[AT] Disapearing past and farm schools

Bill "Bear" Hood mmman at netscape.com
Tue Feb 26 20:03:40 PST 2008


I have been enjoying the posts on County (Poor) Farms and School Farms.
I remember the County Poor Farm, sometimes called the Dawson Crossing
Farm. My Father sold them propane delivered to a larger storage tank as he was in the wholesale LP business.  I would ride up with him (it was in the NE corner of the County near Winona) and I remember clean white buildings, LP AC and Farmall
tractors, working teams of mules, huge truck gardens and lots of
friendly waves from residents and farm managers. They sold the facility
about '57-'58 and a large farm next door bought it all and added it to
this facility. Break to 1959 and I was bailing hay and planting coastal
bermuda grass for a big farm at Garden Valley.  We got the contract to bail the hay at Oakhurst Farms, which included the old Poor Farm.  Joe Zeppa,
a early pioneer in Texas Oil owned this farm and others in the Sabine
River bottoms. The county closed the Poor Farm because it wasdiscrimatory
to make folks work for their upkeep. The buildings are all gone now,
but lots of locals still call the entire farm, the Poor Farm.

A side note is that they evidently had the largest jack in the area and
were renowned for breeding large matched mules. A friend of mine told
stories of taking mares up to have them covered by this jack. 

I went to a high school that still operated a school farm. It was
established in the 20's but was moved in '59. We milked 60+ cows in a
flat 8 barn withIH bucket milkers.  There were 10,000 laying hens, broilers, 20 or so sows and as I remember one goat.  We raised corn for grain as well as silage with some milo, field peas, watermelon, small orchard and several acres of truck crop garden.  All ag
students had to serve 2 week rotations living in the bunkhouse at the
farm and feeding stock, milking or whatever tasks needed done. There
was a full time Dairymgr and another man took care of the rest of the animals and row crops ect. There was a lady in charge of the Egg Operation.  We built barns, fences, corrals ect. as the need arose. It ceased operation as a teaching farm in the mid 60's and became a demonstration farm for the Outdoor Learning Center. 

My
wife now teaches in that old bunkhouse, milks one cow in that old flat
barn and teaches 5th graders where milk, meat, grain, vegetables and
their grandparents came from. It is all hands on and great, but when I
look at those well worn old buildings and empty silos, it makes my
heart heavy.
Bear

Live your life like a three year old. Get
down in the dirt with it, roll in it, throw it up and let it rain down
on you. Also, smile a LOT. Bear

_____________________________________________________________
Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.



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