Thankful for the modern day stove. http://thefarmersmuseum.blogspot.com/2010/12/cutting-firewood-preparing-for-winter.html
Nice story. Hope to read more of them. Says a lot about who we are and how we came to be. Many of us have retuned to our roots our grandparents laid down. I feel much better about having more control of my personal space and life style.
Nice story. In years past before I put in the woodburner I probably burned 200-300 gallons of oil. I cant imagine using 5000 gallons today. Thanks for the link.
Yeah, that was a great story, sort of a history lesson from the days of old. I cannot imagine cutting 40 cords by hand.
There were 4 chimneys at our old farm, many years ago. 2 were in the el with 1 flue ea, and 2 in the big colonial section with 2 flues each. 1 cookstove closest to the woodshed and 5 heater stoves, all from the late 1800 era. (No flue liners, of course, don't know how the place didn't burn flat) I can only imagine what feeding those old stoves, every 3-4 hours, was like. Diaries that we have tell the story of work. All the time. Life depended on it. No surprise to any of us, wood prep was year round and every day available, and of course, all by hand. Add to that, cutting ice out of the brook in the winter and haying in the summer… not a lot of time back then to post on the FHC forum I'm guessing. 1920… Dad told me (at 9 yrs old) that his mother would have him go out in the barn to get a block of ice in July/Aug, when it was 90 degrees. He'd dig it out of a 16'x16'x12' deep bin of saw dust and it would look exactly like it did when it was stored in Feb. Said that always surprised him… it amazes me… still. As I grow older, I miss his stories more every day. If you're lucky enough to have your Dad in your life, get all of his stories you can. You'll be glad you heard every single one…
According to the article wood sold for $6 a cord mid 19th century. That equals 165 in today's dollars. ETA (if you believe the gov't inflation numbers)
My great grand dad worked the woods in Nova Scotia. He feel victim to a kick back in a saw mill about age 50. He had large number of children. Life was tough. I look at the old pictures and wonder how they ever survived at all.
Unfortunately, your great grand dad's life was cut too short by today's standards, but I'll bet he was an old man then. If a man made it thru his 40's, it was practically a miracle, especially in the logging world. My Dad was born in 1911, and he passed in 1990. I asked him once, what was the biggest advancement in any field, that he saw in his life. He said "medical, without question".
Here's an old historical video of 1940's Winter Logging in Canada. (at 7 min wait til you see the Hoarder's Dream)
I could watch stuff like this all day… sure wish the quality was better, but it's surprising that anyone back in the 40s even thought to film all of this stuff. Now, everyone does it 24/7… back then, they were too busy working. The 2 man saw clips really drive home how much work is saved by a super sharp blade. A few times… they didn't look too sharp and the crew paid for it. Musta made for a very long day.
