Copyright <D 19 98 Jerold vv. Apps First Editiot 1 Third Printing All righ1s reserved. Rcproduetion in wllolc or in p;:1r1 of ciny portion in any form vvithout pcrrnission of publisher is prohibitecl. Amherst Press A Division of 1:>aJmcr Publications. Inc. 318 N. Main Street 1\mherst. Wisconsin 54406 Library of Congress Camloging-in-Publicci1ion Data 1\pps . .Jerolcl w .. 1934- Rural 'vVisdorn: time-honored \'C\lues of tl1e Midwest/ by Jerry Apps. p. cm. ISBN 0·9,~2495-63·2 (alk. paper) l. Country Life-Middle west- Quotc-11ions. maxims. etc. 2. couniry lifc- Miclclle west- Anecdotes. 3. Midclle West- Social life and customs Quotrnions. maxims. etc. 4. Middle wes1-Socic1l Jil'e and customs anecclotes. s. Conduct of life-Quotations. rm1xims. e1c. G. Conduc1 or lifc- /\necdo1cs. I. Title. F35 I .t\G7 1997 977- DC2 l 97· I 138 CIP Printed in tl1e United Smtes of .'\meric;;1 C'lt Palmer Publica1ions. Inc. L.ciyou1 0ncl ctcsign by 1\mherst Press. Dedication To my.father. 1-le-m 1un Apps ... who wu.s u funner. storyteller. ond an encyclopedia of rural wisclo1n . Cot!er photo is 11ern1on /\µp.s. frnhPr of the m11/ 1or . .Jerry Apps. The /Jock coLwr shows .Jerr~J wit/ 1 his urun<ison. 1\1/ /)/Wtovruphs /Oken /)y 5Wl'<:' Aµµs. son of .Jerry. amn<ison of 11ennw1 an<i uncle uf.losli. iii Co11te11ts Declicalion .. . . . .. . ... . . iii Preface . . . .. ... . .. .... . . vii Chll/)ters I . Rural \IVisdorn. . l 2. MCll"ing <i Living .5 3. Farming .. . .. . . . 15 4. PrClctical Matters. .27 5. Lifeiime Leaming . . 3 1 6. Family . . . . .. . . . . 37 7. For Good Health .. . 43 8. Home-Grown Food. . 53 9. Tc*ing Life /\s ll Comes . . 67 Io. Gelling Along and Politicicms . . 79 1 1. Conunclrurns 2'1nd Otl1er Wise Rits. . 87 1 2. Seasonal Changes . . .... ..... . . 93 13. One With Nature . 103 14. RemernlJering .. 113 End Nole . . ... l 19 \! Preface Ask a person broug111 up in the country to say 1 am indebted to many people for the ideas in something wise and you'll get a strange look. Rural this book. especially my father. 1 also want to thank people don't run around spouting words of wisdom. my three children for taking time in their busy lives to On the other hand, once you get to know them they'll read this material. and offer suggestions for improve tell you story after story about tl1eir lives and 111e peo ment. My daughter Susan, an elementary school ple they know. The wisdom is there, in these stories !cacher in Madison. has an eye for wl1at makes sen and comments. sible prose. Jeff. a hotel sales manager in Colorado. Having grown up on a Wisconsin farm. 1 heard raises practical questions. Steve, !he journalist in the these stories as long as l can remember. My father family and staff photographer for the Wisconsin State and my grandfather were storytellers. So were my Journal in Madison. reads wHh an eye for interest uncles. And so were several of the neigl1bors in our and understanding. Steve also did the pl101ography Waushara County community located some four for the book. Ruth, my wife and live-in editor. read miles west of Wild nose, Wisconsin. I heard stories unending drafls of the book. challenging, but always or whenever the family gathered. I also heard them supporting. Finally, the staff Amherst Press and when neigl1bors got together to share work projects. especially C11arles and Robena Spanbauer have sup In 1966. I acquired my own farm, where I live part ported my work and encouraged topics !hat range time. discovering something new and recalling from one-room country schools to rural wisdom. ~Jo something old almost every day. all of these people and many more. I am indebted. w11en my 93-year-old father died a few years Their wisdom has helped to make the wisdom of ago, I began writing down some of l1is sayings I tl1is book more accessible. and I l1ope. botl1 inter remembered from my growing up years on the farm. esting and valuable. Soon 1 began recalling wisdom that r had ga1t1ered Jerry f\pps from other rural people that r met over the years. vii 1 Rural Wisdom Wilen I graduated eigl1th grade from a Wiscon were backwater hicks who had few social skills sin one-room country school, I looked forward ro and J1acl Cl lot to learn before they could make it in attending l1igl1 school in Wild Rose. sornc four the world. miles from our farrn. I suspec1 ii WClS during tl1e Wl1en I left the farm to attend the University in first few weel-<s in high school tl1at I discovered. Madison. I faced the country-city difference again. firstl1and. tile cliffcrences between city kids and Only this time I was srnarter. I vowed tl1at I could country kicls. we country kids learned quickly 1'11at act "City" and that no one need know rl1a1 l grew up we were supposedly inferior 10 tl1e more sopl1isti on c-1 sandy farm in Waushara County. Wisconsin. catecl higl1 school fresl1men who l'lad grown up in wl1ere our farm1·1ouse didn't have electricity until I town. At least tl1at is what we heard from our new was a sopl1omore in high school, and had no "!own friencls" wl10 attended classes witl1 us. indoor plumbing until several years after 1 left Even the teC1chers contributed to our feelings home. I remember so well my first day at the of inferiority. altl1ough I don't tt1ink t11ey did it inten University. My new roommate was from Rockford. tionally. we were encouraged to put behind us our Illinois. "Jerry:· he said, uyou walk like you're "country ways" and learn l1ow the world really bel1ind a plo\.v." I didn't respond. The trutl1 was worl<;cd: tl1a1 tl1e only people who really made a 111at r I 1ad been walking behind a plO\.v only a fe vv clifference were city people. and that country folk days earlier. but I wasn't abou1 to tell my new