The Birchard Place

Childhood memories of growing up on a farm

Even though our family lived on at least three farms around Woodbine (that I can remember), this is the farmstead I associate most with "Growing up on the Farm".  We lived here from the time I was in 2nd grade until I was almost finished with 5th grade.  This is the place I helped put out "the fire" and also the place I got "taken to the woodshed" (only once).  While living here, I attended a one room country schoolhouse (no longer standing).  Once I started going to town school, even though I still lived on a farm, I considered myself a "city boy".

In the lower right half of this picture, the farmstead with the silo, on the right side of the road, is the Birchard place.  Further on down the road, where it turns to the right, is what I always called the DeForest place because a schoolmate, Lloyd DeForest, lived there for awhile.  Actually, our family also lived in that house for a short time and I started my country school days while living there.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now we're getting closer and you can make out both farmsteads much easier.  I can remember walking to country school by cutting across the fields in the upper left portion of the picture.  It was much shorter than walking along the road.  I also remember my brother, Roger and I, having to walk down to the grove of trees just barely showing in the lower righthand corner of the picture.  There was a windmill there with a watering tank for the cattle.  When the wind wasn't blowing enough, my brother and I had the job of filling the tank by pumping the water by hand.  What a job!
 

Here's a real closeup of the farm.  I don't remember the silo so I suspect it was added after we lived there.  Looks like the "woodshed" is still standing, it's the building with the red roof right by the house.  The barn is still standing also, that's where I dropped a hayfork on my head resulting in a white cap around my noggin for quite awhile.  I remember when the REA first turned on the power to the house, now it looks like the power lines have been buried since I don't see any power poles in the picture.