Farm boys and their toys
When I walk by the farm toys at Fleet Farm, I always slow down a little. Those little metal tractors, Ertl farm sets and plastic animals send me racing back into my memory vault to my days growing up on the farm.
If you were to ask me what has had the most influence in shaping my life and personality, I’m convinced that growing up on the farm would be very high on the list. For all you farm kids out there, you know we had a very special upbringing that many do not understand. We learned a lot of lessons while trying to help our families support themselves. To me (and I think many will agree), being raised on a farm was a gift and something we should definitely treasure. We learned things that will be with us the rest of our lives.
We understood just how important faith was in farming. We learned at a very young age that we needed to pray every day. Sure, we need to do that every single day; however, we prayed for things most kids would not even think about. We prayed for sunshine when hay needed to be made. We prayed for rain during a drought. We prayed for a good harvest. And we prayed in thanksgiving when our crops were successful.
We learned a lot of unusual and random things — usually the hard way. We learned that if we got stuck in the muddy barnyard while we were wearing our barn boots, we’d better just stay put and wait for help. We learned that Dad wasn’t kidding when he said the fence was “hot.” We learned to avoid crawling through or over barbed wire fences. We learned where not to hold a bottle when bottle-feeding a baby calf. This list could go on and on.
We learned that we did not open our Christmas gifts on Christmas morning or go to the 4-H club meeting until all the chores were done. And we did not complain about it.
We learned that our mother made the best home-cooked meals, and she could make those daily bumps, scrapes and bruises that we always got “all better.” She could get manure and oil stains out of anything. She could then go outside to run a tractor, haul grain to the elevator or tend to a sick calf.
We learned how to tell if a cow was calving by the time we were 8. We got to see more live animal births than our “city” friends. We learned how to tell if an animal was sick. We could determine how crops were doing. We learned a great deal about medicines, fertilizers and other farming practices. We were smart!
We learned the importance of listening and following instructions. We quickly learned the value of a dollar. We learned manners and respect for our elders. The older we got, the more responsibilities and chores we were given. We were not slaves of our parents. We were not “overworked.” Our parents were teaching us one of the most valuable lessons a person could learn – responsibility! We learned the value of hard work, commitment, good character, good business and dedication. We just learned lesson after lesson day after day.
So, when I walk by the farm toys, I always hesitate a little and reminisce. I actually had some farm toys when I was a kid, but the toys, as cool as they were, couldn’t really compare with the real thing, can they? When some of my grandkids were here recently, I let them drive my riding mower (heavily supervised, of course, with no blades turning), and they thought it was great. Big happy smiles! When I was their age, I was driving our old Allis Chalmers C. How great is that?
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