Evans Family Reunion

Sunday was our 76th family reunion. My father's cousin was Bob Evans of the restaurant chain. We still have the reunion at his farm even though he has passed away.  He loved the reunion. He used to say, "It's a sin to miss your family reunion."  I made baked beans, three bean salad and brought fried chicken, sliced tomatoes, a peach pie and an apple crumb pie with cheese.  Our ancestors came there from Wales. When I was young and my grandparents were alive, we sang the Welsh Nation anthem in Welsh. The older generation is gone, so we no longer sing. The reunion was always one of the highlights of the summer. We used to have over one hundred people, but attendance has dwindled over the years. Cousins have become more distant in relationship and in geography. This year we looked around and there were less than twenty of us. Lowell made his family's traditional crock of lemonade and led the meeting. We announce new births, deaths and family achievements. We ask who is the oldest and who is the youngest. We ask who traveled the farthest, We have a president, secretary and treasurer who passes the hat for donations to pay our expenses. Under new business we discussed whether we could keep going with so few people.  My heart sank even to think of it. I remembered all the dear faces I had loved to see. Grandparents, parents,  aunts, uncles - all gone. I never want to lose my extended family. It brings tears to my eyes now, as I think of it. I would travel from the ends of the earth to be there. We decided to meet again next year and see how it goes. Here is a photo of the Evans family for whom the reunion was created.

Farm Auctions,

I

I have been on the farm for six days. Mostly, I've been doing house cleaning and yard work. On Friday I took a break to go to a farm auction. The auction was at a farm not far from here. The owners had died or gone to a nursing home, I imagine. That's usually the case. Their children want to sell the contents of the house and barn. It was a big two story house with two barns. Well, you can imagine how many things there were to be auctioned off. There was every thing from paper towels to antique clocks. I never buy from antique stores when I can buy them at auction for much less. I was looking for an antique table for my printer, but there wasn't one I liked. When you arrive, you get a paper with a number on it. You use that to bid. Bidding is fun. I decide what I will pay for an item. Sometimes I bid higher, but not a lot higher. Some times I win, and sometimes I'm outbid. Farm auctions are a social event in the country. People come early and bring a folding chair. I see a number of people I've seen and spoken to at other auctions. There is always a food truck with breakfast and lunch food. They usually make good cheeseburgers or pulled pork sandwiches among other things. After 911, for about a year or so, French fries were called Freedom fries. There are usually old order people there. They are like the Amish, but some are more strict than others. My farmer and his family are old order. They call themselves German Baptists. The women make their caped dresses and wear sheer white caps. No TV or movies for them. They do, however, have electricity, and they drive cars. they are the kindest, friendliest people I know. The only thing I bought at the auction were old fair canes. Every summer, my Dad would have one go at winning a cane. When the ring went on the can, it made him happy. On the farm, we have simple pleasures. The current fair canes have plastic tops. Not nice. The old ones have wooden tops with gold tassels. I collect them in memory of my dear father. Other people collect them too, but I outbid them. The day was sweltering. In the pictures, you will see two German Baptist ladies in pastel dresses. Just looking at them made me feel cooler. I included a mother and son from another old order. I don't know what they call their order. There is a picture of the food truck and some quilts for auction.

On the Road

I am in Sanford, Fl. waiting to board the Amtrak auto train. I will have a cabin with a couch which will be made up into a bed tonight. I will have a small bathroom in my cabin. Tonight I will go the the dinning car for a nice dinner. The tables have white linens, nice china and glassware. There will be a flower on the table. I will  have a choice of three entrees. They are cooked in the kitchen car. Wine is served with dinner. I will enjoy watching the scenery as I dine. I go on the auto train once a year. I love sleeping on the train. It rocks me into a sweet sleep. Sometimes I wake in the night and look out my window. We pass through small southern towns with one stop light. I think of the people asleep in their homes. It is a typical night for them, but I am rolling through the night in my snug cabin on a train.
In the morning we will be in Virginia near Washington, DC. Before we get to the station, we pass Quantico. The fighter jets are awesome. After they unload my car at the station, I will drive to my farm in Ohio. I can make it in one day if I push it, but I often spend the night on the road. I'd like to drive through so I can sleep in my own bed on the farm, but I will take it as it comes.

