It was kind of a shock to go to the file of my mother's "Random Recollections" last week and realize that they were all used. I had thought that there was at least one more. That is why I did not post anything; I had nothing composed in my head ready. So, I guess it is time to tell about my grandfather and his animals.

Most people know the "tune" to "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty!" It is a sustained "here" on a relatively high pitch, followed by, usually, four quick "kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty" on a lower pitch. The similar whistle for a dog of four quick lower-pitch tones followed by a two-pitch rising longer tone is known the world over. (I even heard it on a TV program about the dogs of the primitive New Guinea bush people. One of the aboriginal men used it to call his dog.) Those are the only animal calls most people know nowadays. But my grandfather knew others and, I suspect, most other farmers of his day did, also.

Whenever most people appeared in the fields and pastures, any livestock there would run away from them. But my Grampa Thompson could just stand at the gate to the pasture and call, "Shee-eep! Shee-eep! Shee-eep!" on a rising inflection and his sheep would come running to him as fast as they could. (That could be scary to a small child standing next to him.) The hogs would come to "Soo-ey! Pig-pig-pig-pig!" The "soo" syllable was on a middle pitch with the "-ey" much higher and the "pig-pig-pig-pig" the lowest. And the cattle came to "Hey, boss! Hey, boss! Hey, boss!" with the "hey" very high and the "boss" much lower pitched. I suspect that he also had a call for his horses, but they were gone before I could learn it. Perhaps he just called them by their names, but there might have been a traditional horse call, too.

The hog and cow calls are related to their Latin names (suis and bos) and I believe they have been in use at least since Roman times. It is amazing to think of the generations of shepherds and cowherds using the same "tunes" to communicate with their flocks and herds for thousands of years. Probably there were animal calls even before there was Roman language, too.

By the way, my grandfather's sheep were often pastured right next to the fence dividing his farm from the Peterson farm to the south. When the Peterson sheep were near that fence, they did not try to come to my grandfather's call; they knew their own shepherd's voice. He might use the same "tune" but it was not the right voice, so they stayed where they were.

Random Recollections IX

10/21/08

IX

My dad always liked the Thompson relatives who mostly lived in and around Albert Lea, but he especially enjoyed contact with his mother’s people who had moved from Albert Lea to Rockford, Iowa and later on, after his mother died, to the Muscatine, Iowa area. His uncle, Earl, lived in Des Moines and was always a welcome guest whenever he would visit. He was a brakeman on the Rock Island Railroad and my dad had always wanted to work on the railroad rather than be a farmer.
After Grandpa Thompson died in 1941 my dad applied to the railroad, but was told he was too old (52). I’m sure he felt good about the fact that he stayed on the farm and helped his dad as he was asked to do, but he never got to do the work he wanted so much to do. He learned to be a good farmer; he was especially good at predicting the weather which is an important aspect of growing and harvesting crops. He was very good to his animals and used work horses until the late 1930’s when he purchased a tractor for field work.

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I plan to do a whole blog on my grandfather's relationship with his animals. It was amazing to me, but probably seemed normal to other farmers. I was fascinated by his tractor, too. It was so very loud--no mufflers on tractors--and open to everything. Often he would invite a grandchild or two to stand by him as he sat on the seat and drove out to the fields. It was exciting, but did not feel safe to me. I know now that it was not at all safe and I would not allow my children to do it, if they had had the opportunity. Still, I survived, didn't I?

Random Recollections VIII

The only time I remember being baby-sat was when I was about ten years old and Mom and Dad were taking a trip to Muscatine, Iowa. It may have been that they were going for a funeral or maybe just a visit with Dad’s mother’s relatives. They sent me across the road to stay with Edmund and Sylvia Nelson and their daughter Ruth. Edmund was one of my mother’s brothers. My brother Bob and some of my cousins called Edmund, “The Bear.” He was not very approachable to say the least. Sylvia was a lovely lady and I knew Ruth from going to school with her even though she was four years older than I. I remember being a little undecided about whether or not I like staying with them for several days and especially the several nights.

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I need to do more research about that branch of the family in Muscatine. I did not know about them before. There is so much I do not know!

Random Recollections VII

I do not know why we went to Mason City, Iowa, but Mom and Dad and I drove down there one sunny day. I either sat on my mother’s lap or on the seat between Mom and Dad. We came to an intersection where, for some reason, Dad couldn’t stop in time and we rear-ended the car in front of us. My head went into the windshield and I got a small cut on the top of my head. I still have a bald spot (scar) on my head where the hair has not grown since the accident!

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I always wondered how she got that little scar. It did not show much, but once in a while her hair blew around enough or something and I knew it was there.

Random Recollections VI

10/01/08

I’m not sure of the season, but I came down with scarlet fever which at that time meant I had to be quarantined, so Dad, Bob and Bill went to stay with Grandpa and Aunty Mabel across the garden and Mom and I had to stay in the little house alone for the six weeks of quarantine.
Everything I played with or used during that time had to be thoroughly disinfected or burned. I had paper workbooks from school that I enjoyed using while we were quarantined and my mother simply defied the rules and did not burn one of them. It was not like her to break the rules, but she knew the book was important to me so she saved it and it is still in my possession!

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I am not sure where to look for that book, but I hope we come across it when we sort the rest of her stuff. Do you know how scarlet fever is spread? I don't, but maybe I will research it. I wonder whether that quarantine was effective.

Random Recollections V

09/24/08

V

"During my early grade school years and before, the teacher at our little country school lived during the week with Grandpa and Aunty Mabel.
I suppose because of having two older brothers I was able to read and write before I was old enough to go to school. I’m sure the school board or somebody with the proper authority must have given consent, because I was allowed to start first grade in the spring of the same year I should have started in the following September. Jerry Flugum had been in grade one all year and they passed me along with him into second grade that fall. I remained a year ahead of other students my age and never thought much about it until I reached high school and wanted to date and go places like my classmates. Sometimes I was told I was too young to keep up with them socially and I would argue that I kept up with them in class and felt I should be allowed to keep up with them socially as well."

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Does that sound like, "I am sixteen years old and just as stubborn as you are"?

Here is more evidence for the foolishness of "lock-step" grades in teaching people. It is what you know and can learn, not how old you are, that matters.

Random Recollections V