Meathman's Diary: Has life really changed for the better?

The other week a man we well call Pat Dunne, because that is his real name, was in contact with this column about life in another time, another place. It was a time that is often portrayed as a dark age in Irish history but the reality, he suggests, was somewhat different.

Let me explain. Pat is originally from outside Clonmel in that fair, picturesque county of Tipperary but these days he lives in the fair, picturesque county of Meath.

He worked as a teacher in places as varied as Cork and Moate before eventually settling with his wife Mary in Kildalkey.

Pat has composed a very well-structured memoir of what life was like in his youth. He grew up in the 1950s which, in one respect, is not all that long ago. In other respects it might as well have been aeons ago, simply because life has changed so much since then - and, he suggests, not always for the better.

In his piece Pat eloquently outlines how growing up on his family's farm in the Premier County brought with it regular chores; farming life ensured you develop a strong work ethic. There were animals to be fed in the winter and hay, turf and the harvest to be saved in the summer and autumn.

There was no TV - even electricity was absent from many homes. "Running water and indoor toilets were nonexistent," he adds. Farming people produced nearly all their own food and cooked it on open fires. Money was scarce and the Catholic Church predominent. All controlling.

Yet it was a life too, he asserts, that had plenty going for it. "You may think by now that people led a miserable life in the fifties," he writes. "Not so. People were quite contented with their lot. Boredom did not arise because people had more than enough to keep them occupied. Suicide was a rarity. Marriage break-up was almost unheard of. Children grew up in a stable environment. I'm not suggesting that people had no problems, but they seemed to be more inclined to try and help themselves, rather than depending on the State to help them."

There were other positives. "Good neighbourliness was probably the most prominent virtue of people of the time," he recalls. Many people didn't know about tax because they didn't pay any. There was peace and quiet. "The quiet of the countryside was disturbed only by the drone of the occasional D.C. 3 flying overhead."

Life could be hard but beautiful too. "Wouldn't it be nice if we had retained the positive aspects of that time and enjoyed them with the undoubted progress we have made in so many spheres of activity!," he suggests. "Well, I'm still allowed to dream tax free - am I not?" Indeed you are Pat.

Below is Pat Dunne's account of life in the 1950s

THE GOOD OLD DAYS???!!!

My memories of youth would stretch back to the early 50’s when I was growing up in a rural part of Ireland. As with any era, there were good things about that time, but overall, I don’t doubt that most people would be rather reluctant to give up the conveniences they now enjoy and return to life as it was then.

A great deal of change has occurred in the past 65 years or so, and I will endeavour in these few lines to jog the memories of my contemporaries, and to enlighten those of more tender years about where we’ve come from in that time.

I grew up in south Co. Tipperary, which would be by no means the most backward place in Ireland. Yet I remember doing my school homework by the light of an oil lamp. Rural electrification was only then getting into its stride in the area, and to visit a house which had electricity was a major novelty. Running water and indoor toilets were nonexistent.

The wash-tub and washboard were the order of the day, and I can remember clearly the flag floor in the kitchen being washed and scrubbed using the water in which the clothes had been washed. (No automatic washing machines and nice tiled floors then). Of course, ironing clothes at this time had its own “joys”. The iron itself was a hollow metal shell with a handle and a little trapdoor at the back. Blocks of metal shaped to fit in the shell were reddened in the fire, and then carefully put into the shell, thus providing the heat for the iron. Can’t you just see today’s housewife giving up her thermostatically controlled, lightweight steam-iron for this!

In the food storage and preparation department, things were very different to those prevailing today. Perishable food was kept only in small quantities and was stored in a “SAFE”. This was a kind of press with mesh sides which was kept in a draughty place to keep the food cool. Milk for the day was kept in a metal bucket on the kitchen window shelf. This inside shelf was normally made of stone, and in our part of the country anyway, was known as a “STELLON”. Water was brought from the local pump every day in a churn, and so water consumption for the day was confined to 20 gallons or less. This amount had to suffice for all the needs of the house.

