Horses Know the Way to Carry the Barrel

It is hard to believe, but our grandparents were young once. In the good old days, kids were the same; transportation was not. When my grandma was in third grade, cars were rare, and she relied on horses for transportation.

One day there was a near-paralyzing blizzard in her rural town of Big Lake, Minnesota. The snow fell so densely that people could only walk a few feet before getting buried or disoriented. Her father, my great-grandpa, had to get Grandma to school somehow. Great-Grandpa couldn’t guide the horses because of the heavy snow; he couldn’t guide even himself. What were they to do? Horses to the rescue! The horses had gone to and from school so many times that they had memorized the way.

The horses could easily take Grandma to school in her sleigh. The sleigh was like a modern-day farmer’s truck. Great-Grandpa knew he could rely on the horses to take Grandma to school and back. His next obstacle was to protect Grandma from the incessant snow. Great-Grandpa placed an old wooden barrel in the sleigh, and he placed Grandma in the barrel. For a canopy, he placed a wool horse blanket on top. Safely, and somewhat cozily, Grandma arrived at school.

At dismissal time, the blizzard had not lessened. Neither Grandma nor her classmates could get home. She went with her classmates to a storm shelter where she stayed until Great-Grandpa came to pick her up. When he arrived, the snow had accumulated so high that the door to the shelter was blocked. Grandma had to hoist herself up and out of a window to get outside. She climbed onto the sleigh and into the barrel, and again covered herself with the blanket. Great-Grandpa covered himself as best he could from the cold and wind, and off they went.

Karen Figenshau, Missouri
Published in Grannie Annie, Vol. 2

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