OVER MY SHOULDER

Last evening, as we were out walking in the late evening, I detected wood smoke in the cool evening air. It reminded me of when I was much younger and on the farm where many of us heated with wood---and sometimes coal. I recall that it was about this time of the year----when most of the fall farm work was completed--except for the regular daily chores.

Usually most of the corn had been either shucked or was in the shock waiting to be shucked and the stocks fed as ‘fodder’ to the livestock. The kafircorn was all in the shock waiting for the heads to be removed with the header that would be mounted on the wagon box and for the remaining part of the bundle to be fed to the livestock---again as ‘fodder’.

Of course the garden, except maybe for the turnips, parsnips and a few winter onions was all gone. Probably the chicken house had been cleaned out for the winter and the chicken roosts had been treated one more time for mites prior to cold weather.

It was about this time that Dad would start looking to the timber for the winter’s wood. Usually, we had a ‘continuing’ wood pile so that there would be some dry wood for the cook stove and heating stove at all times, but the pile had to be added to periodically, so as to keep an adequate supply.

I remember Dad spending several hours hand filing the crosscut saw, and grinding the double bit axe on the ‘treadle’ grindstone. The grindstone was mounted on a metal frame, with a seat on it and one turned the stone by ‘pedaling’ the foot treadles. Our grindstone had a can with a hole in the bottom hung on a metal rod above the stone. The can would be filled with water, so as to drip or run down on the stone as it turned. I can remember that it was much fun to just set on the seat and pedal the stone---even when nothing was being sharpened.

Once the axes, crosscut, and wedges were all sharpened, we would take the team and wagon to the timber----as I became older, we had a small tractor in place of the team. The wagon was only the ‘running gears’ of the wagon---as the wagon box had been removed, which would allow the stacking of the poles between the wagon standards. Nearly all of the wood would be cut and stacked in a large pile as ‘poles’----waiting to be sawed into stove wood lengths.

I can recall the great fun in the timber. Before I was large enough to be of ‘much use’ to the wood cutting crew, we boys would explore while Dad and anyone who was helping or cutting wood with him would cut trees. We always had Corky with us to look after us, and to chase the rabbits into rock piles and brush piles or to tree the squirrels. Dad usually had a fire going---sometimes to burn the brush and sometimes I suspect to assist the boys in keeping warm.

It was fun to watch Dad ‘select’ the trees that were to be cut----as I recall, the favorite ones were ash, hickory, and red elm. If the tree was not too large, Dad would cut it with the axe----my could he make the chips fly---it seemed that he could cut a tree 8 or 9 inches through at the base with only 8 or 10 licks of the axe. The larger trees, were usually cut down with the crosscut saw. In either event, I was always amazed that the tree would fall exactly where Dad wanted it to fall.

Usually one could determine where the tree was to fall by judging the balance of the weight in the tree, chopping a notch on the side to which it was to fall, then sawing or chopping the tree off from the opposite side. If it were a large tree, it might be necessary to ‘drive’ a wedge into the saw cut behind the crosscut saw to make the saw run freer, and to encourage the tree to fall where you wanted it.

Once the tree was on the ground, Dad would start at the base trimming the limbs from the trunk of the tree---most limbs would require only one ‘lick’ for his sharp axe---I can recall ‘hacking’ away at some of those limbs and it would take me multiple licks to remove the limb. The limbs would all be stacked in a brush pile---with all of the butt ends pointed in the same direction.

Once trimmed, the poles would be cut to a length that two men could handle it, and loaded on the wagon. When the wagon was loaded with all that could be loaded, or with all that the wagon and team could handle, the load would be chained and boomed down to haul to the house. Usually when we went to the timber, we would take a sack lunch and stay all day---leaving the poles that could not be gotten on the load to be hauled another day.

Once all of the poles were hauled to the house, one of the neighbors who had a ‘buzz’ saw would announce a ‘wood sawing day’. Those neighbors who had pole wood to saw up would gather, and help each other saw everyone’s wood to stove length. The Buzz saw was a large circular saw that was in a mounting that mounted to the front of a tractor, or a home made frame that would have an old engine of some kind to power the saw. ---Later, we had a saw that mounted on the back of our A-Farmall. The saw was powered by a wide (6 -10 inch) belt that ran from the tractor or engine pulley to the pulley on the saw.

Once set up at the pole wood pile, two or three men would carry the pole to the saw, placing one end on the small platform in front of the saw, and feeding or rolling it into the saw, cutting it to the desired length. There was also one man who would do the ‘off bearing’---(catching the length of wood that had been cut off and throwing it on the wood pile). I can still hear the ‘whirling’ of that big old saw, and hear the ring as it would be released each time that it would cut through the pole.

Once one pole pile was cut, the entire crew would move to the next neighbor and continue the process until all the pole piles in the neighborhood had been cut into stove wood lengths. Some of the lengths of wood would be large enough that the owner would have to split them before they could be put into the stove. In some cases this could be done with an axe, but in other cases, it would require a wedge and a maul. As we boys got older the spitting often became our chore, as did carrying the wood into the wood box on the porch.

Cutting wood had its dangers---the old buzz saw would not meet today’s OSHA standards, as the blade had no guard on--top or bottom, and nothing to prevent someone from falling or slipping into the blade. I can recall that as it ran, the speed, noise and power as it cut through those logs made it a little scary to me. I recall one of Dad’s uncle (I believe it was uncle Wiley Brock) died at about the age of 34 of blood poisoning from an injury that he sustained when he cut his foot with an axe while cutting wood.

I was in high school, before I was allowed to work near or around the buzz saw, except to be on the ‘far end’ of the pole being fed into the saw. I recall that I was not very big however before I was ‘allowed---even encouraged’ to work on one end of a cross cut saw, and was not very big when I started trimming with an axe.

I still burn wood in my fireplace and in a stove in my shop, and each year, my sons, grand children and I find our way to the farm and cut wood for my stove and the fireplaces-----the main difference is that we use a chain saw to do all of the cutting, and rarely use an axe. Cutting wood is good therapy----you are in the timber, usually it is a cool fall day, and there is a sense of accomplishment when the pickup is loaded ----of course ones physical comfort in the house does not depend upon the activity as it did when I was a youngster.

P.S.

Occasionally, someone (often me) would ‘overstrike’ with the axe or the maul, and break the handle---often Dad would select a good straight piece of hickory, take it home and make a new handle. He would first cut it to length, then ‘rough’ it out with a hand axe or hatchet, then place it in a vise and shape it with a draw knife and wood rasp----finally finishing and smoothing it by scrapping it with a piece of glass that had come form a broken window or bottle. As I recall, Dad used the same process to make wagon tongues, single tree, double trees, hammer handles and hatchet handles.

Grand Dad Murrow (Mom’s Dad) made axe and maul handles for sale. He had a special talent for such activities. He also made wooden spoons, sock darning ‘blocks’ (of which I have 3 or 4), hammer handles, chisel handles, butter paddles and such.

I have an old grand stone in the attic of our house.