boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 As most of you know, I have a farm. It was passed on from my grandpa who had worked the land with his dad prior to that. Either way, there is a ton of old stuff around. Before anyone starts to think I find stuff to take on Pawn Stars or scrap yard show where guys have that van, it's not. Basically, when doing stuff I find things. Today I found a seal that had numbers on it and the words wagner. I googled it and by best telling it was to a brake component on a Chrysler. It was in a field I had bulldozed about 3 years ago and have no idea how it would have got there. Today was not an exemplary day though. This past summer I found a pocket watch underneath some pecan trees that have been there for 60+ years probably. I googled it to find what I expected, it was not worth much, it was in bad shape too, but finding out it was a model from the 1940's was neat. I asked my mom and she had told me it was my grandpa's a long time ago and he had lost it. That was cool The best I found was the "cyclops." It was the ornament on the front of the 1953 Model N tractor. It is one of the most famous tractors in history. It is in great shape and is somewhat rare to find. I have also found the distributor cap to a model A Ford and a bunch of other miscellaneous items. I am only talking about what I find in the ground through stumbling upon or above the ground for whatever reason. I have a bunch of junk in sheds and buildings that I take time to go through every few months. Some of them tools from the 50's and 60's that I am putting to use. It is amazing how well things were built back than. If no one else finds this interesting, well, I guess I am just boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 When I saw "Farm" and "Googling", I immediately thought of Farmville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 When I saw "Farm" and "Googling", I immediately thought of Farmville That's fun to have happen. I'll mention something about my farm, going to check on my cows, etc, and people think I am talking about farmville. I meet a lot of people in Charlotte that find it odd that I own and operate a farm. I look like any 29 yr old suburban upper middle class white kid due to my upbringing so I guess that people find it surprising I farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 [Are there any old tractors on your farm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Ever find anything like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) Ever find anything like this? Not yet, but my gramps shotgun is from 1914. And no, just my one tractor. I'm budgeting a new one for 2012. Edited October 14, 2010 by jboyst62 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) No I don't think it's boring at all. I grew up in a home built in 1865. My grandparents bought it probably 70 years ago, then my parents bought it from them and now my brother owns it. My mom still lives there and I go back once or twice a year to visit. I don't find anything old other than the whole house itself. I love looking around in the cellar or the attic at how the constructed things back then. In a crawl space in the cellar my brother showed me a stack of flat stones piled up from the ground to the bottom of the first floor. I asked what it was and he said think about where we were and what was above the stack of stones. It was the fireplace. Those stones where there to prevent the fireplace from falling through the floor from all the weght of the fireplace itself as well as three stories of chimney. Such cool stuff. BTW ever find one of these lying around? They had, well they still do, have the WNY steam show in the town I grew up in every year. I love those old things. Edited October 14, 2010 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Today was not an exemplary day though. This past summer I found a pocket watch underneath some pecan trees that have been there for 60+ years probably. I googled it to find what I expected, it was not worth much, it was in bad shape too, but finding out it was a model from the 1940's was neat. I asked my mom and she had told me it was my grandpa's a long time ago and he had lost it. That was cool My grandfather was a farmer in WNY (that's kind of how I became a Bills fan) and passed it down to my uncle 20+ years ago. My grandfather died a few years ago at 96. I can appreciate your story. All kinds of stuff gets everywhere until the earth pushes it to the surface. At least your watch story wasn't like the one in Pulp Fiction.... You say it's in bad shape, but can it be cleaned up and get it running? Watches back then were often pretty good quality. It would be nice to have/use something that was your grandfathers, no? I inherited an old leather wallet (empty) and I tossed my newer one in a drawer and started using this one. Maybe I'm just sentimental like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolstoy Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Not boring in the least! In fact, I'm quite envious. I happened to rent an old farm for five years, and spent days with a metal detector going through the fields. Lots of old nails and junk...but, I did find an old 1940's pocket knife. That was very cool. Made my day. Have you tried a metal detector? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 BTW ever find one of these lying around? They had, well they still do, have the WNY steam show in the town I grew up in every year. I love those old things. Threshers Reunion They have them here too, they're a lot of fun. They have them everywhere and they are fun to visit, people should check them out. At least your watch story wasn't like the one in Pulp Fiction.... You say it's in bad shape, but can it be cleaned up and get it running? It ticks, and works. One hand is off. I put it in a safe until I get some time and money in the future to invest in to it. Maybe one day I will fix it up real nice. It was German watch, really fancy. Sold for $35. Have you tried a metal detector? I will one day get one. I thought about getting one for my dad who retired here. I have looked in to them a little bit but there are sooooo many with soooo many different reviews. It was my Mom's dad, by the way. Anyway, there are a ton of nails, fence stapples and various metal objects around. Another side note of my family heritage. On my fathers side, my great great grandpa was at one point the 2nd largest shareholder of US Steel. I am working with Well-Fargo who has their archive to find out just how much he may have had. Surprisingly, they are non-cooperative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 For some reason there is a traditon of burying a silver dollar in the yard on New Years... I don't know... It was something my mother always did. I just can't remember where I bury it. I have been here 15 years... So I suppose there is 15 bucks buried around the garden... Through the years, whoever gets the house (the children) I suppose they will find some money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 That's fun to have happen. I'll mention something about my farm, going to check on my cows, etc, and people think I am talking about farmville. I meet a lot of people in Charlotte that find it odd that I own and operate a farm. I look like any 29 yr old suburban upper middle class white kid due to my upbringing so I guess that people find it surprising I farm. What do you grow? Do you work it alone or hire help? