Rural Heritage June/July 2025

HASTE TEAMSTER CLINIC•BIG SKY EXPO PREVIEW•COWBOY'S LAST RIDE•BARN RAISING

Jun/Jul 2025

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VOLUME 50

JUNE/JULY 2025

NUMBER 3

Editor/Publisher Joe Mischka editor@ruralheritage.com Advertising ad@ruralheritage.com Editing Susan Blocker Subscriber Services subscribe@ruralheritage.com Regular Contributors Jenifer Morrissey Ralph J. Rice

Departments

5 Publisher's Post 64 Business Spotlight ix Four Bonus Pages 78 J.C. Allen Archives 85 Associations

90 My Card 95 Calendar of Events 96 Breeder's Directory 97 RH on RFD-TV

Anne & Eric Nordell Danielle Londrigan Jerry Hicks Dick Courteau

RURAL HERITAGE ™ (ISSN 0889-2970) is published bimonthly. Periodical postage is paid at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and additional mailing offices. ©2025 Mischka Press. All rights reserved; reproduction of any material in this publication without written permission is prohibited. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $34.95 for one year in the USA and possessions; US$58.00 for one year in Canada, US$83.00 overseas. POSTMASTER send PS Form 3579 to: RURAL HERITAGE PO Box 1096 Cedar Rapids IA 52406-1096 CONTRIBUTORS: We welcome manuscripts, photographs, and drawings for possible publication. Email submissions are preferred. Guidelines are available on our website. Rural Heritage 3421 Mount Vernon Road Cedar Rapids IA 52403-3736 (319) 362-3027 www.ruralheritage.com

3 Cover Photo and Above: Dave and Sas Waldron of Pomeroy, Wash., drill wheat at the Palouse Empire Threshing Bee grounds in Colfax, Wash., in April 2025. — Rural Heritage Photos Features 8 Bob’s New Forecart...................................................... Bob Erickson 18 Timber Frame Barn ..................................................... Joe Mischka i Four Bonus Pages 24 Lessons Learned from an Old Timer............ Jacqueline Courteau 30 What an Affair................................................................ Ralph Rice 34 Cowboy’s Last Ride........................................................ Joe Mischka v Four Bonus Pages 40 Westport Carriage Museum ................................ Valerie Kirkwood 48 Palouse Empire Planting............................................... Joe Mischka 54 The Mares — Part 1.......................................................... Jerry Hicks 58 Mower/Cultivator Rendezvous.................................... Donn Hewes 68 Big Sky Expo Preview.................................................... Joe Mischka 74 Disposition and Heart ..................................................Joe Mischka

June/July 2025

The next issue will be the Aug/Sep 2025 edition which goes to press early July. Contributor and Advertiser Deaadlines for the next issue are June 20, 2025. Your Subscription We want you to enjoy uninterrupted service to your favorite magazine, Rural Heritage . If you have any questions you may contact us by: email:subscribe@ruralheritage.com; Cedar Rapids IA 52406 Remember, magazines are not automatically forwarded after an address change. The US Postal Service not only destroys your magazine but charges us for the notification. An issue lost because of failure to report an address change will not be replaced for free. We publish 6 issues per year: Jan 15 (Feb/Mar) Mar 15 (Apr/May) May 15 (Jun/Jul) Jul 15 (Aug/Sep) Sep 15 (Oct/Nov) Nov 15 (Dec/Jan) The US Postal System takes as long as 18 days to deliver to some areas, so please be patient. To Canada can take as long as 4 weeks and to overseas as long as 6 weeks. The expiration date above your name on your mailing label represents the abbreviated month and last two digits of the year: JAN26, for example, represents January 2024. If you renew within 25 days of the next issue date (July 5 for the Aug/Sep issue, for instance) you will get the next issue in the mail. If you miss that deadline you will need pay extra postage to get the missed issue. phone: (319) 362-3027 or mail: Rural Heritage PO Box 1096

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Publisher's Post M any of you have already learned of my dad’s passing April 13, 2025. I have written about him over the years in this column. When the Draft Horse Journal did a feature article on him and my mother, Bob and Mary Mischka, many years back, I recall the then editor and publisher Lynn Telleen telling me he likes to print tributes while people are still alive, rather than after they’ve passed. I am glad to have written about my dad in time for him to have read it. As this will likely be the last time I cover the same ground, I ask your indulgence. My dad had been, by far, the most influential person in my life. My mother passed away in July 1997 at a horse show in New England. Few days go by that I don't think of her: transplanting snapdragons in the flower beds, baking bread, cooking hearty dinners and canning homegrown vegetables in the kitchen. She was always intrested in her five boys, encouraging each of us to be individuals, cultivating our interests and passions. My dad, however, spent most of his time working rather than getting close to his sons. He tended to be quiet and generally eschewed social gatherings and events. I recall many times when we would have company, my father would be in the field or barn taking care of something he said couldn’t wait. Since his passing, many people have told me he was the hardest-working person they knew. More than anything else, that has been his hallmark. He worked

