Harvest Tales - Finney County 04
Harvest stories submitted by Kansans for the online exhibit, Wheat People.
Submit your own at kshs.kansasmuseum@ks.gov.
Mary Ann Stillings
I Lived in Kansas on a Wheat Farm
I lived in Kansas on a wheat farm that covered a whole section of land. . . . The closest neighbor was about a mile away. Our land was part of the central prairie with a few rolling hills and only had three trees. The only thing you could see was waving wheat fields and sometimes a windmill or a house in the distance. . . .
Our cash crops were wheat, maize, and corn.
Everyone had large farms and all the farmers heped each other, because no one farmer had enough equipment to work the land alone. Whether it was plowing, discing, harrowing, or harvesting, all the farmers gathered at one farm to share in the work. The wives that weren't also working with the men took care of the children and cooked the meals. During the harvest, sometimes the children got to go out to the field and ride the tractors with their fathers. One of the fun things to do was to get in the big trucks and let the grain try to bury you as it came out of the combine. . . .
During the harvest season, normal daily living changed. Besides the normal chores, every activity was centered on harvest.
