Chester Chatter: Left on a right-sided farm
Ruthie Douglas | Jan 24, 2022 | Comments 0
By Ruthie Douglas
©2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC
He offered me a Ford tractor, which he called “the easiest one on the farm to learn.” After a short lesson, he reminded me that if I wanted to stop quickly I needed to press in the clutch. Don went to open the gate and I started driving the tractor down the slope … faster and faster and faster, til I remembered to step on the clutch. But that didn’t stop the tractor as I headed down toward the fence.
Don started to yell, “Step on the brake.” It was a suggestion I gladly would have taken, if he had told me where that brake was located. The fence, needless to say, suffered a bit of damage.
Within a couple of weeks, I was in control of that darn tractor. And “my boss” asked me to tedder the hay while he finished milking. I tackled that important assignment, driving around and around that 5-acre field. What a beautiful job I was doing and I was certain that Don would be in awe.
Of course, that circle I created left me and my little Ford tractor stuck in the middle of my job, surrounded by beautifully teddered hay.
But that wasn’t what made Don unhappy. Our baler was made to pick up hay on the right-hand side but my left-handed ways meant that the field was teddered for left-handed equipment.
That evening, my housewife role kicked in as I made Don a large bowl of popcorn and a pitcher of lemonade. These helped to put this lefty back on the right side of my farmer husband once again.
Scene and heard
This past Saturday, a large crowd of people participated in a corn hole tournament at the American Legion. The legion is planning to have another tournament on March 5.How beautiful is our town even in the dead of winter? And some people are even getting ready for Valentine’s Day.
I want to thank everyone for the wonderful good wishes as I am recovering from surgery. They all warmed my heart. Thank you!
Filed Under: Chester Chatter • Community and Arts Life
