MELVIN BIRCH HISTORY
I am here to present a brief history of Grandpa Birch's life. Yet words alone, no matter how well chosen or how many, cannot capture the essence of' what Grandpa's life meant to those who loved him. Neither can a recitation of the events of his life convey a feeling of what that life meant to him, of how he lived it in full measure.
Grandpa was a pioneer. At the time of his death he was one of the two oldest people born here in Wilford. He was born July 13, 1887 in a two-room dirt-roofed log cabin near the site of his home in more recent years. He was the fourth child of eight born to Thomas Birch 2nd Mary Hannah Beard Birch. His father was a store keeper and a farmer. The birch store was one of few in this area during the late 19th century. Customers came from as far away as the Teton basin and Marysville to buy necessities, often paying with eggs, livestock, or other things instead of money. One of Grandpa's tasks as a child was carrying a hot dinner to his father at the store on horseback.
Grandpa's father left all the discipline up to his mother. He remembers only once when his father raised his hand towards one of his children. Grandpa grew up on their farm and did very little work other than farming. When he was only l3 years old his father died.
How different life was then! Grandpa's first experience at a school was a tuition school. The teacher, Mr. Walker, maintained discipline by throwing the poker at misbehaving children. The guilty child then had to return the poker to the teacher and stand in the corner. School was not established on any very regular basis. Grandpa said that he had about seven different teachers and apparently went to several places to get his early education. At that time schoolteachers often carne from out of the area and boarded with local residents while the term was in session.
Grandpa said that one of his teachers lived with his family for a time. His advanced education consisted of a year of high school at Ricks Academy in Rexburg. At that time, Rexburg was so far that the children lived there during the school term. It was a little too far to travel by buggy or horseback every day.
Grandpa's father died when he was 13. Soon after that his older brother, Jimmy, got married and moved away to establish his own home. Grandpa and the other children continued to operate the family farm, hiring help when necessary to assist hauling hay or other tasks that the boys could not handle alone. Grandpa had most of the responsibility to running the farm after he was 16 or 17 years old.
Grandpa began courting a girl he had known since childhood, Rosa Smith. He escorted her to dances at the church and to other social functions in a clean, fancy buggy, behind one of the highest stepping teams of horses in the area. They went to Logan, Utah, to be married in the Temple in June 1908. Their marriage plans had to be postponed for a day or so while Grandpa, lacking a month of being 21, sent back to Wilford to get official permission from his mother before the ceremony could take place. Grandma never tired of joking about this for the rest of her life.
After the marriage Grandma and Grandpa settled down in Wilford, occupying a part of the present family home while the rest of Grandpa's family occupied the remainder. He continued to farm with his brothers.
In 1910, Grandpa and Grandma decided to go to Canada to seek their fortune. They moved with Grandma's parents to Kips Coolee near Raymond, Alberta, Canada. Their first year there, Grandpa and his Father-in-law farmed 625 acres for a real estate company. Grandma and Grandpa lived in a two-room shack, which was built at the side of a hill, with the roof running back into the hill. There Lyle was born. While Grandma was still in bed with Lyle a hunter chased coyotes across their roof with his hounds. Their second year there, Grandpa rented 325 acres of sod ground which he planted in grain. The weather was dry; the crop never matured and had to be cut for hay. Again the next year the crop failed be and had to be cut for hay. Discouraged, Grandpa and Grandma sold their horses and belongings to buy a train ticket back to Idaho and home. Grandpa always enjoyed recounting his adventure in Canada, telling how his horses got sick from the trip up there and the change in climate, and of other misfortunes. He never spoke of it bitterly, but as high adventure, something to be retold to his children and their children.
Their wanderlust satisfied, they returned to Wilford to the family home, again sharing it with other members of Grandpa's family. Within a few years all of Grandpa's brothers and sisters had become established in their own homes. Grandpa and Grandma had the family home to themselves and their children. It was the last home they were to need. It served their needs for nearly all of their 59 years of married life.
