And when you ah harvested the crop, it was cut with a binder and it was put in stooks in the field and you had a threshing machine.

And that's what they did. And then they got to come around and stook it, and then they'd pick it up with the wagon and take it in the barn and then thrashing machine would come in the winter.

Speaker: And that's what they did. And then they got to come around and stook it, and then they'd pick it up with the wagon and take it in the barn and then thrashing machine would come in the winter. Interviewer: Now explain what stooking means. Speaker: Oh that put the sheaths up against each other like this and take the heads off the ground. Interviewer: And how many would be in one stook? Speaker: There was two kind of stook. They used to have the long stooks and they'd be two, two, two and two. And the stook would be about- it would have maybe ten sheaves in it. Five pairs. And then the round stooks you just had two and two and- 'bout maybe six or seven. And- and it was round then. The two in the middle kind of held it just to got going, yeah. But- but the other ones would dry better, the long ones would dry better.

Interviewer: And how many would be in one stook? Speaker: There was two kind of stook. They used to have the long stooks and they'd be two, two, two and two. And the stook would be about- it would have maybe ten sheaves in it. Five pairs. And then the round stooks you just had two and two and- 'bout maybe six or seven.

Speaker: Makes it into stooks, yeah makes it- Interviewer: Oh 'kay! Speaker: Into stooks, into sheaves, yes stooks is when you put them all together made it into sheaves. Glad you remember these things (laughs) 'cause I can't- made it into sheaves and then ah- Interviewer: She drove the tractor, mom road the binder- Speaker: B-- binder. Interviewer: Dad stooked the grain. Speaker: Yeah, he had to stook it up into stooks so the f-- when it rains, the rain will fall off it so it doesn't get it all wet. If you leave it on the ground, it gets mouldy and-that so- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: You have to stook it up into stooks so my dad did that and ah- and then I drove the- the- when we had the- what was it, the elevator?

Speaker 2: Dad stooked the grain. Speaker 1: Yeah, he had to stook it up into stooks so the f-- when it rains, the rain will fall off it so it doesn't get it all wet.

If you leave it on the ground, it gets mouldy and-that so- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: You have to stook it up into stooks so my dad did that and ah- and then I drove the- the-

Yeah. And then um, Donald and my dad I-guess would stook the bales, then you were- yeah you were hel-- still helping on the farm.

Speaker: Got the strap once, got suckered into it, but I got the strap once. ... Ah, guy picked the fight with me ... and I went around the corner to hit him and it was right in front of the teacher that I hit him so of course I got the strap.

Never did get the strap so that must have (laughs)- ... Yeah. Either- either I was good or I never got caught (laughs).

But this village helped raise them you-know? They couldn't get away with anything. Our neighbour across the road, he'd say, "I heard your son was doing such-and-such a thing." So- then we'd speak to them and s-- you-know they were, it was a g-- a good neighbourhood, I just think Beaverton is the best place I could raise the boys.

Speaker: You're- you're really- things were so much simpler then- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: But, um- and everything didn't have to be colour-coordinated (laughs) Interviewer: (laughs) Speaker: Like you- you- you didn't ah the people on the farm didn't register at such-and-such a place for china and this type-of-thing. It was anything they- anything that was given to them they appreciated.

Speaker: And it did, ah- Mister-Watts- he was a very, very nice man. He lived here in town. He, ah, w-- would go up and d-- he had such-and-such a route to do and the bus was full by the time- like you were squashed in- one right- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: Beside the other.

I remember being a kid there, and Christmases and playing on the flats down behind where the river was. It wasn't cleaned up or cleared up, it was all bush down in there, forts and sucker fishing and-things-like-that. Lots- lots of sucker fishing. We used to have great fun back in those days when take three-inch long firecrackers, kids could buy the big firecrackers, you get a dead sucker- or sucker you just caught and stick it down the sucker's mouth and light it off, you blown it up, see what the sucker look like.

I remember being a kid there, and Christmases and playing on the flats down behind where the river was. It wasn't cleaned up or cleared up, it was all bush down in there, forts and sucker fishing and-things-like-that. Lots- lots of sucker fishing. We used to have great fun back in those days when take three-inch long firecrackers, kids could buy the big firecrackers, you get a dead sucker- or sucker you just caught and stick it down the sucker's mouth and light it off, you blown it up, see what the sucker look like.

Um, me, I never really got in trouble. Other than sucker fishing too late or staying out too late at night at that fort, building a fort, working on this or that.

Speaker 1: That didn't happen too often but once in a while that did happen. Um, and sometimes the one teacher took us sucker fishing. Interviewer: What's sucker fishing? Speaker 1: In the spring the suckers run up the creeks and-that. Speaker 2: And they're fish. Speaker 1: And they're fish about yay long. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker 1: And, ah, that was- we had Arbor-Day when- I think if we had Arbor-Day we had to clean up the yard and we got that done in time then we got to go sucker fishing.

My sisters helped out more in the house because I was always with my father, right? We'd go over to the Woodville sales barns. He'd be showing um- we had a lot of pigs too as well as cattle and he'd be um selling them over there. Yeah. Yeah and I can remember when I was a kid we'd go sucker fishing.

... this garage is different now than what it was then but at that time it was a summer kitchen and wood shed and a cow stuck her head out the doorway and what happened was, there used to be an apple tree that was on the opposite side of the fence, so she came over to eat apples and there could've been a bushel of apples in the summer kitchen so she walked in-

And, of course, we ha-- used to have wood stoves and now everything is electric stove, and there is no more back summer kitchens, um, our- the farm houses used to have large sa-- kitchens at the back- it was attached to the house and they had their wood-stove out there ...