Update

It's been a long and winding road, but I was able to borrow enough money to buy my sister's half of the farm. I was able to save it from going on the market in which case, I would have lost it. I got behind in my blog, so I will just skip ahead to the present. We sold the corn crop. After splitting it 50/50 with my farmer, I made a little over $19,000. I have him take out his labor and expenses for the upcoming year such as fertilizer and seeds. Thus, when I got my check, I was left with $2,700. So, as lovely as it is to have a farm, if you are thinking of it, don't give up your day job.

Mold

Mold. One of the upstairs bedrooms in the farmhouse has a layer of black mold on the walls. I didn't know why this room got the mold and not the other rooms. I spoke to my insurance agent, and he sent out a building inspector who went up on the roof and checked around. He said that there were probably leaks around the chimney and that there was not enough ventilation under the roof. So, my insurance won't pay for cleanup. But before I can clean up the mold, I need to have the roof fixed. More money. We didn't have mold problems in the past. I really think this is a result of climate change. The weather is warmer and rainier now than it was when I was younger. Since I'm not on the farm all year around, it's hard to keep out the humidity. I'm looking into ways to dehumidify the house even when I'm not there. I could put in central heat and air, but the electric bill would be extreme. I'm exploring the ideas of solar, wind and thermal power. They would be expensive to get going, but then I could keep the house in a even humidity level and temperature all year round. I don't think I will have the money to do this for several years at least.  I sent the insurance report to my farmer who installed my metal roof in 2003 area and I hope you all have ideas to fix the problem, and it won't break the bank. Well, I took on this problem of saving our family farm and restoring it, so I guess I can't complain. I will just have to be patient. Some problems are going to take a long time to work out.

Below is a picture of the room before mold.

Stones and Zinnias

Under the Ohio soil there is an endless supply of stones of all sizes. Every year when plowing, my farmer pulls out more stones and stacks them in the old watering trough. The trough is now overflowing with stones. Some of them are quite pretty, being of different colors of granite. People in Ohio use stones to put around the edges of their flower gardens. They often have 2 large stones at the entrance of their driveway. My farm is no different. Someone in the distant past put 2 large boulders at the end of my driveway. My mother planted orange daylilies around them which bloom all summer. I made a circle of stones around the mailbox post. I started this project several years ago. I have daffodils which come up in the spring and chrysanthemums which come up again in the fall. This year the stones were overgrown with grass and weeds. so I had to take my weed wacker and clear the stones in the area around that mailbox post. Then I put in another layer of daffodil bulbs which I sprinkle with cayenne pepper to keep animals from digging them up and eating them. Then I put on more soil and planted zinnias for summer. They also make a pretty picture around the mailbox with their vibrant colors. For those of you who are young and don't remember, food used to come in tin containers with a paper labels. My mother would take off the paper label and use the can as a flower vase for the kitchen table. In the summer, she would always have zinnias in the tin can. It seems a vision of summer farm life to me, so I try to keep it up. Unfortunately, zinnias are annuals not perennials, so I will have to replant them again next summer. Still, it's worth the effort to me. Now, when I look at my tin can filled with red, orange, pink, and yellow zinnias, it brings back memories of all the summers of my childhood.

P.S. I'm adding a photo of my new mail box.

Wall Street

Every year, getting Internet service on the farm is a problem. In the past, of course, I had dial-up. Then I had a prepaid plug in. This year, because family members were going to come up to the farm, I broke down and contracted to have wireless service. I named my Wi-Fi service Wall Street. When we plant corn on both sides of the drive, it's like driving between two green walls. It's also where we make money. That's why Dad called it Wall Street. It's an expense, but it was such a pleasure to have good wireless service on the farm.  At least my direct TV satellite service and my wireless service allow me to pay for only 6 months of the year because I don't live on the farm in the winter. That justifies the expense of my television and computer service.  I have extensive information on my family history including letters and journals and photographs. I am working on compiling them on a family tree program. I also spent some time in the farmhouse photographing furniture, china, etc. My mother had a ledger which noted whether they came from her family or my father's family or if she bought them. I am trying to compare the photos to her notes. So, as you can see, when I'm not working in the yard,  house or barn, I have plenty of computer work to do.