A Family Memory From Robert Rachuig

Here is another of Robert Rachuig's memories of his grandparents' (Rube & Huldina Rachuig's) farm.

Joyce and I made a trip to Germany, a few years ago, and one thing we noticed was, compared to the USA, how clean the country side was. It was in that fashion, that my grandparents kept a neat farm.

There was a small trap of about 5 acres (more or less) between the house and the main road. If my grandfather had animals in that little area, on Saturday, he would have the boys gather up all animal droppings, fallen limbs and other trash and dispose of them. He would not have any trash of any kind in this area near the house. The house was located in a large thicket of live oak trees and fallen limbs had to be picked up often.

All of the farm equipment was used with a team of horses and he kept all the equipment in one area along a fence between the house and barn, that was located about one hundred yards from the house. Each piece of equipment had it's place and it was all lined up with an equal distance between each piece. It was all in a straight line and after each piece was used, it was returned to the exact place it came from, or as close as is possible.

When you drove by the place, from the main road, a person could see the cleanliness and the organization of everything. The house and barn were well kept, painted and repaired. Smile - it is no wonder that my father make me pick up around our home place and keep the equipment in the proper place. My grandmother was just as organized in the house. They were just plain all American hard working folks.