Global Warming anyone????

[Born 2 Fish]

Hey Deb !!
Did you wake up to a snow dusted Florida this morning ??

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I grew up near Silver Creek, in Chautauqua County. From there up through Brant and Evans in southern Erie County there were several large tomato operations. The Vacco family was a big grower that also owned (not sure if they still do) some huge farms in Palm Beach County.

My Dad sold the farm when he retired, and I don't think any tomatoes are grown there anymore. Mostly grapes in Silver Creek, which we also grew.

Anyways, I agree with you on the tomatoes....nothing beats a real vine ripened and fresh tomato. Especially on a BLT with real mayo....yum!

Hey Dave - did you happen to know of the Sager farm in Brant? That was my great aunt's farm - dairy, grapes and strawberries. She sold off the land which had been in the family for over 100 years, kept the house and outbuildings. More money in the real estate than in working the land and trying to make milk profitable. Her vineyards were old, too, and the rows too close together to use the pickers, so she used to have to hire to handpick. I spent many cold and rainy fall days picking grapes for 50 cents a box. If you were lucky and the sugar content was up, you sold to Welches and she would share some of the jelly and grape juice she got from Welches as a bonus. If the sugar content was crap, she sold to Mogan David. Nobody wanted the bonus then.

 

[DaveInTN]

Hey Dave - did you happen to know of the Sager farm in Brant? That was my great aunt's farm - dairy, grapes and strawberries. She sold off the land which had been in the family for over 100 years, kept the house and outbuildings. More money in the real estate than in working the land and trying to make milk profitable. Her vineyards were old, too, and the rows too close together to use the pickers, so she used to have to hire to handpick. I spent many cold and rainy fall days picking grapes for 50 cents a box. If you were lucky and the sugar content was up, you sold to Welches and she would share some of the jelly and grape juice she got from Welches as a bonus. If the sugar content was crap, she sold to Mogan David. Nobody wanted the bonus then.

Jim, I knew several Sagers in Silver Creek. They own an auto repair and towing business. The Sager farm sounds a lot like my family's farm...only without the dairy! We raised grapes, tomatoes and strawberries, plus assorted other produce. My grandfather was a dairy farmer until the 40's and he decided he hated cows. Plus milking twice a day put a crimp on the ability to go south in the winter. So he sold the dairy farm in North Collins and bought the farm in Silver Creek.

We were fortunate in that our grapes were primarily machine picked, with the exception of some Delaware grapes that were hand picked. But we spent a lot of cold winter days in the vineyards trimming and tying by hand. I hated that. But the money could be ok. Most of my dad's grapes were under contract to Coca Cola I think.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Jim, I knew several Sagers in Silver Creek. They own an auto repair and towing business. The Sager farm sounds a lot like my family's farm...only without the dairy! We raised grapes, tomatoes and strawberries, plus assorted other produce. My grandfather was a dairy farmer until the 40's and he decided he hated cows. Plus milking twice a day put a crimp on the ability to go south in the winter. So he sold the dairy farm in North Collins and bought the farm in Silver Creek.

We were fortunate in that our grapes were primarily machine picked, with the exception of some Delaware grapes that were hand picked. But we spent a lot of cold winter days in the vineyards trimming and tying by hand. I hated that. But the money could be ok. Most of my dad's grapes were under contract to Coca Cola I think.

Oh man, we gotta get together. My Dad was from North Collins, and my uncle lives in Lawtons. I hated strawberries worst than grapes. At least when you picked grapes you could stand up. All that squatting with strawberries was too much for a hyperactive kid like me. I'm pretty sure the Sagers you are talking about are related to me - I'll have to ask my mom. They would be second cousins. My mom used to trimming and tying, but I never did.

 

[liv luvs disney]

Hey Dave - did you happen to know of the Sager farm in Brant? That was my great aunt's farm - dairy, grapes and strawberries. She sold off the land which had been in the family for over 100 years, kept the house and outbuildings. More money in the real estate than in working the land and trying to make milk profitable. Her vineyards were old, too, and the rows too close together to use the pickers, so she used to have to hire to handpick. I spent many cold and rainy fall days picking grapes for 50 cents a box. If you were lucky and the sugar content was up, you sold to Welches and she would share some of the jelly and grape juice she got from Welches as a bonus. If the sugar content was crap, she sold to Mogan David. Nobody wanted the bonus then.

Jim, I knew several Sagers in Silver Creek. They own an auto repair and towing business. The Sager farm sounds a lot like my family's farm...only without the dairy! We raised grapes, tomatoes and strawberries, plus assorted other produce. My grandfather was a dairy farmer until the 40's and he decided he hated cows. Plus milking twice a day put a crimp on the ability to go south in the winter. So he sold the dairy farm in North Collins and bought the farm in Silver Creek.

We were fortunate in that our grapes were primarily machine picked, with the exception of some Delaware grapes that were hand picked. But we spent a lot of cold winter days in the vineyards trimming and tying by hand. I hated that. But the money could be ok. Most of my dad's grapes were under contract to Coca Cola I think.

