"We
had 8 to 10 cows to milk morning and night then separate the milk to get the
cream for Mum to make butter and for us to put cream in the sponges which we
made to take to dances etc and also to have for weekends as there was always
lots of people at our place".
 |
1928
My Great Aunties, milking Rosie the cow. |
"
The Cream-man as we
called him used to call each week to collect the cream; but this
day a new one came and he was nice and tall with dark curly hair, and Rita and
I were outside when he came and Dorrie and Marj were inside. He
asked if Mum was about so I said I would get her, Rita and I went
inside and shut the door and I got Mum. We were telling
Dorrie and Marj how nice he was; so after Mum had been out there awhile
Dorrie said to Marj,"Come on we will sneak into Grandfather's bedroom and
have a look thro the window" as it faces the front
door. Well the boards used to squeak
and the old iron bed had brass knobs on it that used to
rattle. When I thought they were in there looking thro the
window I called out "Can you see him Dorrie"?. They
ran out and the boards squeaked, the bed rattled as they bumped into it and the
door slammed. Dorrie was livid, and
Rita and I were laughing and Rita fell off the end of the couch
laughing , then in burst Mum; well Dorrie's fury
was nothing to Mum's and it ended our laughing , but Dorrie and I
still got a ride with him each week to the school"
Great Aunty Mavis Pilgrim
Never tied milking a cow but I did used to drive them to the milking shed and watch the process, dad even showed me how to milk a cow. I watched my aunty seperate the cream and make butter in a hand rotated butter churn. I used to also go to the creamery with the milk churns. Used to do this in Ireland on holiday as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this brought back some good memories to you Bill. I have only heard about all these things and not experienced them myself.
DeleteWhat a funny story! It sounds like something out of a movie.
ReplyDeleteThe picture is really cute. The girl holding the cow's tail looks like she's priming the pump.
Yes I thought the same thing about the tail.
DeleteI was trying to locate another photo, which shows a cat getting milk straight from the cow but couldn't find it.
A charming picture but I'm not sure why the girls got into so much trouble; they only wanted to have a glimpse of the new man!
ReplyDeleteWe would laugh now if our children/grandchildren did that! I would say that they shouldn't have been in their grandfathers room?
DeleteExactly, how fun this was. The picture is beautiful too, something out of real life and how we lived it. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen.
DeleteThis weeks prompt immediately brought two prompts to mind - my great Aunts story and a photo of my grandfather on a horse. I couldn't choose between the two so wrote two posts this week!
I just don't believe you have an ancestral story of such charm and so appropriate to this weeks photo!!
ReplyDeleteIt is like the topic was chosen for me! I am lucky to have so many photos and stories to choose from.
DeleteDo cows have horns too? It's just as well I'm not on a farm!
ReplyDeleteHi Alex, it is my understanding that it depends on the breed of cattle. Often farmers, will dehorn calves, especially when they are milkers and in regular contact with people (to prevent aggressiveness and injury).
DeleteA lovely story, brings back memories of life in the country. I love the innocent fun of the children... thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteMy grandmother once wrote "You can't be glum when you are with Dorrie". And Aunty Mavis has always been a character. It seems like they always managed to find the fun in things.
What a lovely photograph and story and a natural choice for this week's theme.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue. I was pretty happy with this weeks theme :)
DeleteSo girls have always been mischievous! Delightful story.
ReplyDeleteThese girls certainly has a lot of fun. I have many delightful stories to share in future.
DeleteI took me a minute to realize that the "sponge" wasn't the type of sponge I was envisioning!
ReplyDeleteHa Ha Ha. Were you in "cleaning mode"? Now I am thinking of a pink and blue cleaning sponges with cream in between them!
DeleteFour girls in the house - must've been a handful.
ReplyDeleteDorrie & Mavis were sisters (and had two brothers) while Marj and Rita were cousins who lived very close by. They were very close.
Deletegreat story and photo!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joan.
Delete