They had a single edged axe and a double edged axe and sometimes both Daddy and Mama cut wood at the same time. They measured off as many 8 feet length links with their axe handles for fence posts. The rest was hauled to the house on a sled or wagon pulled by Ole Tom and Kate to be cut into firewood. The smaller limbs and bark was used for kindling to start the fires. Daddy made a wood box that held enough firewood for a couple of days use. When that was used, more wood was chopped to fill it again. Daddy made a cart from two wheels on an axle with an old wash tub attached to the top. After enough wood was unloaded into the wood box, the rest sat outside of the kitchen in the wagon for the next filling. He used a flat piece of tin bent to make a roof over the top of the wood to keep out rain and snow. Catalpa wood burns fast so it was good for a fast hot fire. The locust wood burned slower and was good for keeping the fire burning at a lower heat and longer period of time. The wood was split and one could choose the sticks by size and kind for what purpose you wanted them to do. At night Daddy used a large piece of Locust to bank the fire for the night. Sometimes he got up in the middle of the night and stoked the fire with another big stick of wood. It was surely nice to get up to a warm house and hot stove ready to cook breakfast. Mama loved to chop wood and could chop it faster than any man around. She delighted in telling people about her feat too. Mama was definitely an old farm type wife who would rather be outside than inside. 
|
Any copyright remains with the artist.
There is no commercial use of it.
Created December 21, 2020
Updated: 14 June, 2021
Webmaster ~ Ray Clark ~ rayclark07"at"gmail.com
Return To My Life During The Depression Days
Return To Home Page