milk as we could. After feeding and bedding the cows, we closed the doors and left for the night. I had difficulty sleeping, for I was scared that we would oversleep. The next morning, I was up at five o'clock, lit the kitchen stove, and Gary and I made our way to the barn. When we opened the door, it was like an ice house inside. I knew at once that something was wrong. We had neglected to leave the door, joining the milk room and the main barn open and as a result, everything froze up except the hot water tank. We carried parts of milking machines to the house, where we managed to thaw them out on the oven door. We hurried back to the barn and did what we could before school. We were not experienced with the milking operation, and were not sure as to how long to leave the milkers on each cow. The result was some of the herd lost their production, and had to be sold, causing a loss for the dairy operation. Some cows took mastitis and failed to produce well after that. We were confronted with another dilemma because the feeders were housed on another farm, and were still in the pasture. Joe was expecting a new loader for his tractor and was waiting to clean out the barn where the young cattle were housed. The loader was delayed in coming, but after a call to the dealer, he arrived with it early the next day. Friday morning I turned on the radio, only to hear the news about an impending storm. Someone advised me that it was going to be a real northeaster. Blair had my permission to stay home from school that day, so the barn was cleaned and ready. Saturday morning the yard was full of people. One passed the word on to the next about moving the cattle to the farm. Everyone was expecting trouble, because the animals had been in the pasture since June and were quite wild. The easiest way was to drive them down the road to the farm. The animals were corralled into a pen, and when the gate was opened, they raced across the field. Several men were posted along the highway at different places. The animals never stopped. They ran down the road, and into the barn that they had left in the spring. Someone said it must have been a miracle, for the task had never been that easy before. That evening the sky turned gray and the snow started to fall. The wind picked up and the storm progressed. It certainly was a real Northeaster. 101