This midi
"Farther Along"
MIDI created by: Randall Lawson
was one of Dad's favorites.

FULL SCREEN PLEASE
with

Notes about this site

Daddy ~ Page 2

Ralph Raymond Doggett
December 12,1896 - January 15,1980
83 Years 1 month 3 days

Religion

Going back to my father's family, the religious part of family life was one of the things that really kept us going through the hard years. Dad's family were members of the United Brethren Church. They were "pillars of the church". Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Ed, Uncle Elmer, were also great workers in the church. There was a Doggett Quartet that sang regularly at that church and many other churches. It consisted of three Doggetts, Uncles Elmer, Harve and Joe and a friend Art Ball.

I don't know how old I was on the first Christmas that I can remember, but we had come to Ames to spend Christmas at Grandpa's house. On Christmas Eve we all went to the church where there was a huge decorated tree. That was the first Christmas tree I had ever seen. It was so beautiful! After a program, we heard sleigh bells behind us and here came old Santy Claus, big and fat, carrying a bag full of something that rattled. He went right up to where that tree was. He "Ho, Ho'd" a few times then called his helpers. He began to call off names. That is when I saw a little red wagon and say,---I wanted that wagon. Pretty soon, I heard him call my name. The Old Boy, himself, brought that little wagon down to me. I didn't pass out, but I don't remember anything else till it was all over. Grandpa picked me up, set me in that wagon and pulled me down to his house, about a half block away.

Next day was the feast, turkey and everything that goes with it to make up a real Christmas dinner. The women folk were trying to out-do each other. Years later, I learned that Old Santa was Mr. Art N. Ball, who lived right across the street from Grandpa.

Sorghum

Coming to Ames from Nevada was just a trip, until we got close to Armstrong Hill, a mile east of Ames. That was where we could see one or two electric street lights on Boone Street. (Lincoln Way). Before we got to the lights, we had to cross Skunk River bottom. Part of the way, swamp willows would whip us in the face, if we had to pull out to meet someone coming from town.

While in Ames, in season, we would go over to see Uncle Simon Stratton (no relation) make sorghum. My Dad would whittle a little paddle for me so I could taste the new sorghum. Those infrequent visits might have triggered something in my Dad because a few years later he bought an outfit and we were in the sorghum making business. We made sorghum for around thirty years. I think I know that business inside-out. Thirty years is just about twenty nine years too long. Sometimes, in making our sorghum, we'd hit a good year and get $2.00 a gallon for it. However, I have seen the time when we sold it for 25 cents.

It was hard work, but sometimes it was funny too. The "skimmins", some of it was pretty bad looking, was given to the hogs. Let some of that stand for a couple of days, and ...well, have you ever seen a drunken hog. Some of them staggered and squealed and went back for more. Then they just passed out.

Farming

Spring was a busy time on the farm. Sometimes, we broke the cornstalks with a railroad rail, a team hitched to each end. Later came the raking of these stalks into windrows. Then on a night with no wind, the stalks were burned. One could see the fires for miles. No one complained of air pollution, in fact it was a rather pleasant smell.

Oat sowing was next in the order of things. Wheat was usually sowed the fall before and called winter wheat. There was a spring wheat, but scarcely anyone raised it. After that, came the finishing of plowing (spring plowing) and it had to be done by the last of May, at least, because June 1st was corn planting time. It used to be "corn knee high by the 4th of July," but usually it was waist high.

Next came mowing, or cutting the hay Threshing was next. A number of farmers would hire a farmer who owned a threshing machine, and they would all work together on each other's farms until all the threshing was done. Every man knew his job--bundle pitchers, bundle rack drivers, grain wagon, the machine crew, "pike" scooper, grain haulers. Even a man or two in the strawstack. All told it came to about 15 to 20 men. All of this until the last man's crop was finished and everybody threw their hats in the machine. How different it is today when two men with a modern combine do the whole thing.

The pleasant part of threshing was to come into the farm house and sit down to the huge feed prepared by the women of the threshing run. The women helped each other in preparing the food and waiting tables and washing dishes. They also vied with each other in preparing their best dishes and most luscious deserts. They saw to it that there were cold drinks and coffee ready to be taken to the fields. They also put several wash basins and towels, on boxes, in the yard for the men to clean up before they came in to eat.

One year, I planted about a third acre of watermelons and muskmelons. I sold over $300.00 worth, besides giving away a lot of them.

