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SEGMENT: CROPS, FARMING DURING WWII, & FARMHOUSE

Dr. Edward Runge>LPL Interviews N-Z>LPL Interviews K-Z, Segment 5

SEGMENT: CROPS, FARMING DURING WWII, & FARMHOUSE,

duration 10:53
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AUTOMOBILE
First car was 1928 Chevy. A trip to St. Louis of 100 miles was a big deal.
FARMING DURING WWII
Tires were scarce. Used coupons to buy tires at Gephardt's store in Vandalia. Tractors were on steel wheels. Allis-Chalmers came out with rubber tires in the late 1930s. There was enough gas around to run the farm. Stored in barrels.
FARMHOUSE
Had no indoor plumbing at home or school. Wore overalls.
CROPS
Redtop (Agrostis gigantea Roth) was a grass seed crop that produced very small seeds that they sold. Used the hay. Grew oats for the horses. Wheat was substantial. Eighty acres of corn. No soybeans until after the war. Rotation was to control weeds and fertility. Used manure on corn. Put some fertilizer on wheat. Bought fertilizer when in St. Louis to sell pigs. Picked and shucked by hand. First picker mounted on International 2ME Farm-All Tractor. Shucked in the fall, stored in the ear, made silo with machete-type cutters. Used a sled with angled blade down a row to cut it faster.