People of this era would have no difficulty conserving and keeping usage down to a minimum. They had plenty of practice!!! People of farming stock produced almost all their own food needs. They all grew potatoes, turnips, cabbage and other vegetables. Most had some hens and other poultry, providing them with eggs and some of their meat needs. It was not uncommon to kill a pig and cure the meat at home in a wooden barrel known as a “STAN”. Home baking was carried out in almost every house. Surplus eggs were sold to the local shop in exchange for flour, tea, sugar and other items which could not be produced at home. I can still remember facing into cleaning five or six dozen eggs at a time in preparation for the shops. The cleaning was done with a damp cloth and bread-soda.

Most houses at the time had open fires, and with the use of cast iron frying pans, three legged pots, griddles etc., the food was cooked. Some of the better-off people had ranges for cooking on, while the very few really well-off people had “AGA”s, a few of which can still be seen in use here and there.

The functions of our modern blenders, food mixers, beaters etc., were carried out with a mixing bowl, wooden spoon and an ordinary table fork. When the housewife’s day’s work, which included washing, cleaning, cooking, feeding animals and poultry, looking after children, gathering eggs, helping with the milking etc. was done, she relaxed for her remaining waking hours knitting, making

or repairing clothes and darning socks. Carpets as we know them did not exist, but some people had floor rugs which had to be lifted from time to time, taken outside, draped over a gate and beaten to remove the dirt and dust which had accumulated.

Work for the man of the house and anyone else in the family who was able to do anything was hard and never-ending. It varied somewhat through the year, but it never ceased. In Winter, animals were housed at night, and had to be fed. Hay, Mangolds and Cottoncake and sometimes Kale, were hand-fed to cows. The Mangolds had to be pulped and mixed with the Cottoncake (a predecessor of the modern nuts) - quite a task for an eight or nine-year-old after a day in school.

A regular chore at that part of the year was cleaning out the cow-house and bringing in fresh straw. (Slatted sheds and scrapers had not been heard of). This work was done using a sprong, grape or four pronged fork, depending on where you lived! Milking was, of course, done by hand, and all the older members of the family shared the “pleasure” morning and evening. Fencing was also a winter activity. It was also the part of the year when most of the animals had their young, though this side of things usually spilled into the early Spring. Then, as now, Spring was the time when land was ploughed and tilled and crops sown.

The big difference was that then tractors were rather scarce, and a lot of this work was done using horses. A job which could be done in a matter of hours today took days to accomplish then. Just think of the amount of walking it took to plough a five acre field one furrow at a time behind a team of horses! And remember that every step of that had to be covered again with the harrow, the roller and the seed sower, and yet again shaking manure and spraying. Is it any wonder we never saw joggers at that time?

A similar process had to be carried out for the potatoes, turnips, Mangolds, sugar-beet, cabbage, kale etc., except that having ploughed and tilled the ground, drills had to be made, one at a time, farmyard manure spread in the furrows, and the seed sown. This was followed by weeding, and in the case of the root crops, thinning, processes which were done by hand while traversing the ground on your hands and knees. This activity was also shared by the older members of the family. I can still remember watching the sky, hoping that a big black cloud would appear carrying torrential rain so that we would be released from the task in hand!!!

The next task in the year’s rota was the haymaking. This was one of the more pleasant aspects of the rural year, but not without its moments. Working with horses in warm weather could be rather hazardous on days when the horse-flies were active! Cutting hay with a horse drawn mowing machine was a very slow affair when compared with what happens today. I saw a sizable John Deere pull into a large meadow last summer armed with three mowers, one to the front and two at either side on the back. It was no sooner in the meadow when it was leaving again. I often smile to myself when I hear people talking about how the seasons have changed, and how good the Summers used to be years ago.

My recollection of the task of haymaking over the years would not bear out these statements. Back in the early fifties, balers had not arrived on the scene, (the first one I saw was about 1958) and hay, having been cut, and turned repeatedly, was then made into small cocks or grass cocks as we called them. If the weather was bad, these cocks had to be shaken out with pitch-forks, and remade again.

This was often done daily for up to two weeks, before the hay was fit to be made into trams or wines as they were called in some places. One of the nicer aspects of the hay-making was having meals in the meadow. These usually consisted of salad accompanied by home-made brown bread and tea. It was always a welcome sight to see some of the women-folk arriving in

the field with the food baskets. Everyone sat down to partake of the goodies, and the dog parked himself at a discreet distance, watching for his share. Of course he gradually moved in closer to enhance his chances without drawing the wrong kind of attention to himself.

