[Mn-at-large] Fwd: The Blind History Lady Thinking of Spring

[David Andrews]

>
>Hello Followers of The Blind History Lady:
>
>March starts me thinking about spring and wishing to see the trees 
>sprout their leaves.  Farmers begin their preparations for spring 
>planting.  What did our blind ancestors do while on the farm?
>
>Many blind children and young adults helped out their family on the 
>family farm alongside their sighted siblings.  Blind grandparents 
>came to a child's family farm to help with the raising of the 
>children and household chores, just as sighted grandparents 
>did.  Did any of our ancestors head up a family farm?  OH YES THEY DID!!
>
>North Dakota have several farmers from several backgrounds to pick from.
>
>George Hardy, Ward County,  went blind in 1902 after he had gotten 
>his farm, married and had three of his six children.  The first year 
>after his blindness was most difficult for George to 
>adjust.  Although he sought a cure for his blindness for years, he 
>realized he needed to support his family or they would be a charity 
>case for the county for the rest of their lives.  He had no blindness training.
>
>About 1904, George dug the new cellar for food storage for the 
>farm.  1908, he painted his house, 1914, he designed and built a 
>large addition 10 feet by 22 feet for the family  home.  All these 
>chores done mostly by himself.  On the farm, he had the usual farm 
>hands to help with the planting and harvest to work alongside him.
>
>Francis Sears, (yes a distant relation to the Sears department store 
>family) of Nelson County,  was blind from his early youth.  He 
>attended the School for the Blind in Bathgate.  There he learned to 
>read Braille, type and enjoy music along with the regular three 
>"R's".   Although Francis did his share of the farm chores, his 
>family  soon relied on his education to hander accurately, the 
>business end of the family farm.
>
>He told a funny story when on school vacation from Bathgate, Francis 
>prepared for working on the family farm.  When a young teen, Francis 
>was sent out to do the haying by himself with a team of horses.  His 
>father had confidence in his son and expected that, although Francis 
>did not see well, he would accomplish the job.  All was well until 
>the horses bolted.  It took a good while for him to bring the horses 
>back into harness and finish haying the field.   He could hear the 
>horses and called to them, coaxing them back to him.
>
>One of the thoughts in his head that motivated him to get those 
>horses back into line and finish the job was the thought that if he 
>did not, they would never let that "blind Boy" do it again.  He 
>retired from farming more than 60 years later so he and his wife 
>could travel the United States.
>
>
>
>