Down on Grandpa’s farm and into Grandma’s kitchen

Where have all the years gone since my youth on Grandpa’s farm? My paternal grandfather rented out most of his 40-acre farm after World War II was over to a “reformed” Amishman. This next door neighbor then planted his wheat, corn and soybeans in rotation to confuse the worms and insects.

It was an educational experience to watch the seeds being sown and see them sprout into young plants and grow to harvest time. It was an experience that no public school could teach a young country boy back 70 some years past.

One beautiful fall month when the corn was harvested, several dozen sandhill cranes landed in one of the fields, where they began to devour the corn the picker missed. Slowly and quietly I walked within 50 yards of these majestic birds and snapped some fairly close photos of them.

I recall one warm summer when the wheat heads became ripe. We kids would pick several heads just before the kernels became hard. Rubbing heads around in our palms to extract the “treats” inside, we’d then blow away the chaff and found ourselves left with homemade chewing gum. Not big on taste, if there was any, but sufficient for a child’s generic chew. Trouble was, you couldn’t blow bubbles.

An almost endless list of memories are stored in the recesses of my mind: chasing winter rabbits in the old apple orchard, chattering with the squirrels as they gathered their fall walnuts and then scampered up Grandpa’s black walnut trees, not to forget the boundless gifts of all seasons that were free for the eyes and nose to enjoy.

Any information welcome to: Dr. Greg Lawson, 1801 E. 3rd St., Mishawaka, IN 46544. Lawson is a long-time writer laureate of area history and human interest stories.

Pesky persistent pain

More than 25 million Americans deal with some level of pain every day, according to the Alliance for Aging Research.

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Discuss this matter seriously with your primary care physician, who may even refer you to a specialist if the situation requires.

You may turn to over-thecounter medications, which are