Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Cowboy Legacy -- Wheat farming in Idaho



My granddad had tried ranching in Montana between 1912 and 1918.  In 1918, he had an opportunity to acquire a farm near his father on Bear Ridge near Kendrick, Idaho, so he sold his Montana homestead, packed his belongings in a horse-drawn covered wagon, and headed for Idaho with his wife and two young children.

The photo above is granddad (back row, far right) with his wheat-harvesting crew about 1919 at Bear Ridge, Idaho.


Horse drawn harvester reaping wheat.  I don't know just how much farm equipment granddad actually owned, but I do know there were harvest crews that brought their own binders and reapers, and harvested wheat as contractors.



Loading loose wheat stalks on horse-drawn farm wagons.  My mom always claimed she drove one of the wagons when she was still a pretty young girl.



Granddad's threshing machine was hand-fed and horse-powered.  Those-old timers sure put in some long days.  If you look carefully you'll notice a buggy to the right of the thrashing machine.  I am betting it belonged to the photographer.






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