As you know, I work on Momma’s book “From Where I Rock” from time to time and today I was reading and adding some things to “The Fancher Place” chapter. One of the things Momma gave me was several drawings of what that place looked like and maps of their place. Here is one compared to the Google Earth shot of the same area. She might have just as well been sitting in that satellite that took the Google picture. What a memory!!!!
(Images can be enlarged by clicking on them)
--Sherri Gregory
Added note: The Boyds place in the upper left corner is where Karen (White) Lindell grew up and was purchased by her father from Mrs. Boyd. That property is now owned by Rae White. The place marked "Freemyers" on the Parks Road is where the Fergusons and Millers lived in later years. The section where the "Old Schoolhouse" sat - across the road east from the "New Schoolhouse" built in 1925 is where my great grandfather Peter Crabtree claimed his homestead in the 1890s. My grandfather's story "Crabtrees arrive on an Immigrant Train" tells about them living in Boyd's house while building their own. (intersection of Road BB and Parks Road - south of "Uncle Vester's" place).
I see that the map I drew is right for the half-mile from the schoolhouse. The next part going west should show a whole mile. That is after going the half mile from the school house to the corner of our place. Our farm (hilly grassland) was the north half of that section.
ReplyDeleteOur farmland was the half section on the north side of the road. The one with the schoolhouse on. South of that road was the Freemyer land. That much farmland was enough for a family sized farm. Farming with horses. Tractors were just coming in. We got one of the first around. But still had a barn full of horse stalls and mangers.
A haymow that opened out on the ground at the back of the barn. The barn --haymow--was our play area too.
If you look again at the google map, I believe your map is right. It was only a half mile from the school to the first GATE… there are four squares in each mile… The quarters are pretty well defined in the google picture.
ReplyDeleteRight. Ethel and I walked that hill for years and years. It took a long time for a year to go by back in those days We had our short cuts and our mamma knew what they were. The cow trails made a good route. bare ground. no grass. No cactus. Tall reddish color stiff grass along sides. Those paths were knee deep . Then when were over the hill we would cut across the prairie towards that NE gate but crawled through the fence somewhat west of it. Then we were on a road. not graded up. just a road. weeds and some grass grew in between the tire tracks. Sometimes the tracks got too deep and cars would hit "high center" and the daddy would have to take a spade-shovel and dig out enough so that "the rubber could meet the road". That is mostly in the roads that go to the houses that are off the road a ways.
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