The Story of Raymond and Catherine
This is the story of my grandparents, Raymond and Catherine, both
of them grew up on small farms. After they got married in 1945, they
worked on other people farms. In 1951, they decided to farm
themselves.
In the early 1950's, the government programs were a lot different.
They could only borrow $1500.00 dollars. With this money, they
bought 11 cows and a Farman C tractor with a two bottom plow from
my great grandfather who was getting out of farming. My grandparents
never bought a farm, they always rented farms. They started out on the
Flynn Farm which is now part of Charlestown Races bam area, the
shopping center ofMartins Food, and all the new roads and highways,
along with housing developments.
In 1953, my granddaddy and his family moved to Clark County,
Virginia, where they starting getting a little larger operation. Now,
having 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, they started milking about 20 cows
and farmed around 225 acres. They bought a new tractor, a 1954
Farmall Super C with many attachments, plow, com planter, 7' sickle
mower, and cultivators. In April of 1958, another son, my father, was
born. That summer, they bought a new Farmall 300 tractor and a three
bottom plow.
In 1961, they moved back to Jefferson County, West Virginia onto
the Ryan Hall Farm that was about 350 acres. They only stayed two
short years, because of land lord problems, but while they were there
another son was born. Now, with six children, they moved to the Burch
Farm in Summit Point, milking around 30 cows and farming on very
rocky land. They spent seven years there buying only the equipment
they needed to farm, such as a hay bale forage chopper, and a 65 Massey
Ferguson diesel. Later on in 1966, they traded the Ferguson on an
International 656 with a 3 bottom auto reset plow. In 1968, they bought
a used John Deere 70 diesel tractor with a two row mounted picker.
That same year the seventh child was born, it was another boy. The
oldest child moved out and married. Now, there were only 4 kids at
home, but they were never lonely, because there were always relatives
staying with them, through the summers from both sides oftheir
families. In 1970, the oldest son decided he wanted to farm, so my
grandparents gave him this farm to rent and they moved to Rolfe Hayes
farm, which is right outside of Charlestown off route 340. It had 350
acres, but they were still milking in a stanchion bam in milk pales and
carried all the milk to the tank by hand, until 1974 when my dad and his
older brother went to a sale and bought a pipe line system for the
stanchion bam. They brought it home and installed it themselves with a
little help from aunts, uncles, dads, and Ag. teachers. Now, they started
milking around 40 cows year round, with about 100 total head on the
farm. They talked about all the cold winter days with 3 feet of snow,
and all the chickens and ducks that were raised for food and eggs. The
pigs and cow were slaughtered every year for food, and the big gardens
of sweet com, green beans, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots,
and beats that were canned year after year for food to eat in the winter.
As the work and herd grew, so did the need for bigger equipment.
In 1972, my granddad bought a John Deere 4230 and a 5 bottom plow.
Now he could do the work in the field faster and more efficient. Rick
who is my dad's older brother and was one ofthe first ones to graduate
from Jefferson High School, left the farm and started in the auto
mechanics business. My dad graduated from Jefferson High School in
1976, and did the same, except he still helped his father and two younger
brothers on the farm. In 1981, Tuck graduated and went to work for
other farmers in the county for a while until he got in Agriculture repair
at People Supply (Tractor Supply) Co., then later in auto and truck
repair. Rob is the youngest; he graduated in 1986 and stayed on the
farm until later that year when my grandparents decided to stop milking
cows. The government had a program to pay farmers not to produce
milk for 5 years and many ofthe county farmers entered the program.
My grandmother went to work for the Jefferson County Schools, as a
teacher's aid, while my granddad bought some beef cattle for the farm,
along with some brude hogs. Which he raised their off springs and sold
as 225 pound market hogs. Still today, my dad and his younger brothers
helped make the hay, plant, and harvest the crops as much as they could.
They sold out in 1993, and then in 2000 my grandfather passed away.