hard at every job he had — first at United States Steel in Pittsburgh, then at Norwood Mills in Janesville, Wis., and Tymar in Beloit, Wis., before starting his own publishing business with the first draft horse calendar in 1980. He (and my mother) later published a dozen or so coffee-table and reference books on draft and carriage horses and mules, many of which we continue to sell today. They started a mule calendar and, later, a driving horse calendar. After my mother's death, I joined the family business and worked with my dad for about 10 years before my wife, Susan, and I bought him out and moved the business to Iowa. He continued taking photos for the calendars for many more years and later began a local sports photography career. He and my brother, Peter, were on the road most weeknights and weekends taking photos of whatever high school sports were in season. I always told him he took better photos than some photographers shooting pro sports. It wasn't until he died and I began following his end of-life directions, putting his affairs in order, that I began to realize the impact he’d had in Walworth County. Just about every person I spoke with — from the funeral home director, to the teller at the bank, from a local estate attorney to the cemetery administrator — told me about photos they had at home of their children in high school sports, or , just as often, photos of themselves when they were in high school years ago. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The same is true of the carriage horse community. And the draft horse world. I don't know how many horse photos he took over the years, but I would guess it was north of 50,000. In the days of film, he would have duplicate

Bob Mischka driving a unicorn hitch of mares with my late brother, Justin, riding beside him.

Bob Mischka plowing with three of his mares.

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prints made of each roll of film and mail out the copies to the people pictured. Partly to encourage them to buy a bigger print, but also because he wanted them to have them. He would say, “When we showed horses we always enjoyed seeing photos of ourselves. Here are some photos I took of your entry at last week’s show.” Because he was there taking only photos, and not interviewing anyone for a story, he would stay in the background. Many people have told me they were surprised to see his photos of them because they did not know he was there. But he was there, always the quiet man behind the camera. Always showing up and always working hard. A celebration of life gathering will be held at Cravath Lakefront Community Center, 341 Fremont St., Whitewater WI 53190, from 1-4 pm Saturday July 19. ° ° ° ° I n my last column, I described some of the economic realities faced by magazines like ours. In essence, the challenge is to keep our content affordable despite rising production costs. We're trying something new with this issue, the June/July 2025 edition. Nothing is changed with the print version. It has the same specs as the April/May issue before it. However, the companion

The digital edition includes photos that, when clicked, pop up to play a video.

A digital edition subscriber may read 14 years of back issues and search across all of them.

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Page numbers in red on the digital edition indicate bonus content not included on the print edition.

charging $22.75 for the digital edition, and $44.95 for both. In addition to the bonus content and linked videos, a digital edition subscription also includes access to digital versions of 84 back issues The digital edition is available 10 days before the print issue mails. It is specially formatted to work well on computer screens, tablets or smart phones so you can have the latest Rural Heritage in your pocket wherever you go. If you don't have cell service there, you can download a PDF file of the issue ahead of time to view anytime you like. So, visit ruralheritage.com and look over the free sample issue in digital format and if you like what you see, consider subscribing. You can do that on the website, too. Or just call us at 319-362-3027 most weekdays and we’ll take your order over the phone and explain how to access your subscription. –jm

digital edition has an additional 12 pages of content and links to vidoes that augment the photos. For example, we have a story by Bob Erickson about a new forecart he designed and built. Some of the points he makes in the story, and that we tried to illustrate with photos, are best presented in video. In the digital edition, you can click on photos that have a "play" icon and watch a video that even better illustrates the subject. Other videos are designed to augment the viewer experience by including audio and video of the activity pictured. So you can have a chance to try it, we are offering the June/July digital edition at no charge. Simply point your web browser at ruralheritage.com and click on the “Sample Digital Edition” button. Our aim is to provide bonus content in the digital edition while leaving the print issue alone and leaving the price at $34.95 for one year (6 issues). We are

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57"

52"

12"