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 For some reason there is a traditon of burying a silver dollar in the yard on New Years... I don't know... It was something my mother always did. I just can't remember where I bury it. I have been here 15 years... So I suppose there is 15 bucks buried around the garden... Through the years, whoever gets the house (the children) I suppose they will find some money! We found a British George II half-penny dated 1751 in our garden. Patina was almost black. Curiously, at that time, this place was dense wilderness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 We found a British George II half-penny dated 1751 in our garden. Patina was almost black. Curiously, at that time, this place was dense wilderness. Direct-to-market grass fed beef. I have been staying up late and getting up early since Sept. Calving season. It is winding down but in the middle of it I check on them every 2-3 hours. I have 3 yet to calve. They'll drop in the next day or so but my sleep schedule is messed up now. Normally, it takes until Thanksgiving to get it back on track. The only advantage of being up late is watching some good movies that aren't normally on. I also have apples, pecans, peaches, cherries, pears, various garden things, as well. Those are not for major profit, but Pecans this time of year will sell over $8/lbs whole and $15/lbs. shelled. After thanksgiving they are less than $5/shelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 My parents house was officially built in the early 1860's, but during remodeling it over the last 30 years, they've found things in the walls that makes them believe it was built in 1841, namely a small bible in the living room wall with that date written in it. They've also found a pair of baby shoes in the wall. Light switches that someone smashed the switch with a hammer to break it off, then wall papered over it, and yes, it was still a live circuit. My brother "tested it" by touching it. Under the linoleum in the kitchen floor we found newspapers from the 1940's, looks like they used them to help level the floor before laying the linoleum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) Direct-to-market grass fed beef. I have been staying up late and getting up early since Sept. Calving season. It is winding down but in the middle of it I check on them every 2-3 hours. I have 3 yet to calve. They'll drop in the next day or so but my sleep schedule is messed up now. Normally, it takes until Thanksgiving to get it back on track. The only advantage of being up late is watching some good movies that aren't normally on. I also have apples, pecans, peaches, cherries, pears, various garden things, as well. Those are not for major profit, but Pecans this time of year will sell over $8/lbs whole and $15/lbs. shelled. After thanksgiving they are less than $5/shelled. My girlfriends father owns a ranch in MO...I have heard all about calving season and how stressful it can be. I'm very interested in small farm farming. Nothing more than an interest at this point, been reading a lot about it, never been around farming in my life. Started looking at it from an economics stand point, but quickly turned to being more interested in the local food / non industrial farming lifestyle. I'd love to check out your place (not that you were inviting), but the only time I get to the area is around Thanksgiving most years (when I visit my mother in York, SC). Figure I'd be missing out on any major activity that time of year. Same when I visit NY, where there are plenty of small farms and local food stuff going on. Unfortunately where I live, there really aren't any small farms within a 3-4 hour drive...just industrial stuff. Though I'm lucky enough to have a grass fed cattle ranch about an hour away. Get all my beef from there. Edited October 14, 2010 by Faustus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Ever find one of these handing around your farm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Ever find one of these handing around your farm? Nice pointy 60s boobs, but what's that on her head? A poodle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 I'm very interested in small farm farming. Nothing more than an interest at this point, been reading a lot about it, never been around farming in my life. Started looking at it from an economics stand point, but quickly turned to being more interested in the local food / non industrial farming lifestyle. The link in my sig line can give you some good information where to get the food. Also, small farms are not as crazy as you think. Even just having a few chickens for eggs can be good. Rhode Island chickens can yield beef and eggs. It's fun for the kids, too. They're not that expensive. Pigs are also fun. I'd love to check out your place (not that you were inviting), but the only time I get to the area is around Thanksgiving most years (when I visit my mother in York, SC). York is probably 3 hrs away, just guessing off memory? Ever find one of these handing around your farm? Bestest I've found yet. I guess I have bad luck! But, I do love it on CMT again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Direct-to-market grass fed beef. I have been staying up late and getting up early since Sept. Calving season. It is winding down but in the middle of it I check on them every 2-3 hours. I have 3 yet to calve. They'll drop in the next day or so but my sleep schedule is messed up now. Normally, it takes until Thanksgiving to get it back on track. The only advantage of being up late is watching some good movies that aren't normally on. I also have apples, pecans, peaches, cherries, pears, various garden things, as well. Those are not for major profit, but Pecans this time of year will sell over $8/lbs whole and $15/lbs. shelled. After thanksgiving they are less than $5/shelled. That's very cool. My Dad was from WI and his uncle had a diary farm I remember visiting as kids. And my wife's uncle has a small date farm in the Coachella Valley that we've been to a few times. I'm very interested in small farm farming. Nothing more than an interest at this point, been reading a lot about it, never been around farming in my life. Started looking at it from an economics stand point, but quickly turned to being more interested in the local food / non industrial farming lifestyle. Same here; it's very appealing from a health and environmental standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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