Oh man, we gotta get together. My Dad was from North Collins, and my uncle lives in Lawtons. I hated strawberries worst than grapes. At least when you picked grapes you could stand up. All that squatting with strawberries was too much for a hyperactive kid like me. I'm pretty sure the Sagers you are talking about are related to me - I'll have to ask my mom. They would be second cousins. My mom used to trimming and tying, but I never did.

It's a small world...

 

[ftwildernessguy]

It's a small world...

Especially when you consider how little these towns are that we are talking about.

 

[ntsammy5]

Gee. I've been to North Collins! Quite a few times. I never did find out where it is though!

 

[DaveInTN]

Gee. I've been to North Collins! Quite a few times. I never did find out where it is though!

I think it's north of Collins.

It is a small world (afterall). Silver Creek had around 3,000 residents at its peak, and is probably a little smaller now. And people from those other towns we mentioned used to drive into Silver Creek to shop.

Jim, I went to high school with Erik Sager. I think his dad is Norm. They own Norm's Garage in Silver Creek. Maybe you are related.

 

[AuburnJen92]

You are just a brother from another mother!

 

[des1954]

Oh man, we gotta get together. My Dad was from North Collins, and my uncle lives in Lawtons. I hated strawberries worst than grapes. At least when you picked grapes you could stand up. All that squatting with strawberries was too much for a hyperactive kid like me. I'm pretty sure the Sagers you are talking about are related to me - I'll have to ask my mom. They would be second cousins. My mom used to trimming and tying, but I never did.

You've never planted & then harvested cabbage, did you? Walking behind the planting machine, putting in fertilizer, water & then tamping down the soil was hard. Cutting them with a machete, throwing them on a wagon, and then bagging them in 50lb bags was brutal!!!

We didn't live on a farm, but there was a small working farm on our street. They had about 80-100 head of dairy cows, and had about 250 acres that they rotated corn, wheat & cabbage on. I spent all my free time there - but Al did not. He was smarter than I. However - I did learn a lot about dairy farming in my growing up years. I think I was 7 or 8 when I learned how to milk a cow by hand, and about 10 when I watched the farmer pull a calf. Growing up in a rural farm community was a wonderful life!

 

[ntsammy5]

I think I was 7 or 8 when I learned how to milk a cow by hand, and about 10 when I watched the farmer pull a calf. Growing up in a rural farm community was a wonderful life!

And you were about 11 when the farmer threatened to shoot the dog if he kept chasing the cows

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I think it's north of Collins.

It is a small world (afterall). Silver Creek had around 3,000 residents at its peak, and is probably a little smaller now. And people from those other towns we mentioned used to drive into Silver Creek to shop.

Jim, I went to high school with Erik Sager. I think his dad is Norm. They own Norm's Garage in Silver Creek. Maybe you are related.

Yep, for sure. I remember Norm Sager from reunions. Not sure who's kid he was, though, but I can ask my mom. Norm would be a second cousin to me, since I think his father was my Mom's uncle - my Mom's mother's brother. I grew up in Collins, and yes indeed, North Collins is north of Collins. Collins has about 1000 people in it.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I've grown vegetables,,I usta milk cows,,I've pulled calfs,
and yes, I do love cold milk with my hamburger/steak and salad,
I enjoy'd growing up in a rural farm community too! Man you aint lived til you jump'd outta the top of a barn into a hay stack, or driving a tractor thru the mud for fun,

 

[DaveInTN]

I think the DISboards have morphed into the WNY FarmBoards.

And Deb, my dad grew cabbage several years, and I remember one year in particular. He had a strawberry field that had reached the end of its useful life, and he decided to rotate a crop of cabbage for one year before replanting the berries. Problem is, this particular field was just west of the house. And you know what happens to cabbage after the growing season. Any westerly wind would carry that stench toward the house, and no amount of plowing would eliminate it.

And if anyone is wondering what all this farm talk has to do with the original post....well if you listen to the media it's farm activity that causes a lot of the warming. Something about farting cows and fermenting cabbage. So, this is all relevant.

 

[des1954]

I'll take the smell of manure over rotting cabbage, any day, Dave. Every three years the 50 or so acres across the street from our home was planted with....you guessed it.....CABBAGE!!! Funny thing is....I love cabbage!!

And Al.....I was about 7 when Mr.Weiner threatened to shoot Clarence. A little history here. Clarence was our dog who would chase cows into the creek. The cows would get stuck in the mud; the farmer had to get the tractor - tie a rope around the cows - and pull them out of the mud. All this excitement would ruin the milk in the cows. Hmmmmm.....I wonder why Mr. Weiner DIDN'T shoot Clarence. I would have!!

 

[homebrew2]

Gee. I've been to North Collins! Quite a few times. I never did find out where it is though!

Al...Al...Al, I told ya before, ya really need to cut back on the Moosehead

You are just a brother from another mother!

Would that be his other brother Darrell??

Now back to the topic It got down to -12F last night with
a wind chill of -21. My house is now without water cause the pipe
from the street froze and according to the city I'm a long way from
being the only one.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

When our pipes froze, I done told the city "Don't you worry about it, fellers. I'm not due fer a bath til spring."