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Bob’s New Forecart

by Bob Erickson S everal of us old geezers just finished three days hauling firewood out of the woods at Tim Christopher’s place in Iowa. This was the best opportunity I’ve had to field test the arch function on my forecart. Loads were not heavy, but, typical of NE Iowa, conditions were steep, rough and narrow. The cart worked as well as I hoped, having previously tested it for field work and training a colt. Winter is motivating me to sit indoors to record some of its features and proportions. Multi-purpose tools immediately appeal to my sense of efficiency. Actual field testing, however, has often dampened my initial enthusiasm. Any hassle in changing from one function to the other quickly irritates me. Often, features necessary for one use interfere with the other use, making both awkward. Two dedicated tools usually suit me better. I have a single purpose log arch that allows my small pair to easily carry small tie logs entirely off the ground. Young colts are started in an ultralight cart that is very easy for them to pull and back. Neither of these is useful hauling crooked branched firewood nor for general fieldwork. Luckily, a utility forecart, a firewood arch and a second, slightly heavier training cart are all so similar that multi-purpose efficiency tempted me. My pair of jennies are 55 inches tall weighing 700 pounds each. Everything on this cart is made to fit them. A tongue 6 inches longer would accommodate mammoth donkeys, Fjords or Haflingers. The Cart The basic cart frame is made from steel square tube and black pipe. The deck is the usual expanded metal, which gives good traction while shedding mud. The overall length is 52 inches. The width is 57 inches with 12 inches of ground clearance. Narrow carts are a big advantage in the woods, but this is as narrow as I dare go to maintain stability. Some drivers like to sit

centered on the axle. My preference, especially with a team that is not too tall, is to sit to one side at 45 degrees so that I can watch both the team and the load easily. One of my pet peeves is any bolt, lever or other obstruction on the surface of the deck that can snag my lines. There are none on this deck. Line holders on the front standard get used whenever I walk away from the team for a few seconds, but they do not stick up to snag the lines when I slide them from side to side. Ordinary utility trailer tires with tubes and 5-pound pressure give me an excellent ride over the bumps and stumps in the woods. They are very squishy and much less bouncy and expensive than springs. For any use of a cart, an angled brace slanting back to the outside directly in front of the wheels is a safety must. It will help prevent hooking a tire on an obstruction and together with fenders will largely keep the lines from running under a tire. Extra long lines are often useful on a young pair learning to stand. There is a 2½-by-2½-inch socket immediately inside and in front of each stub axle. These sockets have a centered, vertical ½-inch hole. The drawbar and log arch have matching holes. Changing over is The line holders on the top bar of the rail do not extend up and so won't interfere with the regular use of the lines, but allow the teamster to slide the lines beneath the rod angling down and may be wedged into the tapered space on the left.

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as simple as pulling two 3/8-inch pins and dropping them back in. If your holes don’t match up perfectly drill them a size larger. They don’t need to be tight. You want the pins to drop right in. A drawbar directly between the stub axles on a general-purpose cart is a fairly standard feature for hooking implements, but it would be directly in the way of lifting the end of a stick with the arch. To be secure, a slip hook chain must be attached at least a little way back from the front end of the stick or log. The stick must then be lifted from far enough back so that its end doesn’t catch under the drawbar. Lifting and pulling from that far back will tend to pull the neck yoke up under your team’s jaws. More tongue weight will hold it down but also adds to the risk of sore withers during general use. A fairly simple solution is to build the rear 12 inches of the deck into one piece with the drawbar. When this drawbar is removed it can be replaced with an arch and winch to be mounted a few inches in front of the stub axles. There is still room to lift a stick clear from the frame. Seat and front standard heights need to fit your anatomy. When training a colt, a second seat is nice for your helper. The Tongue The seven vehicles or implements in my shed all need tongues. Waaay too many poles sticking out in all directions. However, each vehicle has a socket made from 2 1/2-inch square steel tube with a 3/16-inch wall thickness and about 8 inches long. A 2-inch by 2-inch square steel tongue will slide easily into these sockets. One tongue fits them all. Eighth-inch thick

The deck of the forecart angles out as it approaches the wheels and fenders, allowing obstacles to be pushed aside rather than run under the wheels.

The toolbar is part of the rear 12 inches of the deck which can be removed when the forecart is fitted with log skidding equipment, thereby eliminating it as an obstruction when lifting a log centered between the imaginary axle.

The tongue receiver on the cart matches the receivers on all of Bob's implements and vehicles. It uses a pin to attach and a bolt that is screwed down can make the connection rigid and not rattle.

Here, the tongue is attached. Notice the radiator hose that has been split and riveted to the tongue.

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The driver's seat may be lowered out of the way simply by lifting the brace out of its slot and letting it drop down.

The seat allows the driver to easily see what is happening in front of him as well as what is going on behind him.

The neck yoke is attached to the end of the pole with a tie-rod, allowing it to flex but remain silent.

The tongue Bob made for his new forecart is tapered.