That brings to mind, one time as a young lad, I wanted a watermelon. We had not planted any, but a neighbor of ours had. I waited until dark, crawled up the hill on my belly and into his field. I found a big, ripe, juicy one and broke it off it's stem. Pushing it ahead of me, I crawled back to the top of the hill. As the melon and I went over the crest of the hill, the melon seemed to have a mind of it's own and started down the hill ahead of me. It went faster and faster till it came to a crash at the bottom of the hill in a million pieces. I guess I learned my lesson about stealing someone else's watermelon.

Husking was really hard work, also. In these days, corn was picked by hand. The picker, a man, not a machine, would grasp the ear, remove the husks, break off the ear and throw it into a wagon with almost one movement. A well trained horse to pull the wagon was a necessity. The horse would walk very slowly along, or on command, would move the wagon a short distance, slowly and then stop. This allowed the picker to throw his ears of corn with out even looking up. He knew that the wagon, with it's high bang board on the far side, would be right where he threw his corn.

Now a little break came in the rush of work. Some lucky ones could get in a little fishing or gab in town for an hour or two. Some would attend or take part in the County Fair and the State Fair. To go to Des Moines to the State Fair was a thing to remember forever. But you had to get the fall plowing done first.

Then, there was the never-ending daily chores. This was a routine that could not be neglected, no difference how much other work there was to do. The farm animals had to be fed and taken care of, to keep them well, strong and free of disease. The cows had to be milked morning and night. To be good producer, this had to be done at regular hours. We, of course, had horses to do our work and provide transportation and my Dad raised hogs to sell and eat. He seldom raised or fed cattle to sell, but raised a calf to give us our own beef.

Cleaning out the barns and animal sheds was probably the most disagreeable job on the farm. Some farmers did this every day, but most of them only shoveled out the manure when they had to. Throughout the winter, a large pile of manure rose outside the barn and in the spring was loaded into the manure spreader. It was spread over the fields to enrich the soil, the natural and best fertilizer. Recycling at it's best.

Economy

In my younger days, prices were far cheaper, but, of course, no one was loaded down with money either. Corn was 25 cents a bushel, oats about 12 cents. If we sold cream, we received about 30 cents per pound. It had to have passed a 30 per cent butter fat test for that price. Butter was 25 cents a pound. Flour was $1.25 for a 48 pound sack, sugar was 5 cents a pound and eggs were 12 cents a dozen. In 1910, a haircut was 75 cents. The women didn't have their hair cut. I don't know when these Beauty Parlors started, but there sure weren't any "way back when". A pair of dress shoes cost about $5.00. My best suit of clothes cost about $12.00 to $15.00.

When the automobile first came out, some were really high prices. A model-T Ford in 1920 sold for $375.00 brand new. There was no sales tax and the license was about $5.00. Gasoline was 10 cents a gallon. You didn't drive them in the winter as you had no antifreeze. Some people used alcohol, but that boiled away too fast. There were a lot of makes of cars that only old timers remember. There were the Apperson, Jackrabbit, Reo, RCA Winton, Overland, Carter Car, Durant-Dort, Saxon, Willys, Stearns, Lamberton, Hudson, Jackson and half a hundred more that have gone by the wayside. I have driven most of these.

Schools

The schools, most of which were the one room rural schools, were located no more than two miles apart each way. That is unless the site would not have been good, such as a swamp or hillside. The teacher had to be pretty rugged as she had to be her own janitor. This included building a fire in the stove. All grades below high school were taught in the one room. That meant there were children from 6 to 18 years old., sometimes older. If the teacher had good control of these kids, they go along fine, but if not... it was bedlam! School to the Doggett children was walking at least half a mile, sometimes as much as two miles, fall, winter and spring.

The schoolhouse was the center for the community social affairs also. They had school programs frequently. All the parents, grandparents and the families came. Box Socials were held there and were lots of fun. .Walking to school in the winter, facing the northwest wind was a real chore. In the spring you could get caught by cold spring showers, but the spring was also when we brought Mama bouquets of wild flowers.

We did a lot of singing in school. Some schools had special singing school in the evening for everybody. Did you ever go to a "Do Re Me School". I went, but not to sing, as I usually slept through the whole thing. Some of those old time songs are still sung, but some are forgotten. "Three Little Girls in Blue: ( or was it two)", "Burning of the Hull House," "My Government Claim", "Uncle Ned" and "Old Black Joe".