On the Moraine, Part XL

By Jim Thompson
HCP columinst

Continued from last week.

Being Methodist, I of course went to MYF, Methodist Youth Fellowship. In the summer of 1965, I was only 15; hence, I could not drive.  

So, the arrangements were Mr. and Mrs. Garen would pick me up early Sunday evening to make the trip to Marshall United Methodist Church. They lived east of us, so it was on their way. Mr. Garen had a medium blue 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible. I would love to have that car today.

On this particular Sunday evening, it had been raining but the sun was coming out. As we got to the Armstrong farm, on state Route 506, we could see flames coming out of the Armstrong’s barn. It had been struck by lightning. We stopped, and I headed to the barn.

Bob Armstrong and his dad had gotten the tractors out. We then focused on the livestock – cattle, hogs and sheep. It was a challenge, but we got them out. The hay and the implements we left; the fire was getting too big.  

About this time, along came the fire equipment from Hillsboro, the closest there was in those days.

Hillsboro Fire Department did a noble job, but when their tanker ran out of water, they had to go east on S.R. 506 to our place and stick their snorkel into Franklin Branch to get water. Every time they did that, the fire would grow again. In the end, the barn, hay and implement were a total loss.

By this time, quite a crowd had gathered out by the road. One of the people in that crowd was Charley Hunter, the Realtor. He made a comment that this was a good argument for the countywide water system.  

I had not heard of it before. In a few years, it was constructed.

We had 25 acres of hay over at the McNary Farm, ready for a third cutting. Dad gave it to the Armstrongs.  

We all went over to cut and bale it in a couple of weeks, after a barn had been found to put it in.  

I believe the Armstrong barn may have burned again, perhaps in the early 1970s. I don’t know for sure; it was after we had moved away.  

There was also a house that burned in our neighborhood in those days. I was on Skeen Road, back behind our pasture. It was a Saturday evening, and we could see the flames from our barnyard. It was a total loss as well.  

Over the years, we witnessed car accidents, truck accidents and other tragedies during our years on the farm.  

I even happened to meet a gentleman while I was attending the University of Cincinnati who had been in a truck accident where an asphalt truck had ended up in our pasture. Small world.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.