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material will make it light and strong for animals this size. Each socket has a 1/2” hole centered 1/2” back from the front. The back end of the pole has a matching hole. It only takes seconds to slide the pole into the socket and drop in a 3/8” pin. The pin drops in easily. It doesn’t need to be snug. The pole can be made rigid by tightening a 1/2” bolt in a nut welded over a second hole on the socket. Pin and bolt can be inserted quickly and easily, no tools needed I won’t say how many times I went looking for that darned pin before I chained it and the bolt in place. The tongue pictured is not the described 2”x2” tube. That tongue went with a wagon I sold recently. Since I have only needed one pole for the last seven or eight years, and barring a bad accident I will only ever need one, I splurged and made a tapered pole of the same weight. Tapered just looks better to me. This tongue is 94” long from neck yoke to evener bolt and weighs 36 pounds on the neck yoke, hitched. It tapers from 1 1/2 inches square to 2 1/2 inches square with a 6-foot long insert welded in the back to fit the sockets. The team carries the pole from one implement to the next, leaving my hands free to guide it into the socket. This works well on four-wheeled vehicles with a hinged socket. It is hard to lift the stiff socket on the fore cart with one hand. My solution is to mount a kick stand under the front of the cart. When the pole is pinned in place, the stand folds up beside the frame without reducing ground clearance. Noise is the only drawback that comes to mind for using a steel neck yoke, pole and evener. Since I only have one tongue, the yoke is permanently attached A kick stand is mounted beneath the front of the cart and is nested beside the pole when not in use without reducing ground clearance.

The shafts encircle the draft animal and protect it from injury should it struggle to gain its freedom.

by a tie rod end. It flexes freely in all directions but is tight enough to be silent. The underside of the pole has 5/16-inch holes drilled every foot. Expanding foam sprayed through the holes fills the steel tube. Trace chains slapping the pole will produce a click rather than a CLANG. A foot of radiator hose split and riveted over the back of the pole does a little more to silence contact with the singletrees and heel chains. Training Shafts and Tongue Shafts that entirely circle a single animal have several advantages. The rigid crosspiece at the front allows The shafts are attached to the cart using the same receiver as the tongue.

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the shafts to be both lighter and stronger than the independent sticks in a traditional set. The three way snap on the yoke strap is easily connected while standing at the colt’s head. No need to step rearward, reaching across her back to try to get both shafts into the loops at the same time. No need for loops at all. The same harness will work equally well single or double. Attached at only one central point, an animal that tries to pivot cannot pry one shaft against the other. The double shafts shown make it very difficult for a beginner to step sideways to avoid backing straight. It is just as difficult for a fractious colt to get over or under the shafts in a struggle. These shafts are all aluminum. They are 72 inches long and 31 inches wide, inside measurements, and weigh 28 pounds on the yoke strap, hitched. The 2-inch-by-2-inch stub is the same as the tongue stub. An offset bracket (pictured) moves the tongue 12½ inches to the side so that it can be used to prepare a young pair for the walking plow. My pair and plow require a 25-inch evener. The cart wheels are on 50-inch centers. The center of the pole is 25 inches from the center of the tire. The offset pole will put the furrow donkey directly in front of the tire in the furrow. Both hands are free to guide her back and forth in the furrow until she learns to walk it with little or no help. Draw Bar Two pieces of 3/8-by-3-inch flat welded into an angle are a solid enough draw bar for a team of about 700 pounds. Fjords can’t bend it. The rest is the same 1-inch pipe and expanded steel as the deck.

Seventy-five or a hundred years ago, a company whose name I don’t know made a “quick” or “safety” hitch. The idea was that you could hold the lines with one hand, lift the implement tongue with the other and back into the draw pin, snapping the hitch shut. I have seen only two in 73 years and couldn’t find one for this cart, so I made a simple knockoff. The flipper closes automatically. Pull the pin to disconnect. Again, nothing is sticking up to snag the lines. The Arch The purpose of this arch is to lift one end of a stick of firewood just high enough to make it easier to drag.

The winch system uses a heavy steel ratchet that achieves a twelve-to-one advantage when lifting a log. The end of the log is lifted from a point between the imaginary axle, reducing the lift on the tongue.

Bob built a hitch for his draw bar that allows the teamster to back a team with one hand, hold the implement tongue with pin already in place and slip the pin into the hitch where it fastens around the pin until the pin is lifted.

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Thirty inches of clearance from the ground to the winch is ample for most pieces. The higher the winch, the more the load will lift the tongue. A heavy steel ratchet purchased from a truck supply store is the heart of the arch. Truckers use them to tighten their loads down. They are inexpensive, very workable and nearly indestructible. A pipe welded into the spool lets you stand beside the cart to lift the log. Mine has a wheel attached for leverage, but a cheater bar would work, too. The winch spool’s diameter is 2 inches. The wheel is 24 inches across. This twelve-to-one advantage allows me to lift approximately what the team can comfortably pull. Steel tube 1½-by-1½ by-3/16-inch wall frames the rest – not too heavy, but strong enough. This ratchet is welded to the front side of the arch frame and lifts from the front side of the spool. The load is lifted from about 4 inches in front of the stub axles and about 20 inches above them. At this 1-to-5 ratio hitched 30 inches above the ground, light to moderate loads pulled entirely by the winch strap didn’t lift the tongue once all weekend. A heavier team on this same light cart might pull loads heavy enough to lift the tongue. A simple bracket pinned to the tongue socket allows the load to be drawn on a direct line of draft from the eveners. No lift on the tongue. I have used several materials to connect winches to log chains. Chain is very expensive and bulky. Cable (wire rope) must be wrapped on a large drum to keep it from fraying. It is very hard on hands. Nylon rope works, but I couldn’t get many feet on the spool before it filled the winch frame. My Amish neighbor and harness maker sewed small loops in the end of a piece of heavy duty black 1-inch nylon strap. The strap is 10 feet long and doesn’t fill the spool. He said he thought it was 6,000-pound test. It is light, easy

A simple bracket, painted orange to make it easy to find if dropped in the woods, is pinned to the tongue and allows the load to be in line with the tongue.