Our land bordered a wood which had a well. No matter how warm the day, the water from this well was ice cold. We often went to this well with a sweet-gallon for drinking water. Quite often a fistful of flake meal or pearl barley was put in the water as people said that it was an even better thirst quencher when so treated.

When the hay was eventually saved, it was drawn into the shed using a horse and tram-car or bogey or wine-float. Building the bench of hay in the shed was a skilled task, and hard work, particularly as it grew towards the roof of the shed. On a warm day, the heat in the shed was overwhelming. Even working with bales today, the shed is no joke! Speaking of bales, we never saw the round bales of today at that time, and I’m sure our parent’s generation would marvel at today’s methods of making and handling bales.

Silage began to be made in the mid to late fifties in our area. People slowly took to it because it was easier to make than hay in our rather damp conditions. Again, as time passed, the means and methods of making it advanced greatly, so that now vast amounts of it are made much more quickly than was the case then.

From the hay-making we drifted into the corn harvest. The corn was cut with a Reaper & Binder, pulled by three horses. The mechanical parts of the machine were driven by a large land wheel. The sheaves which the Binder produced were first stood in groups of four or sometimes of six and these were known as stucks. Some days later they were built into stacks. These were subsequently drawn into the haggard the same as the hay, and a reek built. Sometimes this was covered with a capping of hay to help preserve it from the weather. The biggest day of the farming year, the day of the threshing, eventually arrived.

The threshing set, consisting of tractor, mill and elevator arrived accompanied by the men from all the neighbouring farms to do the final part of the corn harvest. Frequently you would have up to twenty men working at various tasks that day. Some of the men stripped the reek and passed the sheaves to the men on the mill. They in turn cut the twines and passed the loose sheaves to the man “feeding” the mill. Back at the rear of the mill were two more men looking after the sacks of grain and getting them into the barn. The owner of the set kept a close eye on the machinery to make sure that nothing went wrong. Two more men were occupied clearing the chaff out of the way, while a further team of men built a new reek from the straw. The women of the house had an extremely busy day as all these men had their meals with the family for the day. Extra utensils etc. were borrowed from the neighbours for the day. Even though the day meant a lot of hard work all round, it was also enjoyed as a social occasion. When the work was completed, everything and everyone moved on to the next farm and the process was repeated. The introduction of the Combine Harvester in the mid fifties changed all that, and now two men can do far more in one day harvesting corn than the twenty plus could do then.

By the time the threshing season was over, a much less attractive job was looming, namely potato picking, turnip and mangold snagging and the pulling and crowning of beet. This was back breaking work, and as the weather grew colder and wetter it became more and more uncomfortable. Anyone who has done this kind of work

will remember only too clearly what it was like, while those who didn’t couldn’t possibly understand.This led us back to the winter again and the cycle recommenced.

Interspersed at intervals among the activities of the year were the fair days. On these occasions farmers drove cattle they had ready for sale into the local town and the buying and selling of the cattle was carried on on the street throughout the day. Cattle lorries were not very common at the time, and some of the bigger farmers hired drovers to drive the cattle to the fair for them. Sometimes cattle were walked a considerable distance to fairs further from home.

There were other activities such as skulling cattle, dosing, Sheep shearing and dipping, pig rearing etc., which were not common to all farms but which contributed their own share of the year’s hardship.

A feature of rural Ireland in milk producing areas at the time was the local creamery. As I mentioned earlier, milking was done by hand, and fourteen or fifteen cows was considered to be a big herd. Milking machines were just coming in at the time and names like Alfa Laval and Gasgoine were being talked of, but the majority of people didn’t have them. When the cows were milked, the milk was strained into a churn. Most farmers around us would have two or three of these churns, each capable of holding twenty gallons of milk. As soon as the morning milking was over, the churns were loaded onto the donkey cart, or in some cases, the car trailer, and were brought to the local Creamery.

Here the milk was weighed, a sample was taken to check for butter fat content and the milk was then put through a separator to remove the cream. At the other end of the building the farmer collected the separated milk which he brought home and fed to calves and pigs. His daily visit to the creamery had a social aspect to it in so far as he met his fellow farmers there and as almost an hour elapsed between his arrival and his departure, he had time to engage in some conversation.

