Retired from farming at 19

oco · Apr 4, 2011

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself. I grew up on a sod farm in Idaho. Hard work, but learned how to play with tractors. When I left home, I went to college so that I wouldn't have to do the hard farming work anymore. Now somehow I miss it and I wonder what kind of hard work I'm going to make my own boys do because without it, I think they might be soft.

grsthegreat · Apr 4, 2011

Another Idahoan here....have them come to my place and shovel stalls and corrals..that will send them to college like no ones business

oco · Apr 4, 2011

When they get old enough to work, I'm definately going to have to send them somewhere. Too bad you're in Northern Idaho.

retiredmgn · Apr 4, 2011

oco said:
Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself. I grew up on a sod farm in Idaho. Hard work, but learned how to play with tractors. When I left home, I went to college so that I wouldn't have to do the hard farming work anymore. Now somehow I miss it and I wonder what kind of hard work I'm going to make my own boys do because without it, I think they might be soft.

My philosophy with my son was to use everything available as a lesson and to make sure he was developing a respect for sweat. He's 31, grown and gone but it gives me pause when he still says 'observe'. I always told him, "You can't know everything but you can figure anything out". The words, "observe my son", are still alive and well in that young man. With him at my side we solved a multitude of enginerring problems throughout his young life.
ex. When his mountain bike became incapacitated at the chain changer. I took it apart and showed him where the spring responsible for switching between sprocketts had lost its footing. Required a flat file to rebuild the notch where the spring rested. He was old enough to stay reserved in the problem resolution- fathers know. Bike is still running strong.
ex. I had to remove the field stone wall in the basement so it could be replaced with concrete blocks. My son was 14. We had to get rid of the stones and bring in the concrete block. This was a new experience for the young guy. While bending over hauling rocks out he came up with the original statement, "My back hurts". I laughed at this. I said, "Son, you can make a living with your back or with your brain". It still took a couple of years. He worked for a company that did liners at big dump sites. Then he worked for a company that did foundations for large building. Currently he is re-educating for wind power. Electrical theory, calculus, all that good stuff that changes a mind to an intellectual machine.
I'm a proud Papa.