The yellow-green chain, also easy to spot in the woods, is fastened to the log to provide the pull, and the flat 1-inch nylon strap is used to winch it up, exactly above the imaginary axle line, and thereby avoids lifting the tongue.

A chain grabber is attached to the frame and held in place by spring tension.

Bob demonstrates how the chain is pushed under the log to grab the end of a chain and pull it under the log.

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to work with, not bulky on the winch, and my girls haven’t been able to break it. Eventually it will fray, but at a cost of about $7 total, not per foot, I carry a spare in the toolbox. My buddy Tim taught me to carry a curved 2-foot rod on the cart. One end is hooked. When the butt end of a stick is firm in the dirt, the rod can be worked underneath it to pull the chain through. A chain saw bracket takes up such a small space it is left on the cart all the time. Most of these features are small preferences for convenience. To be able to lift one end of a stick off the ground – to be able to lift it from in front of the axle – and to be able to lift it clear from the draw bar seem to me to be the main difference between a general-purpose farm cart and a firewood arch. Video footage of Bob explaining many of the forecart features and construction details is available on our enhanced digital edition offered online. To introduce this new online version of the magazine, we are making it free for this issue. The new digital edition also has 12 extra pages not included in the print edition. To view the free sample issue, visit www.ruralheritage.com.

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Timber Frame Barn

by Joe Mischka Y ears ago, Dr. Scott Hancock, DVM, of Sautee Nacoochee, Ga., put up a barn on his farm using Amish craftsmen to fell and saw the timbers, assemble the framing and raise the barn in a few days. After moving a few miles to another property nearby, Scott decided to do it again. So in February, 2025, timbers began arriving on pallets and Amish men and their families soon followed. With the help of scores of non-Amish volunteers, known as English, the Amish crew had a barn built on the new farm in no time. “The same Amish folks that were there are here today,” Scott said.“We’d been chatting and they said, ‘Doc, we've got another barn left in us. We want to come build you a barn.’ So obviously, it was, an unbelievable opportunity. “They rode a train for two days to get here. And we picked them up and brought them over here to stay

Scott Hancock

near our property. And I said, ‘You guys rest up and maybe in the afternoon we can kind of walk around a little bit and see what we need to get done.’

Scott Hancock liked this, his first barn, so much he decided to put up one just like it on his new property.

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“And they said, ‘Oh, no, we're burning daylight. We got a barn to build.’ So they started yesterday morning and worked to dark. And they were here at daylight this morning. Now they're hammering the timber frame sections together with white oak pegs. Everything seems to be fitting perfect. I mentioned that to them that it looks good, it's a good fit, and then one of my Amish friends rubbed his whiskers and said, ‘Doc, it's supposed to fit, isn't it?’” The timbers had been cut from trees felled in Minnesota where they were milled to shape, notched, and allowed to cure. They were then palletized, carefully marked with arrows and “X”s, put on some 18-wheelers and sent down to Georgia. Most of the timber-framed exterior walls were framed laying on the concrete floor and later lifted, or tipped, into place using an extendable forklift. The remaining section of the wall was then built in place. The timbers are pine, and the pegs are oak. In some cases, when the fit is tight, one carpenter strikes near the joint while the other hammers the peg home. Most of the process is performed with little talking between the men doing the work. “It helps a lot that the majority of us have worked together before,” Jake Hershberger said. “We kind of know what's going on and what the other person's going to do and kind of support each other that way. “I will say,” Jake continued.“On this particular barn, we're a little short-staffed, so it makes it a little challenging. It's nice if you have, you know, four or five people, key people that are really into and know The timbers had been prepared in Minnesota prior to being trucked to Georgia.

