Rural Heritage October/November 2025

Twenty-five men skid a log.

The grain goes into the hopper on top of the grain mill. Set up your screen for flour, grapenuts or corn meal and fire it up. In no time at all, the small flail hammers have reduced the grains to the desired flour or meal. My mouth watered for some warm, home-made bread with soft home-churned butter spread thick, maybe with some strawberry jam too. Just enough to run down your hand a bit as you sink your teeth in. As I was thinking about small-scale grain harvesting and ways to get that grain to market, I could absolutely see a small group of farmers making this happen. We all bring ideas, different skills, different abilities, knowledgeandwisdomtothegroup.Workingtogether as one is beneficial for all. We need each other, if we admit it or not. We were made to help each other, lean on each other and care for one another. Working together was also illustrated at HPD, when a group of men showed the power needed to replace a team of horses. The horses pulled a long log along the ground. The “bell” end of the log dug into the dirt, but the horses dragged it anyway. It took 25 men pulling together on a long rope to pull

what the two horses had done. The men moved it only a short distance, but it did move. Next, they put men on the rope to try and stop a team pulling. Men were added two at a time until they counted 24, then they had enough power to stop the horses. It was a great illustration of power requirements. The comparison was fun to watch. It illuminated the results of people working together, in real time, in measurable horsepower. Now, if 24 men working together can stop a stout pair of working horses, it is easy to see what can be accomplished by a group of like-minded folks. So, if it is putting on a show, harvesting grain or pulling a log, “combining a community” just makes sense. I encourage the reader to consider going to Horse Progress Days if you haven’t ever been.The resources, vendors and equipment showcased for draft animal people are unparalleled. The sense of community and inclusion is real, and, who knows, you might even find that bread and jam! Ralph farms in northeast Ohio. To see more of his writing, visit his blog at: http://ricelandmeadows. wordpress.com/.

October/November 2025

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