cows

Now if you live on a farm, it well may happen that you also have cows. When we were growing up we had a Guernsey cow named Beulah. She was milked twice a day by dad and we got all the rich unpasteurized milk that we could drink. We also had plenty of cream and at times my folks made butter with a hand churn. When the milk was refrigerated, the cream rose to the top and usually was skimmed off before we poured a glass of milk. Then we moved to Waterville and no longer had our cow so we got products from the daily visit by the milkman. Several years later we moved to Newark Valley where my folks bought a small farm and at some point, Maurice purchased his first cow, another Guernsey, named Holly. She provided us fresh milk, cream and butter.

While Maurice was in high school he frequently helped out our farmer cousin, Zelner who lived across the road. Zelner had a herd of Brown Swiss cows that had been in the family for two generations. Sadly, Zelner was a passenger in a car that was hit be a drunk driver and later died of his injuries. The result of this tragedy was that Maurice purchased and took over Zelner's farm and began his lifetime love of farming on his own. For many years he maintained the herd of Brown Swiss cows and even had young stock quartered in our barn which I reluctantly took care of before and after school. Not my favorite job. Our Guernseys were so mellow that you could put your arm around their neck and they would go along with you. To this day I think that Guernsey cows are beautiful to look at and am delighted that I do not have to take care of them.

As I went through high school I kept wondering what I was supposed to do when I completed school. My junior year English teacher was a crackerjack of a teacher and asked me one day, "Where was I going to college?" Thinking quickly, I replied, "Where did you go to college?" She replied, "Albany State." I said, "That's where I am going too." She replied, "You can go there but you better never try to be an English teacher." I guess she had evaluated my English abilities and felt that any other field would be an improvement. Can you imagine my relief? I was going to college and did not have to become a farmer and take care of cows. My brother may have loved the life of a farmer but I did not.