In 1910, when Olaf F. Larson was born to tenant livestock and tobacco farmers in Rock County, Wisconsin, the original barn still stood on the property. It was filled with artifacts of an earlier timeāan ox yoke, a grain cradle, a scythe used to cut hay by hand. But Larson came of age in a brave new world of modern inventionsātractors, trucks, combines, airplanesāthat would change farming and rural life forever.
When Horses Pulled the Plow is Larson's account of that rural life in the early twentieth century. He weaves invaluable historical detailsāincluding descriptions of farm equipment, crops, and livestockāwith wry tales about his family, neighbors, and the one-room schoolhouse he attended, revealing the texture of everyday life in the rural Midwest almost a century ago. This memoir, written by Larson in his ninth decade, provides a wealth of details recalled from an earlier era and an illuminating read for anyone with their own memories of growing up on a farm.