Another visit, and she said he could talk all day if I had time. I took some time, and it was worth it. He’s wearing overalls again today, as I believe he does every day.
Part of the acreage they own was bought from a St. Louis man who purchased the place strictly for hunting and fishing. He had gotten good use of it for several years for both purposes. One day he called the farmer and said, “If you want to buy my place, meet me at _____________ and bring me a check.” The farmer did, and then owned the place. I wish I had the creativity to make this up, but since I don’t, I had to get it straight from him.
On the place, he kept a “jack” (male donkey) in the pasture. Donkeys are excellent to keep coyotes and stray dogs away from other livestock. Every time the farmer rattled the chain on the gate, no matter where the jack was, he would bray. (This probably meant he was going to to be fed.) But that was not all that happened. Every time the jack brayed, every male turkey in the area would gobble. He noticed this happened every single time.
Some hunters from Michigan came to the area to visit and hunt on a neighbor’s land, but they had not seen any turkeys. The farmer told them exactly what to do if they wanted to see some. He told them about the gate, the chain, the jack, and then told them to go toward the closest gobble they heard.
Just as prescribed, they rattled the gate chain, the jack brayed, the turkeys gobbled, and they were gone about 20 minutes, and came back with two gobblers.
What I love about this is the predictable nature of nearly everything they have done together over the last 67 years. She said, “We worked hard, but we’ve been blessed.” Without discounting God’s favor on them, I also believe the life they chose to live had a lot to do with the good things they have enjoyed.