Most creameries at that time made butter and they also stocked animal foodstuffs and hardware items which farmers would require. As the creameries were co-ops all the farmers had shares in them. The machinery in our local creamery was driven by a large single cylinder stationary steam engine which was mounted on a massive plinth. The man who ran the creamery had to be at work before 6 a.m. to light the furnace and have steam up before the first of the farmers would arrive at about 8.30. A belt from the steam engine drove a long shaft which was mounted high up on bearings attached to the wall. On this shaft were a series of wheels of varying sizes, and belts from these powered the separator , pumps, butter churn, butter wrapping machine etc. These machines had free wheels beside the drive wheels so that by sliding the drive belt on to the free wheel, the individual machine could be stopped without interfering with the other machines. The fuel for the furnace was coal and this had to be shovelled in manually.

In some places the Creamery also provided tractors and machinery for hire. The small grey T.V.O. Ferguson was beginning to appear on farms at this time, but quite a lot of farmers had no tractor. These availed of the service provided by the creamery to get Ploughing and tilling done if they were going to have a large amount. The Creamery facilities came into their own in a big way at threshing time. Our local Creamery had three or four threshing sets.

Our area, was a coal-mining area. The Anthracite mines in Ballingarry were in full production during this period, so naturally, we got our fuel there. A by-product of coal mining is column, and to use this as fuel required some work. When the column was

brought home it was mixed with water and yellow clay. The mixing was done by walking over it repeatedly to work the column and the clay into each other. This was known as dancing the column. The clay made the column sticky so that the grains would stay together. The mixture was then made into column balls either with the bare hands or using a shooter, and they were left to dry out before being burned in the fire. Making the column balls was another job that was dreaded by the older children of the family because it was usually a cold-weather activity, done in a rather draughty shed.

Money was a rather scarce commodity. This was the era of pounds, shillings and pence. I remember being sent to the local shop for a substantial list of items with a Ten Shilling Note (50c approx to you) and being warned not to lose the change! A farm labourer’s weekly wage was £5. The Sunday paper which costs us €3.50 now, was 3d. (slightly more than 1c). Petrol was a whopping 1/6 a gallon (almost 14 gallons for £1).

For the young people, school was a no-nonsense affair. You either did what you were told or you suffered! If you got yourself into trouble in school you were dealt with by the teacher, and there the matter rested. If you were foolish enough to come home whinging about your misfortune, you ended up being treated to more of the same for giving the teacher trouble. In hindsight, and particularly in view of what is happening today, I’m inclined to think that the Módh Díreach (the direct method), as I term it, was not such a bad system. Most children only went to Primary School. As fees had to be paid in Secondary schools, only the children of the comfortably off could afford to go. Quite a few did not even finish Primary School, as they were needed at home as soon as they were able to work.

Religion was a very important influence in people’s lives. First Communion and Confirmation were huge events and were preceded by months of preparation and strict examinations. The coming of the Bishop to the Parish once every three years was anticipated with a mixture of excitement and fear. If you failed the Bishop’s exam, you had to wait another three years for Confirmation and you were disgraced in front of the parish - something which was not appreciated by your parents! The Lenten Fast, the Nine First Fridays and the Family Rosary were all taken very seriously. To be missing or even late for the Rosary was more than you life was worth.

Arising from this religious influence, people were honest to a degree which would not be understood now. People never locked doors of houses, even when they were away. No one would touch anything that did not belong to them. If you left your bicycle at the side of the road, it would still be where you left it whenever you decided to come back for it - even several weeks later. It would not be advisable to try that now!!! On the very rare occasion when something was stolen, it would be a major talking point in the area for days. It would take something like a murder to create a similar stir at present. As I mention murder, it was almost unknown in the 50’s. Of course it was a hanging offence at that time.

You may think by now that people led a miserable life in the fifties. Not so. People were quite contented with their lot. Boredom did not arise because people had more than enough to keep them occupied. Suicide was a rarity. Marriage break-up almost unheard of. Children grew up in a stable environment. I’m not suggesting that people had no problems, but they seemed to be more inclined to try and help themselves, rather than depending on the state to help them.