After his trip to Canada, Grandpa seldom got far from home. He spent some winters in the timber logging with such friends as Andrew Stewart. He found enjoyment even in this hard work, and the companionship of good friends. He never tired of recalling these things in later years, and to us of the younger generation, it was sometimes hard to understand how such work could have been so enjoyable.
Grandpa settled down to the task of farming here again, adding 160 acres of dry farm to the task to make him busier. He contented himself to living in Wilford taking only an occasional to California or to Canada to visit relatives during later years .
There was never any doubt that Grandpa was doing what he wanted with his life. He enjoyed working the earth, watching crops and animals grow and mature under his care. Growing a good crop was a personal triumph. He loved to walk through his fields, measuring the height of his wheat as it ripened. It wasn't in him to neglect any living thing under his care. When it was time to water a crop he was there. When it was time to harvest a crop he was there. His cows never had to wait in the morning or in the evening to be milked. There were always numerous cats waiting in the barn for their saucer of milk at milking time, often performing little tricks he had taught' them in order to get his attention. The family dog was at his heels wherever he went, content just to share his company. When he would pass the chicken house he usually stopped to tease the roosters. Cows that he raised seldom needed hobbles to be milked, that is, unless a stranger went to milk them. They seemed to know and trust Grandpa. Although he raised animals all his life most of his meat came from the butcher shop. It was more than he could bear to butcher a creature he had become attached to, and he became attached to all his animals.
His pleasures were simple pleasures. He didn't need to leave home to enjoy himself. He enjoyed his work. He did like to fish, and told with gusto of his experiences back in the days when he and his friends would go for a few days once in a while to some spot where the fish were big and plentiful. I know from my own experiences that he didn't have to catch a lot of fish or big ones to have a good time. I remember many times when he and I went and caught very few, but still considered the time well spent. If we did get lucky, it provided good conversation for a long time to come. That was like Grandpa. He continually derived pleasure out of past experiences. His eyes would light up as he recounted a story from the past, living anew that good time. He was a reservoir of good times; able to laugh even over those experiences, which weren’t so pleasant at the time, they occurred.
He began his life on a farm and ended it on a farm. His tools changed, as the times changed, but nothing altered his mission in life. When he began, he cared for his horses and the more simple machines of another age so they would serve his needs. He continued to exercise the same care for his tractors, his combine and other more modern machines so that they would serve him well. He derived equal pleasure out of grooming a horse or greasing a piece of machinery. His satisfaction was that for a job well and properly done. He never made a lot or money, and his reputation as a man is confined to a circle of friends and his family. Still his life was an unqualified success. He gave love and received love in return. He raised a fine family that was always close to him. He enjoyed the company of a devoted wife for more than half a century; a wife that he treated gently and with love and who in return devoted her life to serving him and their children. Even now all of his grandchildren and many of his great-grandchildren are here to mourn his passing because in this family there is a close-knit kinship and love that was kindled by Grandpa. From his and grandma's point of view he did those things with his life that he wanted. He was his own man, working his own land, doing it his way.
Even when his health began to fall he continued to work, not because he had to but because that was his life, In later years he would be troubled by the cold weather in the winter, but we always new that if he could make it until spring came again that he would alright. It was almost like the season of spring brought him rebirth, just as it did the plants he spent his life caring for. He found joy in a summer sunrise, as he threw his shovel over his shoulder to go out into the field to water his crops. Life was worth living if there was something he could be doing to make things grow.
He was as at home with a piece of machinery as he was animal. One of his most prized possessions was a self-propelled combine which he began getting ready for another harvest almost before he had completed using it for the current one. These sorts of things were the musical instruments with which he played life symphony. He wanted them well tuned, to do the job efficiently, and in a satisfying manner.
Yes, he was a simple man; he derived his pleasures from the work on his land, from his family, his wife, and his friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment