By: W.C. Reader

Well, since we last pulled up an apple box and sat down to have a chat with you folks, summer has packed up its high temperatures, tropical storms, excessive rainfall, etc. and slipped away to hibernate for several months. And moving in to take its place is autumn, with its pleasant temperatures, beautiful foliage and a suggestion that frost and chilly weather will soon be upon us.

Now what plans are you making to deal with the cold weather that lies ahead? Have you checked the thermostat on the heating system to see if it is working? Has the pilot light been lit? Do you remember where you stashed away the winter clothing, the sweaters, the coats, the gloves, and the long johns this past spring? Have the blankets and quilts been hung out on the line to "air-out"? Have you paid your gas and electrical bills and/or have you filled the propane tank so you can keep the house warm?

With regards to that last item, we also used to remind you folks to go out in the backyard and check the condition of the woodpile. Had enough wood been brought in from the pasture - or other sources - to keep the cook stove cooking and the heater heating during the winter months?

Today, preparing food and heating the house is a pretty easy thing, and it involves little more that flipping an electrical switch or turning on a gas valve. But there was more preparation needed when your warmth and food preparation depended, for the most part, on wood burning cook stoves, heaters, and fireplaces. It started at the woodpile, where all the limbs and logs had to be reduced to sticks, which would fit in fireboxes of the various units. So, you picked up the ax, sledgehammer, and wedge, and start to work. You stopped after you had chopped smaller limbs into lengths of wood that would fit in the cook stove, and used wedge and sledgehammer to split logs for us in the heaters. Next, while the kids were carrying the wood in the house and filling the wood boxes, someone would take the ax and chop a quantity of kindling wood. Along with cobs, paper, and wood chips, this fine-cut wood would ignite easily, especially if you doused it with a cup or two of coal oil. After all these ingredients were stacked and mixed together, you just struck a kitchen match, applied it, and jumped back in a warm bed until a warm fire was removing the chill. Maybe we make it sound easy and romantic, but it really wasn't. It just served a purpose. We bet there are a number of grandparents still around who remember a stick of firewood flying up and hitting you in the face while you were chopping wood.

And one more reminder for those of you who are getting ready for winter. Have you received your flu shot? If not, get it now. We want you to be around yet next years, when we resume furnishing you with rainfall totals.

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