Jeremy Conrad Banks Creamer
Jefferson County FFA
This is the story of my grandparents, Raymond and Catherine, both
of them grew up on small farms. After they got married in 1945, they
worked on other people farms. In 1951, they decided to farm
themselves.
In the early 1950's, the government programs were a lot different.
They could only borrow $1500.00 dollars. With this money, they
bought 11 cows and a Farman C tractor with a two bottom plow from
my great grandfather who was getting out of farming. My grandparents
never bought a farm, they always rented farms. They started out on the
Flynn Farm which is now part of Charlestown Races bam area, the
shopping center ofMartins Food, and all the new roads and highways,
along with housing developments.
In 1953, my granddaddy and his family moved to Clark County,
Virginia, where they starting getting a little larger operation. Now,
having 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, they started milking about 20 cows
and farmed around 225 acres. They bought a new tractor, a 1954
Farmall Super C with many attachments, plow, com planter, 7' sickle
mower, and cultivators. In April of 1958, another son, my father, was
born. That summer, they bought a new Farmall 300 tractor and a three
bottom plow.
In 1961, they moved back to Jefferson County, West Virginia onto
the Ryan Hall Farm that was about 350 acres. They only stayed two
short years, because of land lord problems, but while they were there
another son was born. Now, with six children, they moved to the Burch
Farm in Summit Point, milking around 30 cows and farming on very
rocky land. They spent seven years there buying only the equipment
they needed to farm, such as a hay bale forage chopper, and a 65 Massey
Ferguson diesel. Later on in 1966, they traded the Ferguson on an
International 656 with a 3 bottom auto reset plow. In 1968, they bought
a used John Deere 70 diesel tractor with a two row mounted picker.
That same year the seventh child was born, it was another boy. The
oldest child moved out and married. Now, there were only 4 kids at
home, but they were never lonely, because there were always relatives
staying with them, through the summers from both sides oftheir
families. In 1970, the oldest son decided he wanted to farm, so my
grandparents gave him this farm to rent and they moved to Rolfe Hayes
farm, which is right outside of Charlestown off route 340. It had 350
acres, but they were still milking in a stanchion bam in milk pales and
carried all the milk to the tank by hand, until 1974 when my dad and his
older brother went to a sale and bought a pipe line system for the
stanchion bam. They brought it home and installed it themselves with a
little help from aunts, uncles, dads, and Ag. teachers. Now, they started
milking around 40 cows year round, with about 100 total head on the
farm. They talked about all the cold winter days with 3 feet of snow,
and all the chickens and ducks that were raised for food and eggs. The
pigs and cow were slaughtered every year for food, and the big gardens
of sweet com, green beans, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots,
and beats that were canned year after year for food to eat in the winter.
As the work and herd grew, so did the need for bigger equipment.
In 1972, my granddad bought a John Deere 4230 and a 5 bottom plow.
Now he could do the work in the field faster and more efficient. Rick
who is my dad's older brother and was one ofthe first ones to graduate
from Jefferson High School, left the farm and started in the auto
mechanics business. My dad graduated from Jefferson High School in
1976, and did the same, except he still helped his father and two younger
brothers on the farm. In 1981, Tuck graduated and went to work for
other farmers in the county for a while until he got in Agriculture repair
at People Supply (Tractor Supply) Co., then later in auto and truck
repair. Rob is the youngest; he graduated in 1986 and stayed on the
farm until later that year when my grandparents decided to stop milking
cows. The government had a program to pay farmers not to produce
milk for 5 years and many ofthe county farmers entered the program.
My grandmother went to work for the Jefferson County Schools, as a
teacher's aid, while my granddad bought some beef cattle for the farm,
along with some brude hogs. Which he raised their off springs and sold
as 225 pound market hogs. Still today, my dad and his younger brothers
helped make the hay, plant, and harvest the crops as much as they could.
They sold out in 1993, and then in 2000 my grandfather passed away.
Jeremy Conrad Banks Creamer
Jefferson County FFA
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