Mail Call: May-June 2009

By Grit Staff
Published on April 14, 2009
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Construction for the Baun dairy started in 1948. A severe storm in December left 10-ft. snowdrifts in the farmyard and delayed construction until spring.
Construction for the Baun dairy started in 1948. A severe storm in December left 10-ft. snowdrifts in the farmyard and delayed construction until spring.
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The Braun family dairy has been remodeled numerous times since 1948 but used every day nonetheless.
The Braun family dairy has been remodeled numerous times since 1948 but used every day nonetheless.
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Ron Braun looks in the door of the homestead ice house at his dairy north of Shoshone, Idaho. He and his wife, Ennis, purchased the farm in 1976.
Ron Braun looks in the door of the homestead ice house at his dairy north of Shoshone, Idaho. He and his wife, Ennis, purchased the farm in 1976.
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These shiny, clean blackberries have us thinking about warm cobbler and ice cream, the way Momma made it.
These shiny, clean blackberries have us thinking about warm cobbler and ice cream, the way Momma made it.
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Neighborhood newscarriers sold GRIT door to door for 10 cents a pop in the 1940s.
Neighborhood newscarriers sold GRIT door to door for 10 cents a pop in the 1940s.

Never Missed a Day

Your recent issue prompted me to look around my neighborhood here in Idaho for old barns. I’m pleasantly surprised by the number still standing. Just a couple of miles down the road, the Braun family has continuously milked in theirs since 1949. I doubt that’s a world record, but Ron Braun, representing the second generation to use the barn, can’t recall a missed day.

His grandparents arrived from Nebraska in the 1930s, driven from their 60-year-old farm by the Dust Bowl. “Grandma came in a boxcar with all their cows and equipment,” Ron says. “They had just built a new house, and all she could bring of it was the claw-foot tub.” That tub is still in use.

Ron’s dad, Herman, filed for his homestead in 1937. Paperwork was simple by our standards – map of the canals (three) on the homestead, plat map, water license and preliminary deed. Ron cherishes the history, but the family is most proud of the final deed, issued in 1942 with President Roosevelt’s signature.

By 1948, Herman had saved $6,000 and built a two-story barn. “The rafters and joists were full-cut timber,” Ron says. “The 2-by-4s were really 2½-by-5s.”

Mangers and stalls on each side protected livestock in the harsh winters. “When it was cold,” he says, “we kept the cows in all night and threw the hay down from the mow.”

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