All the hype about "farm preservation" really gets under my skin. Who else remembers when Washington County was truly an agricultural area? I'm not talking about the depression or even fifty years ago, as recently as the seventies I could count more than a dozen DAIRY farmers within a mile of my dad's house. Today there isn't one. Nor has there been in years.

How about all the "other" agventures Washington County was once famous for? Truck farming (that's produce if you must ask), fruit of many kinds including berries, we produced poultry, hogs, WALNUTS! When was the last time you saw a hand-painted sign in a front yard - "WALNUTS FOR SALE." How about butchers? There was at least one in nearly every small town.

And what of all the other businesses that were largely dependent on the agriculture community. The dozens of hardware stores, feed & seed stores, elevators, implement dealers? They're nearly all gone.

I hate to see each square foot lost, but trying to "preserve farmland" now is like trying to shove the sand to the top of the hourglass. Anyone want to share an agriculture memory from the second half of the twentieth century? Did you pick apples, raspberries or cherries for spending money as a kid? Did you work on a farm? Ever drive a tractor - a real tractor not a lawn mower? Anyone else remember picking up tubs and boxes of fresh-cut meat that was dropped off as a live steer then spending a day wrapping and carrying it to the freezer? Home-made applesauce, apple butter, jelly & jam, canned tomatoes and pickles to last until next year?

Preserve farmland? No friends its too late for that but we can remember what we've lost.

We didn't live in the "country" but, we could and did raise rabbits and pigeons to eat and sell. We also went to the Butchers down on Security(?) Rd. Well, I was made to go and some of the men there would give me a huge bone for our shepherd. Sometimes I was even allowed to go in the back and pick it out myself! I always got major the biggest one in the box. We used to go out to the dairy farm on Trovenger Rd. And out to Lewis' for our fruit and vegies. And sometimes we'd pick our own berries out there. My brothers would go hunting sometimes. I know they got squirrels but I can't remember any deer. Although I'm sure there were some.
I fairly sure this thread will tun into another of the Us against Them transplants threads. Watch, wait, and see.

Actually there may not have been. As prolific as they are today most don't remember as recently as 1970 when seeing a deer east of Clearspring was something to talk about. Turkeys? they were almost non-existent beyond Fairview mountain (coming east). While these are successes and would lead the casual observer to think things are better for wildlife, I morn the loss of our upland game birds, specifically the quail and pheasant that were everywhere in the 1970's. These less mobile critters (compared to deer & turkey) have disappeared along with the ag lands where they thrived. The culprit? Many blame predators - there are more foxes but particularly raptors - however the greatest factor is lawn grass. That's right GRASS. Specifically K-31 fescue. I could go on forever but yes WVDL, I'm sure your brothers hunted squirrels, rabbits and likely quail & pheasants, that was hunting back then now the emphasis is deer. Just another subtle unnoticed change in our heritage.

As for animosity between natives and newcomers... it's not intended as such and I hope it's not construed as such. Just a demonstration of "what was" and "what is." It's any one's guess "what will be" in another thirty years.

I hate to think of " what will be"! It'll probably look just like a never ending extentsion of DC

I hate to see farm land go myself. Yes, I worked on a dairy farm for many years. Every morning I would wake up at 3am in the morning, get the cows in for milking. The I would have all the calf, heefer, and dry cow to take care off. The when it was time to get the hay in. I was doing that too, wasn't much I didn't do on the farm. Everyone would pitch in and help. I even got to drive a John Deer Tractor alot, now that was fun and easy to do.

My ex family use to have butching at their farm every year. They raise alot of hogs, they would shoot them right on the spot. Their nothing like country sauage, pudding etc. The stuff you get in the store now, can't even compair. That was the good old days for me. Raising your own food, canning now that's fresh.

My grandparents use to put up a garden every year. And raise cows and pigs and a few chickens. Probably a few other animals, I just can't remember. My grandfather use to fish a lot. They pretty much lived off the land. We would have deer meat too, if someone was lucky to get one that hunting season.

