Artifacts from the Farm: The House
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 3:35PM 
I have visited our family's 100 year old farm twice now and I love to spend time there. My great grandfather, on my father's side, obtained the land in 1912 when land was free in Canada for farming. My family farmed it for 60 years and now it is leased out to other farmers. The buildings are still there, unused and falling down. There is a house, a barn and three or more outbuildings. My great grandparents lived there for about 30 years until their family grew up. They moved to Medicine Hat about 1950. Then the farm was run by their son Otto and his family lived there for about 20 years. After that the house was only used in the summers when the men would stay there alone.
When they finally stopped farming and began to lease the land, the stuff that had been left there by the men farming in the summer just stayed there. Most of the valuable materials have been collected over the years, like the leather and the stained glass windows, but so many small items still remain. It's a little strange to see a toothbrush sitting on a shelf, as if the place was left in a hurry and everyone forgot to take their things. What makes it even more strange for me is that these things belonged to my relatives. It's my family history out there, blowing in the wind and succumbing to the weather and the animals.
I collected a bunch of recognisable objects, as if I were on an archeological treasure hunt, and photographed them on a white backdrop. When the items were at the farm, laying in the dirt, they were garbage. I cleaned them up and now they are artifacts from the past that tell stories about who my relative were, what they liked and how they lived. This is part one, everyday items from the house. Stay tuned for part two next week, hardware and items from the barn.
Let me know what you think of these items. Do any of these old products look familar? I love the Dippity-do jar.
Reader Comments (8)
Very cool! Like these pics!
Isn't it strange that all these things were left behind. Who abandons a coffee pot?
Now what you going to do with them?
I get the sense that maybe they didn't know they weren't coming back. I seems to me that my Dad said that Gustav got sick and that's why they stopped farming. So maybe he planned to keep farming, but then he just could never make it back out to the farm. Or maybe it was broken? Plus, these were not treasured items, they were the spares. Who knows! But maybe that's the great part about it, wondering why and what happened. Right now they are in a box at my Mom and Dad's house. I think I will have to ship them to myself. I kind of want to keep them, despite the fact that I have these photographs. I'm a hoarder like that.
Very cool, Leslie. I remember your earlier pics from your visit to the farm, and to imagine your relatives being there and using these items is just so interesting. I have some treasures that belonged to my great-grandpa--ointments and such that he used in his saddle repair shop--that I got during a business auction a few years back. I haven't done anything with these things and can't bear to throw them out. I hadn't thought of photographing them. Hmmm ... (wheels turning) ... Thanks for sharing. (And yes, the toothbrush does look a bit familiar!)
That's awesome that you have those things Heather! I love those connections to the past. Photographing something elevates it and honors it. I love seeing things differently through the camera and noticing the details. Having a photo does sometimes mean that you don't need the object anymore. But if it's small and there is a place for it, I usually keep it.
completely fantastic.
Thank you Margo! I've got a second post with items from the barn going up tomorrow. Check back!
Wow, that's a bunch of hidden gems. I wonder if my house is full of those as well. Haha. I might have to start digging up. :)