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035
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Transcription
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DEEP SNOW
It was April 1922, and the day dawned bright and clear. It was like many other April mornings in Western Nebraska. It had been warmer than usual for April and much of the ground preparation for planting, was finished. This year Dad is seeding alfalfa with the oat crop. The oats will be harvested in August and the alfalfa would continue to grow and be a crop for several years to come.
The planting was done with an 8 foot grain drill pulled by four horses. The alfalfa seed was placed in a small hopper, along side the big hopper that held the oats. and will be seeded at the same time. All went well the first day in the field. The second day began with another bright morning, but by noon the sky was gray and cloudy. By the middle of the after noon it began to snow. With in an hour there was so much snow on the ground that I had to quit. I unhitched the team and went home. By nightfall there was six inches of snow. There was no wind and everything was covered with a white blanket.
The next morning it was still snowing. The grain drill that I had been using was so well covered that all I could see above the snow, was the seat, and the top of the hopper. There was still no wind, this was not like Western Nebraska. There was nothing we could do in the field, but now we had a new problem. Dad was a horse breeder and foals were arriving. We had to spend all day getting them into dry quarters. It was necessary to scoop enough snow to get the herd to feed and water. There was now 3 feet of soft white snow on the ground, and still snowing.
Monday morning arrived, the third day of the snow. An emergency telephone call, a series of rings, announced that there would be no school today. I was feeling good about everything, because this would be a vacation. It wasn't long before the phone rang again, this time it was two longs and two shorts, that was our ring. Dad got up from the breakfast table to answer. He talked for some time, and from the tone of his voice I knew that something was not good. I heard him say, "I can send him over, but I am not sure that he can get there." HIM meant me, and I didn't want to go anywhere.
Dad came back to the table and sat down. I was afraid to start the conversation, so I said nothing. Finally, what seemed ages to me, he said, "Dawes Forbes is sick and in bed. He can't get his cattle to feed or water and he wants you to help him for a few days." I didn't want to go any where, above all things, I didn't want to go to work for Dawes Forbes. I got along with him, but he always called me KID, and I didn't like to be called KID.
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Metzger Memories
