The Wayward Sow
Many of us remember when Aunt Franny & Uncle Roy Ehle tired of living in the city and decided to move their family from Redford, MI to a farm in Harrison, MI. The following story is one of many events that occurred during that interesting time.
While Uncle Roy was commuting to his job in Redford, Aunt Fran and the kids were setting up house in their 2 room cabin equipped with it's own outhouse. While waiting for their home to be built on the property, the family put in a vegetable garden to defer the cost of food at the local market.
Aunt Franny did such a wonderful job with the garden that a neighbor's sow couldn't resist the bountiful pickings. Despite fences, barriers, complaints and threatening phone calls, the wayward sow routinely visited the garden and finally pushed Aunt Fran beyond her limit.
One Saturday afternoon, Gramma Inman received a call from Aunt Fran. (Remember, back then the phones were party-lines and the sow owning neighbor was in the party, so discretion was called for.) The conversation went something like this...."Hi, what's ya doin'?", Aunt Fran. "Nothing much.", Gramma "So, why don't you and Larry drive up for a visit? And bring your butchering knives.", Aunt Fran. Gramma turned grab her bone saw and butchering knives hollered for Larry. "We're going to Harrison!" Yep, that wandering sow had met his match despite Aunt Franny's kind and gentle nature.
Upon arriving at the farm, they could hear a circular saw running. The door to the two-room cabin was open, and the kids were running out holding their noses. What they found after entering the front door was the "garden moocher" splayed out on the kitchen table, face up, and Uncle Bud's (Cecil) straddled over it attempting to cut the backbone with a circular saw. Bud was a carpenter by trade. Since circular saws cut upward, a spray of blood, bone and tissue was strewn all over the room. Some say the smell of burnt flesh still hangs in Harrison today.
Gramma said "Oh, my God, Bud get out of my way." Grabbing her bone saw, Gramma went to work with the speed & skill of a surgeon. In a few hours, meat was packaged and in the freezer, the kitchen was cleaned and a lovely pork roast was in the oven for dinner. Another problem solved by the women of our family. Bud was allowed to use his tools on pine only from this point on.
(Story told to Barbara (Custer) Vaillancourt by Larry Cecil - a witness to the carnage)