Oak pegs are tapered at the end like a nail.

exactly what's going on. That way they can kind of be become sub leaders of different groups. You get done faster.” The pine posts rest on concrete knee walls or concrete footers that prevent the material from deterioriating. “These barns are really well built. This wood is rested on concrete knee walls. And when you go to Ohio and Pennsylvania and Iowa and Missouri, some of these old Amish barns are 200 years old. “And the reason is you're not putting posts in the ground where they rot. You're putting posts on concrete. So they're really structurally sound. And with that, it's just a better barn. It's a piece of art to me. Justin Martin of Pelzer, S.C., was on hand giving people rides with a team of horses he'd recently bought. “Doctor Hancock actually picked them out. They came from Shipshewana. They're good horses. For me being green and them being green. They're doing really well for me.” The crew at Scott Hancock's farm will next travel to Justin's, where they will put up another timber framed barn. But first, Justin plans to take the crew to the South Carolina coast where many of them will see an ocean for the first time. A veterinarian himself, Justin works from a property he bought from his aunt and where he set up his vet practice. They've been using the team to raise turnips his boys sell at a local general store. Next year, they plan to expand to sweet corn and other vegetables.

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The walls are framed up on the ground before they are tipped up to stand vertically.

Posts are not set in the ground where they might rot, but rest on concrete footers or short walls.

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Because the spreader bar, which distributes the forklift’s lift across the wall, was not long enough to bring up the entire wall, about one-quarter of it had to be built in place after the other three-quarter section was up.

To line up the holes between the two timbers, one carpenter hammers down while another drives the peg.

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Once the walls are up, the rafters and floor boards go up quickly.

This photo shows one wall up and in place on the left, the center posts, and the other wall nearly ready to be raised.

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While they work, carpenters confidently walk across beams. Here, low to the ground, but much higher, too.

Wall boards go up while the crew above lays down the floor.

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The forklift lifts the top of the wall, tipping it into the slotted board running across the top of the low concrete wall.

Musicians braved the cool and damp weather to entertain the crowd.

While most of the timbers were pre-drilled, a few needed to be drilled in place once lined up.

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With the roof framing in place, the barn begins to take on a skeletal shape.

As the floorboards are put in place, they are fastened with air impact hammers.

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Jake Hershberger

Justin Martin

Justin Martin gives visitors rides from where they park to the barn raising area

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A Dozen Lessons

Learned From an Old Timer

Sunday school or Scouts. This compilation is a tribute to Dad and to the generations of horsepeople and rural folks who have embodied these words in their lives and actions. One. Get back in the saddle. If you fall, pick yourself up and get back on that horse. Don’t dwell on the setback. Get past disappointment, discouragement and fear. Try again. Don’t stop at failure.

by Jacqueline Courteau. Illustrations by Maeve Courteau. R ural residents have long passed along hard-learned lessons from one generation to the next, offering verbal instructions and leading by example. Words can be helpful, but demonstrating behavior can be even more powerful. Last fall, I sat down to write a 91st birthday card for my dad, Rural Heritage contributor Dick Courteau (author of the “Old Timers Tips Just Passed Along” column). I reflected on lessons I learned from him— by words and deeds. Dad was small but powerful, steely tough in mind and body. He was raised by a foster family on a Minnesota farm, migrating to Montana at 15, traveling throughout the West to become a cowboy, rodeo rider and horse-trainer. He performed many jobs but stayed in rural areas. He always worked with horses no matter what else, from operating a horseback riding school to raising commercial crops and horse logging to moving his family from Arkansas to Nebraska with a team and covered wagon. He characterizes himself as “profoundly country.” His connection with animals, especially equines, is equally profound. Many of Dad’s lessons emerged from working with horses. I remember sitting in the dusty corral, where I had bounced off a gentle pony when she broke into a trot. Dad checked that I was okay, helped me to my feet and lifted me back into the saddle to keep riding. More lessons emerged through long hours of working with animals, training and shoeing horses, tending crops and gardens, provisioning the woodpile, and generally living the rural life—working side-by-side, talking or not, conversing at mealtimes or coffee breaks. Although lessons started with horses, they are useful for life in general. These lessons are likely familiar from our shared rural heritage. Some we learned in kindergarten or

Two. Learning to tie a few knots can take you far in life. Horse people and sailors need knots, and you don’t have to be an expert. Practice basic knots (square knot, bowline, quick-release knots) and hitches (half-hitch, clove hitch, timber hitch) and you’ll be prepared for many situations, from bundling up a bedroll to tying a pack onto a saddle (or a car roof) to crafts. I picked up macramé from knots learned around horses—and later used macramé to make a bridle when needed.

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instructed in using a whetstone, whether water, oil or dry. Use the coarser grit for initial sharpening, followed by the finer side for finishing. It was easier to sharpen knives in the days of carbon-steel than modern stainless-steel blades, but I still keep knives sharp, keep them away from surfaces that might dull them and store them with care. The principle extends beyond knives. Choosing high-quality tools, using them properly and maintaining them has served me well in barn, garden and field as well as at home. Solidly made pitchforks, hammers and trowels cost more up front but work better and last longer. Well-made clothes seem expensive but are more durable and easier to repair. Four. Every moment is a training moment. Whenever you work with a horse, all your interactions are conveying messages—whether about respecting boundaries, responding to commands, conveying care, or behaving in clear, consistent and predictable ways. The same is true for training other animals, such as dogs. And it also applies to parenting. Be aware of your behavior, and stay tuned to what your actions communicate.

