Love - The Odessa Record "By Your Relative"

Odessa Record subscriber Larry Fisher of Spokane continues his series of articles on the history of the Batum/Lauer area (where his wife, the former Joyce Kiesz, grew up).

Hi, here I am again.

Continued from last week “The Schibels.”

In the 30s during the change from horses to tractors, most fencing that had been installed for control of the horses and/or protection of the grain fields, started to be removed. Today there is no such fencing whatsoever in the L-B-D except at the missile base.

Also in the 30s as tractors started replacing “work” horses, the Odessa Trading Company was having auctions/sales in several locations. One such location being used at that time was the Foster Farm where the Kageles on Kagele road, are today. At the time, the Bob Foster family was renting the land, living on and farming it.

Don Schibel was born 1929, started school in Odessa 1935, attended school 1941-43 in Spokane for the 7th and 8th grades, then back to Odessa graduating 1947 from OHS, attended and graduated W.S.C. 1947-1951, married Lorene 1951, out of the military 1953, lived in Spokane where Jeff was born in 1959, then started farming the Schibel farm just prior to 1960, retired 1991-1992 from farming and started living in Odessa. Jeff took passion of the farm at that time.

Don had chores to do while growing up, most of them occurred after school and before supper. Some of the chores were – (1.) take care of the garden, (2.) chop weeds. (3.) feed the pigs, (4.) place slab wood in the wood shed, (5.) split slab wood for burning in the stoves, (6.) split slab wood into kindling for use in starting fires, The slab wood was obtained at Peach, Washington which is north of Creston, Washington, down on the Columbia river near Lincoln, Washington. A sawmill was located in the area.. (7.) separate cream from the milk. The excess cream was made into butter which was taken to town along with eggs and sold providing food money for the family.

Because the horse-tractor change over occurred at the Schibel farm when Don was about 6, he never really had to deal with or be around the “big” horses. During Don’s childhood, it was the tractor and Model A Ford cars/trucks. Later the self-propelled combine replaced the tractor-pull combine during harvest.

Until next time.

Your Relative,

Spokane