March 28, 2013 - David Daugherty's Story

I want to share this Daugherty Story, by my uncle David Daugherty, born 1938.   David passed away a couple of years ago...I don't have his death date on my genealogy program.  I'm not sure why.  He died far too young and he wasn't able to travel and visit family in his last few years.  I'll quote his writing and add any details of my own in bold and italics.  The date of this writing is unknown.  I had not seen this particular history piece from David...so my thanks go out to my dear cousin Gwyn, who sent me her family material. 

"Daugherty story by David Daugherty (This is just a start.  It will probably take a long time to make this story complete and correct, but I will give you an interim copy for information.  Others in the family should expand on it or correct it as applicable.  A lot of my information is probably incorrect.

The earliest I can remember was when I was 4 or 5 and we lived in a house in rural Bonilla (SD), all I can remember is that it was two stories.  I think this is when Helen taught the primary grades at Bonilla Consolidated School.  We later moved to a house called the Breilly Place?  Helen and Ken had gone into the service during WWII and Beulah (graduated HS in 1943) was in nursing school (graduated 1947) or maybe she was teaching.  Delores, George and I were home.  Dolores must have graduated HS in 1946 and George in 1949.  We were probably on the Breilly place from 1943 to 1946. This place is still standing and I have pictures of it.  It is in bad shape now but it was not in very good shape then.  Dad was a 'share cropper'.  We did not own the land but the owner provided the seed and he would get a share of the crop, thus the term 'share cropper'.  He (Fred I. Daugherty) had lost his farm (the Wilson homestead) during the depression.  The family had spent some time in Arkansas before I was born.  My father also worked on the roads for the WPA running a boiler.  I was born in Wessington (SD) in town.  I am not sure when we moved from Wessington, probably 1942.

Our farm was small, a house with 2 or 3 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and porch.  We had a small barn and another animal shed and, of course, an outhouse.  We also had a windmill with tank and a cover or root cellar.  The caves (a hole in the ground with roof, shelves and stairway) was used for two purposes, one to store the canned vegetables and potatoes and the second for a storm shelter.  Every time a bad storm would come, Mom (Irene Carrington Daugherty) would take us down into the cellar.  I remember it always smelled musty, had lizards and spiders and was damp. 

We had 10 cows which we milked by hand morning and night and seperated into cream and skim milk.  The skim milk was fed to the pigs and the cream was sold.  Occasionally mom would make butter from the sour cream.  We had a few pigs, a few sheep, many chickens, a team of horses, and George's riding horse.  George rode a horse to the country school before I went into first grade.  When I went into first grade, we both took the bus to the consolidated school in Bonilla.  One time we hooked George's riding horse up to a harrow or rake and he took off pulling it all over the farm.  I think he didn't want to be a work horse.

David Russel Daugherty b. 1938

 

Our farm equipement included a 1928 Model A. Ford with a torn cloth top, a Model T truck, a 'home made' tractor with a Model A Ford engine (my father called it a T-man), a Farmall 'A' tractor, various wagon
s, rakes, harrows, plows, cultivators, etc.  During WWII gas, rubber and food were rationed.  The tractors were used for the heavy work such as plowing, binding, hauling grain into town, etc.  The horses were used for light work such as planting, cultivating, corn picking, hauling shocked grain, etc.  I remember sitting on my father's lap, driving the horses while cultivating corn.  Cussing up a storm.  My father let me drive the Farmall A at a younge age.  He would tie the steering wheel so that it would go in a circle while George and he shocked grain.  Mom would bring water and lunch out to the field.  Dad, George and I would have a great time working together.  One year we grew popcorn.

 I remember during the winter, Dad had to drain the car radiator because there was no antifreeze.  It would be so cold that Dad would have to light a fire under the oil pan in order to get the oil to lubricate.  These days they have thinner oil (10W) and plug in dip sticks.  I remember also having m tongue or hand stick to the pipe on the well because of the cold.  20 below zero was not uncommon.  I we had a flat tire, we would run on the rim.

I'll continue David's fascinating story in the next posting.  I think that even if you're not family members, this story will give you some idea of what life was like in the Prairies.  I want to include these words in Prairie Roots, my family newspaper.