I just updated a story from my childhood and thought I would share it here for my family.
Picking Up A Load Of Wood Slabs
January 29, 2015
On a warm summer day in the late 1940's while I was at my grandparent's farm Grandpa Stafford asked me if I would like to go for a ride with him. I said sure Grandpa.
Grandpa and I went to the barn and Grandpa brought Dolly and Ginger out of the barn. (his horses) He had me hold them by the halters while he went back for their harnesses. Soon Grandpa had them hitched to the hay wagon.
Grandpa and I climbed up on the wagon and we started off down the road. When we got to the corner, we turned to the right and kept going. In a few minutes, we turned into the driveway of the Flying Dollar Ranch. Grandpa pulled the wagon up to a pile of wood slabs. He told me that he was supposed to pick them up and we could use them for firewood.
For those of you that aren't familiar with how trees become lumber, wood slabs are the first cut off the outside of a tree. They still have bark on one side. Sometimes, the first slab is so narrow that they throw away the second cut too and it goes in with the slap pile.
Soon we were loading the slabs on the wagon. We were about half way through loading the pile when I heard grandpa let out a howl. He had been bitten by a bee. Thinking nothing of it, he went right back to work loading. The next thing I know he is howling again, then again. The next thing I know there is a swarm of bees coming out of the pile of slabs.
Well I'm no genius, but I took off running and Grandpa wasn't far behind me. We were clear across the road before we stopped. Grandpa was hurting from several stings. I lucked out and didn't get any. Apparently they had concentrated on Grandpa. I always thought it was funny that the bees hadn't attack the horses too. We decided to wait for awhile before going back. Grandpa said, "I don't think were going to get the rest of the slabs today.
After about a half hour, we went up to the house and Grandpa told the man there what had happened and said, " were going to leave the rest of the slabs for now."
He told the man that he recommended that the slabs be left until winter when the bees would be dormant. We climbed back up on the wagon and started back to the farm. It was plain that Grandpa was hurting.
When we got back to the farm, Grandpa unhitched the horses and took off their harness. He told me to put the horses in their stalls in the barn while he put the harness up. We left the wagon by the firewood pile so we could unload it later. Grandpa said the slabs could wait until later and we went to the house.
When Grandpa had told Grandma what had happened, she asked him where he was stung. He told her on the back, his chest, his arms and one on his leg. She told him to take off his shirt and went to get something. I think it was alcohol that she put on the stings after washing them first. When she had taken care of the ones on his back, chest and arms, she had him roll up his pants leg and did the one on his leg too.
I think that was the earliest I had ever seen Grandpa quit work for the day. Grandpa wasn't a complainer, but it was obvious that he didn't feel very good and the stings were hurting him. Grandpa had put his shirt back on, but had rolled the sleeves up. You could see that the stings had really swollen up. Needless to say that wasn't a very happy night on the farm. However; the wood slab trip will always remain etched in my memory.
By: Larry O Stafford