Category Archives: Uncategorized

Oats and corn were the only two crops we planted on the Scheckel farm in the 1940s and1950s. A grass seed attachment on the oats grain drill sowed alfalfa, timothy, and clover seeds along with the oats. The growing oats … Continue reading →

QUESTION: How do microwave ovens cook food? ANSWER: Microwave ovens are actually radar sets. Radar was developed prior to WWII in both England and the United States and is credited with giving the British a fighting chance in the Battle … Continue reading →

Dad’s John Deere 999 corn planter was designed so that the valves could be locked open and the planter could be used as a drill. With this configuration, seeds were planted at regular intervals. The spacing of the hills was … Continue reading →

QUESTION Why is lead often considered dangerous to people? ANSWER Lead is toxic to everyone, but especially to unborn babies and young children. Lead is a dangerous poison which can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled, or swallowed. It can … Continue reading →

Dad had a John Deere 999 corn planter, a cross-checked rows machine that planted corn in a checkerboard pattern with a hill of corn at the intersection of each line. This method allowed the farmer to cultivate the rows in … Continue reading →

QUESTION Is Jell-O really make from horse hoofs? ANSWER Well, that’s we thought on the farm. If one of our 3 horses, Dolly, Prince, or Lightning, was not moving fast enough, that equine would receive the warning “we’ll send you … Continue reading →

We sowed the oats seeds into the prepared soil with a grain drill. The grain drill was a magnificent piece of machinery that every farmer owned. Couldn’t farm without one! My family owned a seven-foot Van Brunt drill with grass … Continue reading →

A jackalope is an imaginary animal that is supposed to be a cross between a jack rabbit and a pronghorn antelope. Where did this good-hearted foolishness start? A 1930’s hunting trip for jackrabbits near Douglas, Wyoming. Douglas Herrick and his … Continue reading →

The Scheckels operated a 9 ½-foot Moline tandem disc. Four rows of disc blades were angled so that the rounded discs met the soil sideways. Each blade was about a foot in diameter. There were troughs on top of the … Continue reading →

QUESTION: Why does the iris in your eye have color? ANSWER: The iris is that thin circular colored structure of the eye responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil. The iris manages the amount of light entering … Continue reading →