Route 13, Box 331 Statesville, North Carolina
My Dad held his annual old time wheat threshing again this year
using his steam engine to power the threshing machine.
We had an abundance of warm sunshine. Temperatures were in the
nineties. Despite the heat, we had a good crowd and everyone had a
wonderful time. Almost two hundred people attended the event.
Wheat threshing got underway about 10:30, while down at the
farm-house, the ladies were preparing food and making ice cold
lemonade.
Lunch was served under the trees in the yard at 1:00.
This was followed by more wheat threshing.
Neighbors and friends played bluegrass music throughout the day
for the entertainment of those who preferred to stay in the shade
at the farmhouse.
The farmhouse was the home of my Dad’s parents Mr. and Mrs.
Daniel Gwaltney.
My Dad turned 71 in February. An article I wrote about him
earlier appeared in the March/April 1982 issue of IMA.
Not all enjoyed the threshing though. Since last year, two
horses have come to stay at the farm. They have always regarded
Dad’s steam engine with a mixture of suspicion and distrust.
Saturday, their worst fears were confirmed, when they heard the
whistle and saw the steam coming from the smokestack. They decided
the monster was alive, and they left for the farthest part of the
pasture, not to be seen again until everything was all over.
The Don Gwaltney farm is located between Hiddenite and
Taylorsville, North Carolina. My Dad would enjoy receiving letters
from readers of IMA. His address is: Route 3, Box 291,
Taylorsville, North Carolina.
In closing I would like to add, my Dad holds this annual
threshing so he and his friends can relive memories of bygone days,
and so the younger generation can catch a glimpse of life in the
past, when neighbors and friends helped one another.
