Toivo mentions his uncle Matti. He should have mentioned that his uncle had Finnish sisu. Matti was cutting down a good size tree with an ax when the tree fell the wrong way on top of him pinning him to another log. He was there for hours before a neighbor notice that he was trapped. The neighbor came over and found him alive. Matti said "Get this damn tree off me". The neighbor and 2 other men after 3 hrs freed him. He suffered only bruises and was back to work after a day's rest.
There were and still are Yankee families that live off their farms (us Perry and Tuttle families then and me now) seasonally planting, harvesting, gathering and picking whatever is in season to preserve, can or sell. It's not a tough life if you know how and aren't afraid to work.
Dotty is right. Even today there are many families in this area (upstate NY) with old English names like Hewitt live off the land. I have an arrangement with 2 Hewitt families. I rent one field to John for corn and another to Nelson in exchange for beef and his mechanical expertise when I need a tractor fixed. New Ipswich I think was unusual in that the Yankees there were usually well off so as a Finn living there one had a slanted view of Yankees.
I should have mentioned that John and his cousin grew up on dairy farms and both had to leave the dairy business because you now need a minimum of 200 cows to survive today. John now is a grain farmer, also has 11 trailer trucks for grain hauling. Nelson raises beef and sells hay. He also is an excellent mechanic like Bill Kivela and has a garage with a lift.
Amazing story. Life was hard. We have been so blessed to live when life was easier. The youth of today have no clue what working hard is.Toivo was married to my Dad's cousin Eleanor.
Toivo mentions his uncle Matti. He should have mentioned that his uncle had Finnish sisu. Matti was cutting down a good size tree with an ax when the tree fell the wrong way on top of him pinning him to another log. He was there for hours before a neighbor notice that he was trapped. The neighbor came over and found him alive. Matti said "Get this damn tree off me". The neighbor and 2 other men after 3 hrs freed him. He suffered only bruises and was back to work after a day's rest.
There were and still are Yankee families that live off their farms (us Perry and Tuttle families then and me now) seasonally planting, harvesting, gathering and picking whatever is in season to preserve, can or sell. It's not a tough life if you know how and aren't afraid to work.
Dotty is right. Even today there are many families in this area (upstate NY) with old English names like Hewitt live off the land. I have an arrangement with 2 Hewitt families. I rent one field to John for corn and another to Nelson in exchange for beef and his mechanical expertise when I need a tractor fixed. New Ipswich I think was unusual in that the Yankees there were usually well off so as a Finn living there one had a slanted view of Yankees.
I should have mentioned that John and his cousin grew up on dairy farms and both had to leave the dairy business because you now need a minimum of 200 cows to survive today. John now is a grain farmer, also has 11 trailer trucks for grain hauling. Nelson raises beef and sells hay. He also is an excellent mechanic like Bill Kivela and has a garage with a lift.
Amazing story. Life was hard. We have been so blessed to live when life was easier. The youth of today have no clue what working hard is.Toivo was married to my Dad's cousin Eleanor.