Three. Get good knives—and keep them sharp! Dad always carried a good pocket knife—Buck and Case were prized brands, but brand was less important than blade quality—and he always kept it sharp. He would “rather have been caught naked than without a pocket knife,” a saying he often quoted from an older neighbor. The sandpaper sound of knife blade on whetstone often accompanied coffee breaks, and Dad’s dark-haired forearms often had shorn strips where he tested his knife blades for sharpness. Kitchen knives were kept sharp as well; kitchen work and mealtimes were punctuated with frequent reminders to not let blades touch metal pans or glass plates—along with loud groans when that happened. Dad was quicker to train the boys in the family on knife skills than the girls, but I, too, was eventually

Five. Be committed and consistent. Whether training a horse, a donkey or a dog, don’t be a dilettante. Commit to spending four or five days each week for several weeks. Wait to take a break until you reach a goal or a plateau. Being a weekend warrior doesn’t work. In everyday life, there might be things you dabble in and find it satisfying, but for most projects—especially working with animals— consistent effort is needed for results. . Six. Be patient and persevere. Horse training— or progress on most endeavors—doesn’t often happen in a steady arc of progress. Roadblocks and

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Nine. Leave the gate how you found it. Whether it’s a gate or a barn door, if it’s closed when you get there, there’s a reason for that — so be sure to close it behind you (and vice versa with open doors). This is especially important with animals. A door left open when it shouldn’t be may allow animals to escape, with potentially dire consequences. It also applies to other things in life: How many arguments could be avoided if people applied this idea to toilet paper rolls and toilet seats and lids? There are exceptions, of course — if something is left in a dangerous condition (a barn door swinging open), or appears unintentional (a downed gate), investigate and figure out a solution.

setbacks abound. Stay the course. Sometimes you reach a plateau or feel blocked. In training a horse, perhaps you can’t get the response you’re looking for, like getting past startling, or a response to the bit or other cues. Whether training animals, working with people, or managing yourself, keep calm and persevere. Change takes time and patience. A side note, however: My dad has written that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect— instead, “practice makes permanent.” So be sure that “patience” doesn’t equate to doing the same ineffective thing repeatedly. Assess whether you’re making at least some progress. Figure out other ways to go about the task, use a different strategy if necessary, and remember, third time (or 30th!) is a charm. Seven. Keep the workload manageable. Whether working in the harness or in the saddle, give your horses a job they can accomplish. Don’t ask your horse to pull or carry too much weight, for too far, for too long. Break it into components to make it doable. This will help with the next goal.

Ten. Leave a place the way you found it — or better. Whether riding down the road, leaving a campsite, or visiting someone’s home, always be aware of your impact. Don’t leave behind a mess. Other people aren’t your housemaids! Clean up and leave things in good shape for the next person. Gathering firewood and storing kindling where it can stay dry is an appreciated act of kindness for the next camper. Tidying up or helping with dishes is a great way for a guest to show gratitude to hosts—and perhaps increase the likelihood of another invitation. Eleven. Pick up your trash! And other people’s, too. This is a subset of the previous rule, but worth mentioning separately. Scouts, hikers and campers have all heard this: Don’t be a litterbug! Still, it’s surprising how often candy wrappers and beverage bottles are tossed alongside park trails and rural roads. Hold onto your trash—never throw it out the car window! And always carry a bag to gather trash you find. Leather gloves are useful when you

Eight. Leave yourself (or your trainee) with a win. When you hitch your horses to a load that’s too heavy for them to pull, don’t stop when they give up. Instead, take a break, lighten the load, and ask them to try again with something they can pull. Ending with a failure makes it more likely they will sour on the next job and give up too soon. Ending with a success will motivate them for next time. Similarly, when working with other people or on your projects, find some way to eke out an accomplishment, so you finish your task ready for the next thing, rather than discouraged for not having accomplished the job.

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— it’s too easy to allow soil to erode and wash away. The situation is better than in the 1930s and 1940s when the USDA Soil Conservation Service began, but many tons of Midwestern agricultural soil are still washed into the Mississippi each year. In many areas, water seems plentiful—if a tank overflows, or we ditch irrigate rather than using pipes—well, it seems like the water will be replenished. Similarly, for much of the 1800s and 1900s, timber seemed like an endless resource—although many forests now struggle to regenerate, and we’ll never regrow old-growth. . When Dad was growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, the pervasive attitude was that natural resources were for the taking. Yet he somehow developed a sense of conservation—of limits. He was sensitive to water use, even for things like showering, as water down the drain seemed like a waste. (To this day, he’s suspicious of indoor plumbing.) He combated soil erosion whenever and wherever he could: he gathered branches or cut down small red-cedar

encounter broken glass. Bring a trowel to bury what you’re not going to pick up. Twelve. Conserve resources—protect the planet! On a farm, it’s easy to assume the land will provide what we need and get careless in our resource use. Plowing and cultivating hilly fields, letting animals overgraze and cattle paths to deepen into gullies with rain and run-off

Left: National Archives photo 114 SC Mo3.450, 1935–34. The land was first farmed in 1853.

