I grew up in rural Douglas County in the '60s, when things were much different. But I also look at my parents and grandparents and think of the changes they have seen.
My grandpa (born in 1895) in his younger years was on a cattle drive. He broke horses and mule teams for farm work. I remember him as a dairyman he started when milking cows by hand was the only way. He was still milking when electric milkers came on the scene and finally finished his career at a Grade A dairy doing what he knew best and loved.
Grandmother could make lye soap. One of the soap ingredients was lard saved from butchering a hog. I can only imagine the joy she felt when she got her gas-powered washing machine.
My mother tells of the old telephone party line. Everyone on the line knew when someone got a call because all the phones on your line rang at the same time. Each house was given a signal ring. You were supposed to answer the phone when your particular ring was heard. Maybe one long ring and two short rings was the signal for your house. The neighbor might have had two long and two short rings. Other members of the party line would listen in to see what was going on. Not much privacy, but it made life interesting.
I attended a one-room school for five years. I was the only person in my grade level. Girls were required to wear dresses to school. Jeans were out of the question even in a blizzard. The restroom facilities were two outdoor privies, one marked "Girls" and the other marked "Boys." The drinking water came from the old hand pump near the school. The county superintendent came by at least once a year to check on us, and the county health nurse would come to the school and give vaccinations a couple of times during the school year.
My adult children will have changes to tell their children, too, that they will have seen over their lifetimes.
One thing that has changed and that we continue to do is conserve our natural resources. Conservation of the land was born during the Dust Bowl. Changes have come about to protect our land from blowing or eroding away. The old practice of terracing land started in the 1940s is still sound advice today. Other practices for conservation of land such as diversion, waterways and grade-stabilization structures are all good advice.
Now we are hearing more about water quality and the importance of protecting water. Changing our patterns of thinking about something that has been around forever is sometimes difficult but necessary. We have never really had to think about water quality. There has always been water at the tap or in the well. But water that can be used to drink may not always be that easy to access. Our actions daily can and will affect water quality.
One very important way to help protect our water is by not using fertilizer on your lawn, garden, field or pasture until you have had a soil test on the area in which you plan to fertilize. Fertilizing without the proper knowledge of what the plant life requires greatly increases the chances of fertilizer runoff into our water. A soil-test analysis will tell you exactly what your soil requires to promote strong, healthy plant growth.
A second way to protect water quality is by plugging abandoned water wells. Water wells that are not used need to be plugged. They are a direct line to the groundwater. Anything that seeps into the ground next to or near a well can eventually leak into the well. A broken well casing or no casing at all lets pollutants into these bore holes.
The older we are, the more stubborn or strong willed we are. Changes don't come so easy. But we must make them for the sake of future generations.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.