1933 FARM ACCOUNT BOOK

As I continue to look for great-grandma's will, I find other things to share. One is this "The Handy Farm Account Book" for 1933. If any of you are farmers I think you will enjoy this. If you know nothing about farming, I think you will be interested in what things cost in those days. Remember this is during the Great Depression era.

As you can see, one of my kids decided to do some doodling on the cover when she was little. Unfortunately for her, she left her name. LOLOL Even though Lisa filled in all the holes in each letter with a marker, I think you can still read most of it. Kids!

Inside the book looks like this. This page shows some of the expenses during the year. But I will list some things on earlier pages first. I didn't scan those because they have more of Lisa's 'artwork'.

As I read the list it seems my parents were setting up a household and farming. They had been married a little less than one year at the start of this book. This list has farm implements, livestock and household goods purchased. I am sure most of the things were bought at farm auctions, as I recognize some of the names. The first item on the list start in January --

• corn plow - paid $4.25
• disk - $2.50
• HORSE - $25.00
• lamp - 25 cents
• 2 hoes - 15 cents (total)
• 2 shovels - 70 cents (total)
• wire stretcher - 60 cents (for putting up fences)
• phonograph - $7  ( they could still have something to make life more fun, but I was surprised to see this listed)
• garden rake - 10 cents
• cupboard - $1.75
• dresser - $3.25
• table, 4 chairs, 2 rockers, sanitary cot (??), day bed, couch - all for $11
• 4 flat irons - 75 cents
•  5 dozen fruit jars - $3 (total)
• kitchen cabinet - $10
• sewing machine, from Sears Roebuck - $42 (so far the most expensive things are the horse and this sewing machine, but both were very necessary) (I also wonder if this is the Singer treadle machine in cabinet that they later had made electric and I learned to sew on?)
• firewood - 25 trees for $4 (total)
• harrow - $2
• HORSE - $17
• 353 bushels of corn @ 10 cents - $35.30
• set of horse harness - $16
• box wagon - $21
• bob sled - $7
• 25 gallon barrel - 20 cents
• dining table - $6 (I wonder if this is the round oak table I still have? maybe not)
• 4 chairs @ 75 cents - $3
• kitchen range from Montgomery Wards (new!) - $38  (I think this was probably the old cob/wood burning cook stove we had in the kitchen)
• wash tub - MontomeryWard (new) - 48 cents
• wash boiler - Montgomer Ward (new) - $1  (also wonder if the is the large oval copper boiler mom still used to heat wash water on the cook stove as long as we lived on the farm. Wish I still had it)
• 3-tine fork - from Sticker Sale (?) - 30 cents
• sulky plow - $6.50
• roan cow - $23
• grass mower - $3.50
• horse collar - 70 cents
• meat grinder - 25 cents
• bed - $2.50
• bed spring - $2.50
• mattress - $3.75
• lantern - $1.35
• 2 milk pails - 25 cents total
• chicken coop - $1
• 6 gallon jar - 60 cents
• milk cow - $32.50
• 4-tine fork - $1.20
• horse collar - from harness shop- $2.50
• curry comb and brush - from harness shop - 20 cents
• 100 ft clothesline - new - 50 cents
• hog trough - from lumber co. - $1.70
• 10 bushels potatoes @ 30 cents = $3  (these were bought toward the end of February. A lot of potatoes for 2 people and a little early for planting, which would also be a lot of potatoes to grow.)
• 1 quart paint - 65 cents
• 5 gallons kerosene - 65 cents
• 171 bushels oats for Farmer's Co-Op Elevator -10 1/2 cents a bushel =$17.99

All of the above were purchased in January and February 1933.

Doesn't this sound like things they would need to start farming and to furnish the house for the first time?

There are more entries through the year. One that might be interesting to you - 

• threshing grain - 1132 bushels @ 2 cents each = $22.64

Dad probably had to hire someone that had a grain thresher at that time, and that is what he was charged for the job.

• 3 sacks of flour from Farmer's Elevator @$1.40 = $4.26

It doesn't say how big the sacks were, but am guessing they could have been 25 lb sacks? What does a 5 lb bag of flour cost today?

• overtime - Hoekstra - 1 1/4 hr @ 20 cents = 30 cents.

Evidently Dad had  hired someone to help with threshing and had to pay him for overtime because the dates are the same day. Cheap wages during that time.

• new rug from the furniture store - $8
• Sept. - cash rent, plowing - money borrowed - $112.50

I don't know if this entry means they paid back some money borrowed, or if they borrowed the money to pay the rent and for someone to do the fall plowing.

I will let you read what was on the next page - the one in the picture above.

Some things of note - hail insurance, butter churn, 1/2 a hog (butchered meat), hatching eggs (I assume eggs bought for hatching chickens to raise), brooder house, brooder stove and chicks -- Mom was in the business of raising baby chicks.

(continued)