OMG, I'm an Antique!

I have developed quite an interest in the photos that men post on "silvermatch". If you are just discovering this blog, check out my riff on fish photos. A couple of days ago, I came across a really interesting photo: an attractive man standing beside this strange very large machine. The more I looked, the curiouser I became. Finally I sent off one of my "this is not a flirt" messages and asked if the machine was a steam tractor. This very nice man, whose privacy I shall preserve, responded and said he didn't mind a chat. The machine is indeed a steam tractor, in fact, it is a 1895 Russell and he introduced me to the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum (www.agsem.com)located in Vista, California, that's in northern San Diego county.

This little museum is a great place for anyone who is interested in steam engines, a terrific place to take your family or yourself if you have an interest in how America lived at the turn of the century. Situated on 55 acres, there is a complete farm along with educational programs showing the process of food preparation from harvest to table. In the "Farmhouse" they show how a family lived with kerosene lamps, ice boxes, foot treadle sewing machine and more. This weekend they are having their 33rd Spring Tractor Show. There is camping and live entertainment. In March you will find a Civil War Reenactment event, complete with a visit by President Lincoln and a presentation of the Gettysburg Address.

Reading the descriptions made me smile and gasp! There was one year in my life when my stepfather had the idea that he wanted to join his family who were farmers in Ohio and Michigan. He left the Army and packed us off on this new adventure. We lived in a summer cottage on a small lake. This means that it was only intended for summer use and we lived there for nearly a year. There was electricity in the cottage but the "facility" was a chemical toilet outside in a tiny outhouse. Ugh! I walked about a mile every day with other children to a one room school house (grades one thru six). My lunch was carried in a cloth bag and included a bottle of milk that I cooled in the creek behind the school house. Yes, there were two outhouses. I was left handed which was most inconvenient with the long shared tables. The teacher reacted by striking my hand with a hickory stick until I could no long write left handed and had to learn to use my right hand. Well, that was then and this is now!

I have good memories of that time. Watching men cut ice from the frozen lake, loading it on a large horse pulled sleigh to be stored in the local ice house. This same ice was delivered to our little cottage and placed in the ice box to cool our food. I wandered the woods around the lake and found the first wild violets of spring that I picked for my mother. One of the neighbors had a pet raccoon and we had so much fun with him. I had the experience of living a simple life in tune with the seasons.

While my mother was in the hospital having my brother, I stayed on one of the family farms. There was a crank phone on the wall. No dial, you picked up the hearing cup, rotated the crank on the side and when the operator answered, you told her who you wanted to call. She placed the call by sending a series of rings to the phone of the other person. Each phone on the system has their own ring. One long, two shorts or any combination. Sitting in your home when the phone rang you knew who was being called. If you were a a nosy neighbor,you might (every so carefully)lift the receiver and ease drop on the conversation.

The farmhouse had a well with a hand pump. You carried a pitcher or pan of water out to the pump and poured the water (prime) down the throat. Then you pumped like hell and the prime pulled the water up from the well and into your bucket. When you had enough, you simply stopped pumping. I remember walking out to the fields with lunch for my stepfather. Sometimes I would get to ride on the tractor. It was great fun to perch up behind him and watch the plow turn the deep rich brown earth.

At the end of a year, my parents decided to return to military and life in the mid 1940's. Army life had its hardships but it also had a modern,up to date lifestyle.

So back to the Vista museum. As I read the descriptions of the educational programs, I realized I have experienced much of what they are teaching. Then it hit me: OMG I am an antique!!

No, I'm not giving Bogiebx up for a Ford fliver and I plan to continue full speed down the highway of life looking for my last love. I just may take a few detours along the way. Thank you, new friend, for your introduction to the museum and helping to prime the pump of memory.

On the road again...