Then, as now, the politicians were “solving” the unemployment problem. The amazing thing is that the unemployment figures have continued to RISE steadily in a declining population despite all the “solving” over the past 60 years! So much for the effectiveness of their efforts! During the 50’s most families had about 5 children and of those quite a few emigrated to England, America or Australia to get work. Almost every house had family members abroad.

The innocence of children was one of the joys of the time. Children had a childhood and were not compressed adults by the age of ten as our present-day children seem to be.

On the approach to Christmas, the only big shopping expedition in the year occurred. Normally shopping was done in the local village, about five miles away, but for Christmas, we went to Kilkenny City, which was a massive eighteen miles away. This was considered to be a long journey at the time. For us at the time this was a day full of wonder.

Christmas was a great time and was looked forward to eagerly for months. Children as old as 12 still believed in Santa Claus, and the magic of Christmas morning in a houseful of children is something one never forgets. The presents were small and unsophisticated, but they were the only presents received all year, so they were perceived to be wonderful. I can still remember being ushered off to bed on Christmas Eve, unable to sleep with excitement and at the same time being fearful that Santy would come and catch me awake! If we woke up too early, we were told that he hadn’t come yet, so we had to try to get back to sleep again so that we would not be caught awake. St. Stephen’s Day was also full of excitement. The Wrenboys and the fox-hunt were strong traditions of the area for years.

The nearest sea-side resort to us was Tramore. I was twelve years old before I first saw the sea. The fifty or so mile trip was a major undertaking. A place may as well be on another planet as that far away! Of course, we had no concept whatever of what the sea-side was like until we saw it.

Entertainment was simple. We had the old wireless powered by the dry and wet batteries. Naturally its use was restricted to make the batteries last as long as possible. Television was something they had in America, but about which we knew nothing. The Pictures were a treat allowed only occasionally. Matches, plays and concerts in the local Hall and occasional visits of the Circus all provided little diversions from the normal routine of life. We had never heard of computers or computer games.

Music of the time included such artists as Eddie Calvert, Winifred Atwell, Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, Russ Conway, Jo Stafford, Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn to name but a few. Rock’n Roll did not arrive until near the end of the fifties when Bill Haley hit the scene with a bang. I suppose it could be said that Guy Mitchell was the last of the pre-rockers. In the country vein, Slim Whitman was prominent as were Hank Snow and Hank Loughlin. Great favourites at the time also were Jim Reeves, Doris Day, Pat Boone and Frankie Laine. On the home front, Ruby Murray was riding the crest of a wave.

The telephone was a status symbol. Only one house in our area had a private phone. At the time this phone was only on full service during the day. It was an instrument with a handle which had to be turned to contact the operator. You then told her the number you required and she put you through. Once she finished work for the day

you could not use the phone! Is this not a far cry from today’s mobile phones, Skype and Facetime. I often wonder how our parents would react to today’s world of technology if they could be broughht back to witness it!

The priest, the doctor, the vet, the chemist, the bank manager and the teacher were all held in high esteem in their community as they were all educated to a degree far beyond the rest of the people. These people were often consulted by people with problems and their advice was highly respected. Young people who got the chance of Secondary Education aspired to these coveted positions, both for the standard of living they provided and the prestige they carried. Haven’t times changed!!!

Good neighbourliness was probably the most prominent virtue of people of the time. They seemed to have a sixth sense, because if a person was in difficulties, help just arrived - no one had to say anything! People cared about each other and always helped in emergencies without any monetary reward.

Most people had no contact with the tax man. The VAT man had not come into being. There were no E.U. regulations and the Eye in the Sky hadn’t even reached the realms of Science Fiction. The quiet of the countryside was disturbed only by the drone of the occasional D.C.3 flying overhead. A summer’s evening closed with the sound of numerous Corncrakes calling in the meadows. I wonder where they emigrated to.

I’m sure there are aspects of the time I have not mentioned, but then the old memory is not what it used to be. I’m sure some people out there will be able to fill in the gaps for themselves. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had retained the positive aspects of that time and enjoyed them with the undoubted progress we have made in so many other spheres of activity!!!. Well, I’m still allowed to dream tax free - am I not?