“The Good Old Days” -By Tom Kuehne New Life Challenges

You have traveled from Europe to America to claim the homestead that the advertising promised. It has been a long tiresome trip. First your family had to liquidate whatever property and real estate in the old country. The personal property and furnishings needed to be sold and whatever was thought to be needed at the new homestead location needed to be packed for the boat trip, not knowing whether the over-land transportation in America would have the ability to transport all your stuff.

So after a few months of travel, you are finally in Minnesota and are doing the paperwork to get your homestead. Your family was not the first families to claim homesteads, so the most attractive locations had already been claimed. Some homesteads were offered as improved homesteads, which meant that there was a building that could possibly be used as a dwelling on the premises.

If the building already existed or if the homesteader erected a home, the structure usually was lacking the perfection needed to make it weatherproof. The builder needed to use whatever lumber that was available. The lumber was recently cut so it was not cured, so it bent and twisted through the drying process, which made the walls very uneven. The walls and roof were then covered with tar paper to keep out the weather. In a short time the wind tore part of the tar paper off. There was no fiberglass insulation available, so the inside of the outside walls were covered with newspaper. This kept out some of the cold winds, but the stove needed to be working at all times. There were stories about settler families that slept side by side in the straw between the livestock. One problem with the

The Old Hippie Cafe

wood construction was that the new residents probably had little or no experience as a carpenter. Neighbors were willing to help, but they had concerns that needed to be addressed at their own farm.

There were weather regulated schedules that needed to be considered. To meet this schedule, the farmer needed to plant, cultivate and harvest the grains at the proper time. Most homesteaders had very little farm machinery. Usually they had a couple of horses, a wagon and some forks and shovels. They needed to rent or borrow a plow, drag, disk and other equipment at a time when everyone else was using these items.

It is possible that someone in the household had experience canning, salting or pickling the garden products, but not as many could butcher a pig or cow. They depended on others to assist with these tasks. After the meat and garden produce was preserved, where can the homesteader store it? Probably in a hole in the dirt called a cellar. The problem was that there needed to be a structure to store the grain, protect the horses, cows, pigs or chickens. Lots of building projects and not enough time.

Most of the dwellings were extremely small compared to today's standards. I read of many smaller sized houses, usually 10 or 12 feet wide and 14 to 16 feet long. Remembering that these structures needed to serve the needs of a whole family. One bedroom and the rest was probably one room. The early settlers spent more time outside, but maybe a factor to consider was that the house was filled with people. The smallest house was owned by a couple of newly-weds. It was

4 by 8. Think about putting a table and chairs, a couch, a heating stove, a cooking stove, a sink, cupboards, a bed and a dresser, plus the residents in these small areas. Challenges...

For feedback or story ideas, email Tom at tom@swanvilleinsurance.com.

If you need help with Health or Life Insurance or for Senior Health Solutions Contact: Tom Kuehne 320-360-0343

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