There are certain times of the agricultural year when the old ways are reminisced upon, and often continued. Haying season is one of those times, and while for most people in dryland country that season is long past, this article from the AP was a good one.
Large bales have taken over in the haying world, but there is still nothing quite like the old big stacks.
Old-timers might recall the days of stacking with horses with an overhead-style stacker, but the large stacks of Montana Headlines memory were made with high-lifting external frame loaders like this, the mothers of all stacks were made with the old labor-intensive beaverslide, the geographic distribution of which seems to have been largely limited to certain parts of Montana.
No matter the method or the era, making the big stacks was a work of art.
It warms the conservative heart whenever old ways are preserved, and it is good to know that there are still a few beaverslides in action -- it would be worth a trip to Avon some year just to see it done.
1 comment:
I grew up in Missoula but saw the Beaverslides all over my MT stomping grounds. Being a "city" boy, I never knew what they were for or how they worked. Until now, I didn't even know they were called beaverslides, and with that knowledge and a little Google fun I have solved a childhood mystery. Thanks MH!
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