Canal Winchester Messenger - January 10th, 2021

PAGE 2 - MESSENGER - January 10, 2021
Obetz history
The village of Obetz’ population was
4,532 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The community
was originally known as Obetz
Junction, in honor of settler Charles Obetz.
The village formed in 1838 as a stagecoach
junction and incorporated in 1928.
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Rick Palsgrove................................South Editor
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Life during winter on an 1880s Ohio farm
By Rick Palsgrove
Managing Editor
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Work on an Ohio farm does not slow down during the cold of
winter, which is as true now as it was in the 1880s.
For the staff at Metro Parks’ Slate Run Living Historical Farm
- a working farm depicting farm life in the 1880s and located near
Ashville at 1375 State Route 674 North - that includes work in the
farmhouse and barnyard during the changes in seasons.
“While most of the food preservation was complete for the year,
except butchering and maple work, the daily routine of cooking,
cleaning, mending and laundry did not change that much for the
women,” said Ann Culek, farm program manager at Slate Run
Living Historical Farm. “Inspection of the root cellar and other
storage spaces to make sure the food there stayed fresh could take
up some time for a housekeeper trying to make food last until the
next growing season.”
Culek said this included checking the jams and pickles for
mold, scraping the mold off or using those items first, and making
sure rotting apples or potatoes did not spoil what was touching
them.
“There was also more time in the winter for extended projects
like sewing family clothing and quilting,” said Culek. “Much of
farm life is and was based on seasonality.”
In the 19th century, without modern central
heating, keeping oneself warm in the
winter was a big task on the farm.
“Weather impacts humans then and
now,” said Culek, who noted many farm
diaries mention the temperature and
weather daily, as it dictated much of their
lives. “Keeping warm was a constant battle.
Hauling and splitting wood or arranging
for coal to be delivered cost money and
time. Most families relied on cast iron
stoves, and some even had a furnace in the
basement, but there was no constant supply
of heat once the occupants of the household
retired for the night and no forced air to circulate
through the house. Many houses had
grates cut through the floor to allow the
Douglas, Ed, Jim
and Kip Malek
Ben Churchhill
heat to rise to the bedroom areas.”
Houses got cold enough that the water in
the kitchen could freeze overnight.
“There are lots of written examples of
advice for how to thaw the inside and parlor
plants slowly in an attempt to save them
when they froze,” said Culek. “Jack Frost, a
common visitor to the single paned windows
of the houses of the time, rarely makes a
visit to our homes of today with their insulated
glass. Most modern children have
never drawn patterns in the frost on their
windows for amusement. Layering was
essential for warmth inside and outside the
house.”
No matter the cold weather, activity in
the barnyard continued throughout the
winter. For many farmers hog butchering
was a necessary chore for the cold months.
“Without a modern source of artificial
refrigeration, an 1880s farm family relied
on Mother Nature and the cold weather she
provided to keep meat from spoiling,” said
Culek. “Hogs provided hundreds of pounds
of meat. Most often pork was brined in salt
in a barrel or crock or rubbed with salt for a
dry cure. Eventually the salt travels
throughout the meat, such as with ham and
bacon, thus once the meat is well salted, it
no longer needs to be refrigerated to keep
from spoiling.”
Photo by Vicki Sherman and courtesy of Metro Parks
People cannot help but smile when they see the new piglets at
Metro Parks’ Slate Run Living Historical Farm, located at 1375
State Route 674 North, near Ashville. For information on the
park, visit metroparks.net.
The salting process can take weeks to get into every part of the
meat.
“The naturally cold weather preserves the meat while that happens,”
said Culek. “Once salted, the meat was often smoked.
Families and neighbors regularly helped each other out on
butchering day as they might do a few hogs in a day, which was a
lot of work. They helped each other out, but also got a chance to
visit.”
Other jobs for the winter were fence building, mending equipment,
husking shocked corn, and hauling wood. As late winter
arrived, those with access to maple trees would collect the tree sap
to boil into syrup or sugar for not only their family, but also to be
sold as a cash crop.
“Maple syrup time was another chance to visit your neighbors
at the ‘sugar camp,’ talking around the fire and tasting taffy-like
maple syrup poured over snow,” said Culek.
When asked how the farm animals were cared for to keep them
warm in the winter, Culek said most farm animals grow thicker
winter coats.
“Besides offering shelter from the wind, and adequate food and
keeping water sources open, there was little an 1880s farmer could
or would do for the animals,” said Culek. “They generally did not
need exceptional care and this part of Ohio is fairly moderate for
winter temperatures.”
When asked if winter was a time of isolation for 1880s farmers,
more so than the rest of the year due to the weather, Culek said it
depended, but many families and neighbors still got together for
taffy pulls, popcorn and nutting evenings, social or fraternal group
meetings and lectures, or theatrical or musical performances at a
local “opera” house, within reach of anyone near a town. Plus, freezing
temperatures actually made some things easier and even fun.
“Often the frozen roads made hauling and traveling a bit easier
in winter than in the constant mud that roads became in the
spring,” said Culek. “Ice cutting and skating happened on local
canals and creeks and coasting was a favored sport if any hill
could be found. When there was enough snow, many residents
seemed to enjoy getting a sleigh out and, although it could be a
frigid mode of transportation, sledding parties and races were a
winter pastime with the proper conditions.”
For information about Metro Parks’ Slate Run Living Historical
Farm, visit metroparks.net.