Grandpa Elkins farmed 80 acres about 40 in grass, sudan and milo to feed his mules, milk cows, hogs and chickens and about 3 acres was set aside for the family garden. The other 40 acres was always planted in cotton. 1935 / 1936 were good years he made 30 bales of cotton 2 years in a row, that was really good for a dry land farm. Cotton sold for 8 to 10 cents a pound, after paying the banker, he still had enough money to buy 2 mules, Ned & Jed. Grandpa, Ned & Jed farmed using mostly mule power for the next 40 years. Grandpa and both mules died in January 1977. He was 83. I don't know how old Ned & Jed were!
1938 bank loan manager would not finance grandpa unless he modernized and purchased a tractor. In 1938 he purchased a Farmall model F20 tractor. It came with a 1 bottom breaking plow, 2 row lister/planter and 2 row cultivator. Grandpa said he would rather smell the back side of 2 mules than the fumes from that tractor, it made to much noise and farm gasoline cost 9 to 11 cents a gallon, it cost to much to run. So for the next 40 years his 'new' F20 tractor set in the barn, carefully covered with an old wagon top canvas, and was seldom used. On this death in 1977 it looked much as it did in 1938 when it was purchased.
Now they lived Green, farmed with mules, cooked and heated with wood leaving a small 'carbon' foot print. Your comments keep me blogging. Copyright © 2008
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