STORING THE WOOD

The fall season reminded everyone that winter was approaching, and that the wood had to be stored indoors where it would be dry. We burned all wood at that time because we did not have an oil furnace, so it was necessary to have it dry when it was our only source of heat.

Joe was a great woodsman, and always managed to cut the wood the previous year, so that it would be dry. Each morning and afternoon during the winter months, he hitched the horse to the sleigh, and went to the woods and cut a half cord of wood. He then placed it on the sleigh and our horse, Jean, took it home. Joe transferred the wood from the sleigh to the existing pile. This was part of his daily routine until he had a number of cords extending across the yard.

Some winters, we were plagued with snow storms, and the wood cutting was delayed. When the weather cleared, there would be very high snow drifts, making it difficult to reach the woods to cut the firewood. However, when spring approached, and the weather improved, Joe managed to complete his wood pile. The neighbors always remarked on Joe’s great pile of wood.

The next job was to file the saw, hire some men and saw the wood into blocks. The blocks would not fit the stove, so Joe split wood every available free moment. We did not have a wood splitter, which meant that the chore was done by hand.

When Joe had about twelve cord split, he would pile it very neatly, and extend it about five feet high and ten feet long. This was left to dry for the duration of the summer before moving it to storage.

The children would be watching their father, and when they saw him rearranging boards in the basement, they knew what was coming next. Sure enough, everyone was summoned to help out. The wood was loaded on to a trailer, and placed in the basement, through a cellar window where it was neatly packed.

It was important that I have a large bag of candy on hand for treats during the ordeal. If I did not produce it early in the morning, they kept asking for

It. Often when a stick was moved someone would be heard shouting,

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