Right: National Archives photo 114 SC MO 80.300, cartoon of soil losses in Missouri, 1935–36.

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trees, dragged them into paths eroding into gullies; he spread composted manure on bare soil to help plants anchor the soil in place. As a younger man, he viewed trees as timber, assessing forests in terms of board-feet, but as he got older, he grew to abhor cutting large trees. He viewed past logging activities as sins against the land. The environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s further shaped Dad’s conservation sense. It’s amazing now how startling the stories from then were. Rachel Carson sounded the alarm about birds dying from DDT in her best-selling Silent Spring. Vivid news reels showed rivers so polluted that they caught fire. Environmental concerns ignited a nationwide education movement that became the first Earth Day in 1970. My parents helped organize a teach-in on the University of Arkansas campus for that first Earth Day. Dad drove a team of Belgians pulling a wooden-wheeled wagon into town to highlight this non-polluting transportation mode, and the wagon was the speakers’ platform. That year and for years afterward, Dad organized a neighborhood cleanup along rural roads—littered, in those pre-recycling

days, with not just trash but also old appliances and vehicles, nearly every gulley featuring an informal dumpsite. Dad drove either the team and wagon or the ton-and-a-half 1947 Chevy truck while friends and neighbors picked up whatever litter they could lift. Dad’s environmental ethic peaked in 2024 with putting a conservation easement on the family property to protect the land in perpetuity, which was also my mother’s fondest wish before she died. The easement, with the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, covers the family property plus an adjacent parcel that my husband and I own, nearly 400 acres altogether. The easement allows for continued residence, recreation, and limited agriculture on less sensitive areas, but ensures that the land will always be preserved from development and rapacious resource use. Protecting the land is something that can be put into practice. The lessons shared here are part of our rural heritage. As populations have shifted to the cities, these “old ways” are fading. But we keep them alive by continuing to live them. In the next issue, another baker’s dozen.

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WaRm HoMe, WaRm MoMeNtS 717-768-3853 | Lancaster County, PA | HECOSTOVES.COM

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What an Affair!

by Ralph J. Rice S ometimes it pays to think “outside of the box.” Thanks to the foresight of Andrew Nidy, one of the board members of the North American Suffolk Horse Association, we presented the Suffolk Punch horse to a crowd of 30,000 people. An event called Equine Affaire, held in Columbus, Ohio, showcases the working horse from all disciplines. This show is held at the state

fairgrounds, and it is a large venue. There were buildings filled with everything horse related. If you can name it, it was represented. There were huge displays of equipment, barn items, tack, trailers, even clothing and boots. There were several arenas on the grounds where horses of all types were introduced to large crowds of people. The time allowed in the arena was kept to eight or 10 minutes and went on all day, as horses filed in and out.

Jennifer Nidy leads a horse on the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio, at the 2025 Equine Affaire.

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Connie Rice took charge of the Suffolk promotional booth at the event.

Each day we moved to a different time slot and arena. It was imperative that everyone stayed on schedule. The well-run event was kept on schedule by countless volunteers and staff. Andrew and his wife, Jennifer, brought four of their Suffolk horses. I helped in the showring. I was also there to represent the NASHA board and help sell promotional items. The lady in charge of the promotions is my dear wife, Connie. We met several hundred people at our Suffolk Punch booth. We represented the breed, handed out information and answered questions during all four days of the event. Many people remarked that they had never seen a Suffolk horse in person. One dear lady with an English accent told us, with tears in her eyes, that she had come just to see the horses from her native land not seen by her since childhood. Our booth had a very neat feature, as did all the breeds presented in the “Breed Pavillion.” That feature was the ability to have a horse in a box

stall right next to the promotion’s booth. We could engage people as they got to admire and pet a horse in person. In the showring, the Nidy’s showcased their horses in three ways. They had a team hitched to a logging cart. Jennifer rode a big gelding Western pleasure style. I led a young filly “in-hand” complete with traditional braiding using raffia and bright blue rosettes. We all entered the ring at the same time. An announcer gave a prepared speech about the history of the Suffolk horse. It was an informative piece that described the breed very well. As we walked around the arenas, people were very entertained and perhaps amazed at the versatility of this old breed. The Equine Affaire itself is/was a giant event, well attended by horse-loving people from all over the state and country. We were but a small part of it, but I think we made a big impact. I am sure there were conversations started, dreams made and, in

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