Leaving footprints
We had a bad windstorm at the farm a few weeks ago; it resulted in the western end of our machine shed roof being torn off. Honestly, that really wasn’t that much of a surprise. The building was over 50 years old and mostly built out of green sawmill lumber.
That end of the shed was actually our old calf barn complete with a hay loft over half the structure. When we no longer had baby calves to raise, I tore down the front of the barn, removed the loft to convert it from an 18-foot-tall barn into a two-bay machinery shed.
Even before I opened the barn up, there was damage that needed attention. I shored up the middle and outer header and reinforced several rafters. It worked great for a while, but with the increased exposure to the elements the old wood deteriorated faster.
I looked at replacing the roof, thinking that the poles were sound; however, as I razed the damaged shed, I found that the poles were in just as bad shape as the roof. Two of the eight poles I have pulled thus far were rotted off on top of the ground.
The experience made me re-evaluate the remaining four bays of equipment storage and my connected farm shop as well. My conclusion was that the entire building needs replacement. It will take some time and some shuffling around items that need protecting, but I am in full demolition mode!
It is truly a bittersweet season. I wonder what Dad would think about me destroying buildings that he worked so hard to construct… and he did all of the work himself. Of course, dairying was good business in the early- and mid-1970s and he never borrowed a dime to build any of the buildings. Except for the three upright silos, Dad hand-built every structure, including our houses, so they all carry a personal connection with me. I saw each one constructed from grading to finish work.
When we were building the parlor and milk house in the late 1960s, I was Dad’s mortar man as he laid the blocks for the barns. Dad mixed the mortar by hand and my job was to keep the mortar board and blocks stocked as best I could and strike the joints as we completed the runs. I can’t count how many little red cotton gloves I wore out and as I remember the experience, I was good help but, as a 5-year-old, I was likely as much in the way as anything else.
If I was, he never shared that with me; what he did share was his praise. I think that was one of the traits he developed over 25 years as a tractor mechanic and salesman. Praise and appreciation are powerful motivations. I know they were and are for me. The more Dad praised me the harder I worked to be praiseworthy.
Even in his 60s and 70s, Dad believed in doing things himself. Much of the concrete poured in the dairy was mixed using a tractor mounted mixer and was screed and floated by Dad, me and the rest of the crew.
When the machine shed literally blew its top, I moved two tractors up to the old feed barn, one of the final pieces of the dairy we built after I graduated from Tech in 1985. As I retrieved my tractor and loader to help demolish the shed, I noticed one of Dad’s footprints in the concrete. The pattern of the old Tingley boots he wore when he poured concrete was unmistakable.
That concrete is 40 years old. I can’t tell you how many times I cleaned that area when we were milking cows or how many times I rounded that corner in the nearly 30 years since we sold the herd…. I never noticed the footprint until that moment.
Interestingly, his footprint gave me a sense of approval. Dad had left his footprints on the farm and now it was my time to do the same. It will likely be 2027 before the new shop/machine shed is constructed but one thing it will include is my footprint in the concrete for my granddaughter to recognize.
That said, there is a great lesson to be taken from this story. Dad’s footprint in the concrete is cherished because of the impression he made on our hearts, minds, and souls. There are all kinds of ways to leave footprints; the ones you cannot see last longer than concrete.
Upcoming Events
Sept. 22--VQA Sale.
Sept. 24--Smyth Washington Cattlemen Meeting, 4-H Center, Abingdon, 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 25-27--Chilhowie Apple Festival.
Sept. 28--VQA Steer Take Up (tentatively.)
Sept. 30--VQA Heifer Take-Up (tentatively).
Oct. 3--IH Days, Benham, Ky.
Oct. 6--Cattleman Board Meeting
Oct.. 8--OGATA FFA Day.
Oct. 10--Hokie Bugfest, Squires Center, Campus.
Oct. 22--Smyth Washington Cattleman Meeting, 4-H Center, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 3--VQA Sale.
Nov. 9 & 11--VQA Take-Up.
Nov.16 --Private Pesticide License Recertification, 300 Gordondale Road, Atkins, 6 p.m.
Nov. 18--Private Pesticide License Recertification, Office, 8 a.m.
Dr. Andy Overbay is the agriculture and natural resources extension agent for Smyth County.
