Long-Johns - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.


Long-Johns

My Dad’s 102nd birthday would have been on October 29th. Before Dad's passing at age 94 in 2008, our clan would annually reconvened on the home farm that had been in the family for generations to celebrate his birthday, plus before his retirement to recognize the conclusion of a successful harvest season. One year, we surprised Dad with a restored Oliver tractor shown in the photo that was just like the one he used as a young farmer. Dad was in his prime again on that memorable fall day, especially as we all took turns riding with him on the tractor. The combine in the photo is Dad's 70 year old McCormick harvester that he donated to the owner of the tractor for eventual restoration.

So Dad's 102nd birthday means he was born in 1913, which happened to be the year of a big flood in the area. With Lake Loramie, Miami-Erie canal and the confluence of several creeks in the town, history has it that the entire area was severely flooded during the spring before my Dad was born, which no doubt delayed the preparations for the plantings that year. My Dad used to tell about a discovery he made while plowing one spring on the family farm when he was 14 or 15 years old. It was a button made of bone so he cleaned it up and brought it to his Dad, my grandfather. The button brought a huge smile to my grandfather’s face as he recalled the button was likely from his Dad’s (my great grandfather's) long underwear. Apparently in those days, my great grandfather would put on a pair of long-johns in the fall and never take them off until spring. And usually it was while plowing as the weather started to warm when my grandfather would stop the horses, remove his overalls right in the middle of the field, literally strip off the well-worn long underwear and throw them in the furrow to be plowed under, never to be seen again (except for the button). And that further perhaps explains why all the children of my great grandparents were born in the Dec/Jan timeframe nine months after the spring plowing, as great grandmother would likely have nothing to do with my great grandfather until those dreadful long-johns were plowed under and he had his annual bath!

This is the original Oliver tractor