder kicks up grasshoppers, whose wings flash color against the wheat and grey ground. Clouds of mosquitos rise as well, searching for targets in air redolent of wheat dust and soil moistened by rain. Dust works its way into crevices of skin. Cutting and thrashing is hard work!"
That's what my grandfather told a reporter when asked about being a farmer. My grandfather took over running the farm my great grandfather started when he came to America from Germany in 1898.
Gramps farmed his land in the Red River Valley of Minnesota from the early 40s until he "retired". He never really retired, though. His life was farming, and he was very involved late into his 90s.
I'm trying to work on a scrapbook with all these old pictures. The pictures tell a story, but I would like more than just captions like "Gramps on the tractor".
At first, I wanted it to be more book-like with stories woven around the pictures. But there just isn't enough data. So it's become blurbs next to photos when I can, but that's ok too.
I have some interesting characters in my family tree! Its always been my biggest wish that some of them had kept a diary or journal, I enjoy stories that endear me to the characters and their lives.
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