Remember, Luther went to the market to buy a pig and he came home having bought a farm.  If you haven’t read about that, it’s at Of Pigs and Farms…   The farm he bought is in Londonderry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He bought the farm in June 1926.  That’s 94 years ago!  Amazingly, the family retained the newspaper clipping of the public sale of the farm.  Here it is:

 

What a treasure!  We know from this clipping that the house had 5 rooms.  You can see a video tour of the house in it’s present state, with commentary by Luther’s Grandson, Ronald, at Tour of Luther and Edna’s Farm Home

Here’s a photo of the property, likely shortly after it was purchased in 1926.

 

In 1926, things were not too bad in the United States of America.  The economy and industry were growing and farming was decreasing.  So it seems a little odd that Luther bought a farm and began farming.  But having done so may have been a blessing.  Just over three years later, the stock market crash began on October 29, 1929 and ushered in The Great Depression.  The mortgage on the Londonderry farm was just $25 a month, which would be about $360 in today’s dollars.  Luther and Edna struggled to pay that $25 mortgage during those difficult Depression years.  But they were successful!  They farmed.  Edna used some of the farm goods to bake cookies, pies, and other yummy baked goods.  Then every week they went to the Farmer’s Market to sell their goods–farm produce and baked items.  Undoubtedly they struggled, pinched pennies, went without, and were frugal.  And they managed to keep the farm.  How would their lives had been different during the Depression if they had not bought the farm?

The farm continued to be their home until 1957.  It was time to retire from the farm.  They sold the farm, and then had an estate sale, and moved to be closer to their children.

Here’s a newspaper clipping announcing the estate sale:

It’s fun to read what they were selling….cows, a hog, a sow due to farrow in a week, furniture and bedding, pots and pans, sewing machine, etc.  They had accumulated things that they no longer needed or wanted.  And such is life.  I think I would have been interested in the kraut cutter!