A Blast from the Past

Geocaching brought us to a park in the Chandler area, but it was Tumbleweed Ranch that gave me a blast from the past.

Tumbleweed Ranch, operated by Chandler Museum, explores Chandler’s agricultural roots.  Beginning in the 1890s, cotton, dairy, sheep, citrus, alfalfa, sugar beets, and other agricultural pursuits shaped our community. In 1999, a portion of Tumbleweed Park was preserved in order to tell the story the East Valley’s agricultural history. 

The 14 acres of Tumbleweed Ranch serve as a location for school field trips, the Ostrich Festival, Chandler High School Future Farmers of America, and the Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off.  Features of the Ranch include the McCroskey House, Edwards House, Red Shed Theater, an early 1900s grocery store, FFA demonstration fields, and antique agricultural equipment.

This house in and of itself is not all that remarkable. What is interesting is that it is a 'Sears & Roebuck' house. (I do NOT know if in fact it was ordered from that company.) The house was ordered from a catalog, arrived by train in thousands of pieces with a plan of how to assemble.

I was familiar with catalog houses because when we visited Laura Ingalls Wilder's home, Rocky Ridge, in southern Missouri their daughter Rose bought a catalog home for Laura and Almanzo. Laura preferred the little farm house she and Almanzo had built when they moved to the farm and lived in the catalog house for only eight years. (At least that is how I remember the visit to Mansfield.)

The McCroskey House
This farm bungalow represents one of the many homes built by early farmers in Chandler. The bungalow was a very popular home style, since it was cheap to build, simple in design, and practical. The Edwards family built this home in 1917. Many families built a home similar to the McCroskey House, often ordered through Sears, Montgomery Wards, Aladdin or other companies. At the present time, the McCrosky House is open for tours during special events.

Today this house at Tumbleweed Ranch is used as an educational site for school groups. The house was not open to visitors the day we were there. The Edwards House is under renovation. It had a single tub wringer washing machine on its porch. I did not get a photo of that house, also a catalog house.

All sorts of farm machinery were parked around the nearby houses. It was the old farm machinery that brought back some memories for me.

There is supposed to be a seat on this dump rake. The one my father owned had a handle mechanism that when the lever was pushed forward, the rake teeth raised to deposit a row of mown hay or alfalfa. If the rake operator was on the ball the field when raked had long, straight hay rows making it easy for the  tractor hay fork (years later a baler) to scoop the hay off the ground for stacking or baling. I don't think I got to sit on the rake seat very often. I'm betting I wasn't strong enough to push the handle. It was easier to put me in charge of watching my brothers and have my mother ride the rake. Some years later a rope was attached to the tractor and the driver pulled the rope, pulling the rake handle dumping the hay. I didn't get the job of driving the tractor very often either after tangling the rake wheels in the barb wire fences.

I can remember my dad sharpening mower teeth. The reason for the seat on the mower would have been to maneuver the lever to lift the sickle arm when turning a corner, coming to a rock pile and our farm had plenty of those, or getting to the end of the field. Again, I remember the rope being attached to the tractor and pulled by the tractor operator rather than someone sitting on the seat of the mower. 

and a two row corn planter

dad had a four row planter

a fountain created from cans and a stock water tank

I wonder if the cans were for gasoline or water in their original purpose? 

And this old truck. I drove by myself, a truck like this when I was 3 years old. Well, okay I steered a truck like this while my dad was close by bringing a cow and her calf home from the pasture. I also drove/steered it while my dad threw hay from the truck bed to feed the cattle. Yeah. I was driving at age 3.

I really enjoyed my wandering around the educational ranch. It certainly brought back memories of playing around the farm equipment stored amongst the trees on Boot Ranch. The machinery became homes for my dolls and imaginary friends. Good times for a little girl growing up in the 50s.