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There's an interesting story on the Oxford website about Little Orphan Annie
I thought it originated in the funny pages of the Great Depression, and had no idea it started with a poem by James Whitcomb Riley, inspired by Mary Alice "Allie" Smith.
But this sounds awfully familiar, so apparently, I was exposed to the poem as a kid.
You better mind yer parunts, an’ yer teachurs fond an’ dear,
An’ churish them ‘at loves you, an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the pore an’ needy ones ‘at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns ‘ll git you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
And not only that, but Santa will fill your stocking with underbreeches (coal was discontinued with the energy crisis.)
EmmettRedd said
My father's 190XT Allis-Chalmers tractor is named 'Allie' (not from Mary Alice "Allie" Smith). My 190XT is named 'Chalmer'.
I spent too many hours on an WC and on a WD45 to consider those as true Allis Chalmers tractors. They lacked the offset, sprung "bucket seat" and rode like an Oliver or John-Deere. The XT190 came out about 1965 or so, and it was the beginning of the end. Next thing I knew, they were called Fiat-Allis, and were painted, ugh, green.
I've been told that a WD45 sells for more today than it did in 1960. It doesn't make sense that a sat with no back would be good for your back, but I was tired and sore after a morning of disking on a Deere or Oliver, much more so than a 10-hour day on the WD45. We mostly used the WC for pulling wagons, or sitting stationary while we ran a buzz saw from a belt on the PTO, so I can't say how tiring it was.
There's something satisfying about fall-plowing cornfields. I've thought about volunteering free labor to an area farmer, but I'm adfraid they might ythink I'm crazy. The clean air, the smell of exposed clay soil, the frozen wind nipping at the cheeks, the acres disappearing slowly and steadily, giving one a sense of accomplishment. There's a lot about modern agriculture I disapprove of, but farmers feel a kinship with God's creation that few others enjoy.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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