My other grandmother on my father side. My grandfather at 54 pass way before I was every thought of. Well anyhow, that grandmother only went to the store for milk, meat and flour , sugar. Since she was living by herself, wasn't no one around to help raise animals. But she did have a few chickens she raised. At her house, it was home cooking meals all the way, down to the fresh bake bread. Nothing was ever out of a box, everything was made from scratch.

I was brought up the country way, So their not much that I haven't eaten. You had to eat what was on your plate, whether you like it or not. And Thank God you had something to eat. It's was a good thing though, their not much I don't like now. I see food, I eat it.

Written by SweetLiberty2U, I forgot to sign in.

Ahhh, yes the good olde days. I grew up in Oak Ridge, the older section. My backyard was home to bobwhites (quail), pheasant, foxes, red squirrels, chipmonks, sometimes an occasional deer. My back yard backed up to what is now Halfway Blvd. There was a rather large hill there where we used to go sledding. I remember roaming back there in the fields and all the farms and apple orchard.

You could walk for miles and not see anything but an occasional shed for a local farm. Now if you did that you'd quickly come up on I-70. There was a farm right at Oak Ridge Dr and Downsville Pike where I rode my first horse. Several dairy farms were also within walking distance.

But alas, progress has over taken us. We came kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, whether we wanted to or not.

hey guys... sorry but how can set a picture in my profile?

I use photobucket.com myself,but theres other places that host your pics for ya. I think theres instructions for posting a pic in the FAQ section here on the board.

You can't have a profile unless you're registered.

Yes, times 7!

Worked on a farm and made a big $2/hr. for most stuff. Picked apples, raspberries (10 cents a quart I think). Picked and peddled corn. Loved driving the tractors but I was mostly the grunt.

The hardest work I ever did in my life was bailing heavy hay in 90+ degree heat with high humidity, racing the expected thunderstorms. And it was the "old" style bailer -- no kickbailer. So hot in the hay mow I thought I'd die... Ahhhh..the good old days!

Yeah and today if the A/C goes out school is dismissed! Don't want to stray too far off topic but what are our children learning today. Certainly not the "honest work for fair compensation" principal.

I sorely miss the freedom (as a child) to roam the fields and woods, learning about the environment first hand - having my interest sparked by a particular bird or plant then going to the library to look it up. Today our kids learn from TV or the net. Both of which we well know cannot be infallibly relied upon for unbiased information! Bugs, snakes, baby birds and mice, all were brought home. I suffered the perils of bug bites, stings, sunburn, scrapes and scratches, regularly wet and muddy shoes and clothes. The lessons learned have lasted a lifetime though. Today such activities would be "too dangerous." That is if it weren't "too dangerous" to even allow a child such freedom to roam!

Too bad, too,too bad.

Growing up i remember Holtzapple vegatable farm off FrederickSt. They had all kinds of veggies.
One of the largest farms in the South end was the Beard farm. Now it has the Foodlion and Nursing home on it.
I remember the dairy trucks delivering milk door to door (darn i miss that ). The Mom and Pop store with everything you needed at home.
The major problem with the loss of small game came about with the intorduction of no till farming.
Banvill, Round up and Paraquat all weed killers.The birds and small insects ate the grasses and died off. Progress has it`s good and bad points.

I remember staying with grandma and picking cherries, greenbeans and raspberries. She'd pay me 50 cents and I'd walk down to the store and buy a Yoohoo.

Man, I miss those days.

The small town that I grew up in was alot like Hagerstown in the past. None of us kids ever wore shoes in the summer and I remember almost slicing my little toe off walking over some hay or dried grass.

We used to go pick wild strawberries and eat them, then run in the pipes- big ones ( wonder if they were sewer pipes?!) But, they were clean with just a small flow of water through them. We could just about stand up in them and bounce off the sides of the cement as we ran. Real fun. There were alot of tadpoles where the pipes emptied out in the creek. Turtles all over the place. My brothers would catch em and put em in boxes and I would let them go! Couldn't stand seeing the poor things trying to scratch their way out of the box. I think I got punched in the stomach for that!