Yes, it was a time of extreme hardships due to vulnerability to the whims of nature and the markets. The straw hat and stoneware water jug, wrapped in a wet gunny sack, was the standard protection from scorching sun and arid breeze. Open windows in the summer and red hot heating stoves in the winter were the means of conditioning the air in the house. But, the hard work aspect of agriculture never killed anybody. In fact, it allowed us to enjoy the privilege of consuming the tasty cuisine of fat fried beef steaks, cream covered vegetables (real 40 test weight cream), bacon and eggs, lard based pastries, chicken fried crisp in the old iron skillet (again with lard), etc. A rind of crisp fried fat on the beef steak makes my mouth water, even now. Can't have it though — don't work hard enough to burn the calories before they bind themselves to my arteries and over work my heart.

Today's political world with the tax incentives to favor huge specialized production units and the influx of outside finances provided from investors looking for tax havens has eliminated the traditional family farm. No longer do we find very many diversified farming operations that depend upon family to supply the labor to till the land, plant the crops, harvest the crop, and take care of livestock.

We have truly lost a way of life that taught a reverence to nature, both animal and plant. Agricultural people probably weren't any more inclined to be Christian in their religious convictions than other vocations, but we did have a much higher degree of respect for a power beyond ourselves, even those who prided themselves in having pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps had to acknowledge having to depend upon favor from God and nature, and, sometimes, having to enlist the helping hand of a neighbor.

Nostalgia is great. I barely arrived in this world in time to enjoy or endure, depends on your perspective, this agricultural scene of the early 20th century. However, I have no desire to return, if it were possible, to the good old days. I don’t miss the kerosene lanterns and lamps or gathering kindling or having to wait for the stoking of the heating stove in the morning. The hoe and pitch fork handles don’t fit in my arthritic hands. Using real horse power is great for hobby time, but I’ll take the instant power at the twisting of the ignition key in my environmentally controlled tractor cab.

Times have changed. Our culture has changed. But, man’s social, spiritual, and physical needs are the same as they have been since creation or the beginning of time. Are we up to the challenge of meeting those needs?