A bygone ‘holiday’ is resurrected at our farm

During the 1990s, I recall a holiday which came around every August and lasted roughly a week. This was not a typical holiday you will find on your calendar; and it certainly does not allow for rest and relaxation. However, it did bring family and friends together, there were plenty of bars and cookies from my Grandma Sanken’s kitchen, and there was always a large blue Harvestore cooler (a freebie my dad got for putting up a Harvestore silo in the 1980’s) full of Tang which my Grandma spiked with Mountain Dew.

It was always a hot and dry week, but no shorts were allowed! Everyone donned jeans, and some even wore long sleeves and gloves. Why? Because we were baling straw.

My dad and Grandpa would bring thousands of small, square bales of straw in our barn which would be used as livestock bedding throughout the year.

As a kid, nothing excited me more than baling straw. It was the social event of the year! Plenty of people were around to help load and unload hay racks, stack bales in the barn, bring treats, and there was a whole lot of goofing around.

Deep Roots

By Whitney Nesse