Section 6

Our Farm Grows

In the spring of 1898 father again went to work. On his return he was able to purchase two male calves which in time grew up to be a fine pair of oxen. There was also some money left for the purchase of clothing for the family. Unfortunately, during our trek we lost two large trunks which contained all our clothing, bedding and linens. We arrived at the homestead wearing the only clothing we possessed. The $10.00 we had when we arrived had to be used to pay for the homestead. Before we could make use of our oxen, father hired Mr. Childs to break two acres of land which cost $6.00. Now we had cultivated land which yielded plenty of potatoes and other vegetables. This was a great help to newly arrived immigrants. They were fortunate as they were able to share the bumper crop with us.