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We have been learning about Charlie Hettling, the firstborn of five children born to Agnes (Jacobson) and Floyd Hettling, and his early life on the family farm between Minneota and Taunton. As Charlie grew, so did his farm responsibilities.

“Water for the cows and calves in the barn had to be carried by hand. In the summer we could put an electric motor on a pump we had and pump it through a hose up there. But in the winter, you couldn’t do that because it would freeze. So, you had to carry it in 5-gallon pails and put it in a barrel for the calves. The pigs were the same way. You had to carry water to them in the pig house. We turned out the bigger cows to drink from the water tank.”

Charlie described their water source for the livestock.

“We had a well that pumped the water in (a livestock holding tank). We had a windmill at one time, but that gave way, so we got an electric pump jack what would pump the water up for us. That was more dependable. Then we just flipped the switch whenever we needed to fill the tank. We’d have to watch it so it wouldn’t run over and make a mess.”

Charlies’ chores became more complex with his growing age and ability, like helping with the harvest and milking operation.

“Later I helped more with the harvest and putting up the hay. We had four milk cows, but I didn’t learn how to milk until I was a little older. The first time it took me the whole time that Mom and Dad milked all the rest and I didn’t get but two cups in my pail. It took me a while to figure out how to do it well. We produced enough milk for ourselves and then we separated the cream. The skim milk we gave to the cats and dogs. Any we had left over we’d take down to where we each had some runty pig because they’d do better on that.”

Their small dairy operation contributed milk and cream for the family’s table and to the farm’s bottom line.

“Sometimes Mom would use the cream for butter. If we had too much, then we took it in milk cans to Pickthorn’s in Taunton and he’d buy it. He had a little grocery store and things to test cream, so he bought and sold cream.”

Charlie’s younger siblings began helping with less complex chores, so his folks asked him to help in other ways.

“I started doing more of the bigger things and more of the field work. We had a little ’48 Ford tractor when I first learned to drive and wasn’t very old. My dad would be combining and I’d have to bring the trailer up when the combine hopper was full. It wouldn’t hold much, so he couldn’t make it all the way around the field. I’d come up and drive it underneath the spout so he could unload it. Mom always said, ‘You leave that thing in low gear when you’re going down the road. You don’t be getting smart and putting it in second or third.’ (Charlie laughed) So, I’d be putting along in low gear. Later you got to do more complicated things like driving a tractor for plowing and discing.”

The Hettlings, like most farm families of the time, were quite self-sufficient.

“Mom canned and made just about everything homemade. Sometimes at the dinner table we’d have a contest to see how much stuff we bought and we’d conclude that the only things we bought were the salt and pepper. Sometimes Mom made the butter and made the bread; we got the pig from one that was lame, so we butchered that. Whenever we wanted a chicken dinner, we’d take some hens that weren’t doing well and have them. Then maybe once a year, we’d have a beef we couldn’t sell because it broke a leg or something. We’d butcher that one because you’d get docked if you tried to sell them with an injury. We’d put everything in the freezer.”

Charlie explained their process when butchering livestock for family use. Butchering chickens began with his father cutting off their heads.

“We’d all take care of them. We’d butcher four or five and each one of us had a chicken that they had to pull the feathers off. We’d dip them in hot water. That would loosen the feathers and we had to hurry because if you took too long, you’d have to re-dip them again because they got tight again. After we got them cleaned up, we’d take them inside and Mom would cut them up. She’d then freeze some and we’d also have fresh chicken right away.”

Butchering a pig, cow, or steer was a much bigger, and less frequent, process.

“It was an entire family project to butcher the pigs and the cow or steer. We butchered a pig (regularly), but for the beef, we’d mostly take them to town. One time we did it ourselves, but it was quite a job. I was a little older and my brothers were a little older, so we helped out with that. With these larger animals we did the cutting up outside and then we’d carry it inside. Mom and my sisters would then cut it in portions inside; wrap it up; and put it in the freezer.”

Charlie had earlier begun his formal education in the 1st grade at the local country school.

©2026 William D. Palmer.