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Boyhood Incidents

from the recollections of Laban Becker Harley, circa 1870-80

I guess I was paddled pretty often. I don't know; but I only remember once. It was at the barn where Aunt Becky and mother were milking. I must have scared the cow. Father picked me up and spanked me two or three times.

When they divided the Becker estate, father got a mare called Old Bet. I was out in the barnyard, playing around her and she stepped on my leg. I carry the mark yet. I must have been there alone, because I mind father carrying me to the house. Later the old mare couldn't work anymore, she got down and somebody had to shoot her with a rifle.

I always did like to fish in the creek, so many chubbs were there, which during April make mighty good eating pulled out of the cold water. I made water wheels for the crick there. I made trip hammers out of them... anything to make it run and a noise. I was always making flutter wheels on poles; and sleds.

Our sleds were a board about 10 x 36 inches with the corners sawed off. Then we put on a seat about a foot high. We could coast from the top of the hill to the road. All the boys around had their sleds and a we had a big time.

When I was small they had what was called a shaving horse. It was a long bench with an upright to it, and a foot pedal, and above, a notch sawed out of the same block. If you pushed on it with your feet, it held the block you were shaving into position. We kept it in the wood house. About all the tools we had at that time were a hand saw and a drawing knife. No planes or anything else. We kept the shaving knife in the wood house about 7 feet up on two long pins driven into the side of the house. One time when nobody was home but one of the boys and me, I threw that knife up as usual; but it missed, and came down between my fourth and little finger on my right hand, nearly sheared it off. The blood just streamed out. Our cure for cuts and wounds was turpentine. Grandfather got the turpentine bottle, soaked it up on a rag, put it on my hand and it healed up.

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