Jakey the Jew

Recycling started long before the current craze. Jake, who was affectionally known as "jakey the jew", could be counted on by small boys to come by the farm about twice a year and buy all scrap metal, horse hair and rags. Anticipating his arrival, I would scour the farm and the neighbours farms (if they didn't have small boys) for scrap metal. This consisted of broken parts off machinery and worn- out plow points. All during the year when we currey- combed the horses, we saved the long hair from their manes and tails. (this was used to stuff leather chairs and couches). We didn't have "rags" for sale because any old clothes were cut up into strips by my mother and were used for hooked rugs to catch farm dirt at the door.

Because Jakey always tried to "jew" down the price asked by small boys, one of the parents always made sure they were present to ensure the kid did not get too much of a screwing.

The visit from Jakey that I remember best was the timeMom and I were home alone when he arrived. We all went to the barn to get the horsehair I had saved. I brought the cardboard box full out and placed it an the low wall that extended out from the barn door. The retaining wall was maybe 2 1/2 feet tall and while talking to Mom, Jakey put one foot up on the wall. I immediately saw that Jakey's little DICK came out about 2 inches through a hole in the crotch of his bib overalls!! At first my mother did not notice and they kept talking about the weather etc. All of a sudden my mother's face turned beet red and she wheeled around and headed for the house.

That was the first time I negotiated my own price for my recycleables. My mother never mentioned this episode to my father.

Next-The Tractor


Dance as if
no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day
as if it were
your last.


Irish saying

Castration and Polling 1943

All the chickens within earshot came running at the first terrified scream that emanated from the baby pig. The chickens obviously remembered the last time this happened with the previous litter of pigs about six months ago, and they did not want to miss out on the chance of getting one of the marble sized delicacies that might be tossed their way. As the chickens stood at a respectful distance from the operating theater on the concrete floor of the barn, I had one of the most dangerous jobs on the farm. My mission was to keep the mother sow out of the picture while the operations took place on the male baby pigs. A mother pig weighs-in at about 550 to 600 pounds and would gladly give her life to protect her young. She is well equiped to fight with her 3" tusks and vicious temper. As far as I know, a pig is the only farm animal that would(and has) eat you alive if for some reason you fell in their pen and were unable to get up. Being 8 or 9 years old I was considered capable of chasing the sow out of hearing distance. As protection I was provided with a large scoop shovel. This could be used to bang the sow on the nose if she turned on me. Like many girls to-day, the sows all wore nose rings. The purpose of nose rings was to stop the sows from rooting. A pig loves to root up the ground, especially in wet areas, and they then wallow in the mud to keep flies off themselves. The pigs' nose ,without nose rings is very tough and strong and they are easily capable of tearing their wooden pen to pieces. Keeping all this in mind I would chase the mother pig as far away from the barn as possible before the action started (half a mile sounds reasonable).

Back at the barn, the procedure went like this. Two people were required (the old man and my brother) One caught an unsuspecting male baby pig by the hind legs and swung the pig through between his own legs and squatted down in a knealing position on top of the baby pig. This resulted in the pig being on it's back and unable to move (but certainly able to squeal!). The other partner in this operation,or shall we say the "doctor", using a rag soaked with some kind of disinfectant would clean the appropriate area on the pigs' bottom. He would then grab the little scrotum, feeling for a testicle. When one was located, it was pinched tightly between the thumb and forefinger, this produced a lump containing the desired object and the target for the razor-sharp blade. A small 1/2 inch incision was made allowing the little "nut" to pop out. It was then grasped by the "doctor" who carefully stripped the fat away exposing the cords. The cord was quickly cut and the little delicacy was tossed toward the chickens who had by now crowded right in in an effort not to miss out. The same procedure was repeated, more disinfectant doused on the wound and the little porker was done. During all this time, the little piglet made blood-curdling screams and squeals that if heard by the mother pig would have been my Waterloo.
To my knowledge, no little pig ever died or even got sick as a result of this operation. The purpose of castration was to prevent the strong taste of the meat that is associated with a boar.


Polling. Baby male pigs had it lucky! Male calves not only received the "operation", but also had their horns amputated(polled). In the case of the calves, this was not done until they were old enough to have horns. Two different weapons were used in these procedures. The animal was tied up and a "castrator" that resembled a vise-grip wrench was attached to the cord leading to a testicle when this was locked on,it squeezed the cord until it severed it without any bleeding. The fierce pain usually caused the poor animal to faint and fall down. The farmer took advantage of this moment to attach the guilatine-like tool to a horn and using the leverage of the long handles, cut the horn off. This shock brought the animal to and the same procedure was repeated on the other testicle and horn. Blood squirted from the amputated horn in a fine sprey that could shoot 10 to 15 feet until a clotting compound was placed on the stump.

These cruel sounding procedures were necessary to prevent injuries to either the farmer or the animals by rambuncious young bulls.

As mentioned earlier, farmers were very, very, self sufficient in those day's and the services of a"Vet" was used only in dire circumstances to treat a valuable sick cow or horse.


As spring arrives,
The earth turns green
Just as the Emerald Isle,
So everyone around the world
Can be Irish for a while.

-Unknown