Northern Illinois Farm Life in Wartime - 1944

How farms cope with wartime demands. Emphasizes use of electrical machinery to make labor more productive.

[@suekeller3831]

The Phelps family home mentioned at 23:40 is my grandparents' place. Brought a smile to my face to see my grandmother once again as well as my dad as the young 16 year old bailing hay with my grandfather. I don't know who is responsible for this film, but THANK YOU very much!

[@catherinern747]

This is so awesome! We’re from northern IL and love watching this!

[@rickymoyer7513]

That’s awesome how you just find your family like that! That’s really cool life was so simple then.

[@nicholaspeterson804]

Man thats so cool. Your grandma was a wartime hero for helping to spread this info

[@bigears4426]

Thats a lovely keepsake

[@cristobalpacheco4202]

Who’s the boy spraying pesticides with no mask?

[@mamaknows1062]

The first thing you notice besides the hard work ethic, how ingenious and industrious these people are, is that they are so thin compared to the average citizen of 2021.

[@DBKING04020]

I agree, but I would use the word “healthy”. As my doctor would say: exercise and eating healthy. Their LIFE is more exercise than most people get today, and they didn’t eat pre made food. Ex: you didn’t buy a pie then, you made one. That kept things like sugar and salt under your control. Not to mention things like waste not want not, etc. In those days, if you weren’t able to offer your life for the war effort, you gave everything else you could to feel like you had earned the right to be an American. 75 years ago people still remembered that we are the UNITED States. Different times.

[@mamaknows1062]

@@DBKING04020 yes the easily readily available junk food has messed up a lot of people in more ways than gaining a few pounds.

[@OutsideOfTheCamp]

So really it’s the 3rd or 4th thing you notice.

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

Food was more nutritionally dense and it was generally less palatable. So you had way more nutrition in your food and ate far fewer calories, mostly in response to how much effort you put out -- which was a lot. It creates some very healthy humans.

[@brimac58]

Right you are…..Americans exploited by Big Farms- Big Pharma…..They want you fat and sick in order for them to profit.

[@jeromehealy421]

The Leonard Sellmyer mentioned at 30:37 was my great uncle. His son Jerome was my Godfather and his brother Jim farmed down the road. Jerome died in '80 from cancer. I just talked to Jim's daughter who told me that she and her sisters were putting Jim and their mother in a home this week. Life grinds on.

[@jeromehealy421]

And leave your failing father and mother to life alone in a country farm house, thousands of miles from where you live?

[@jeromehealy421]

The "Mary Francis Sellmyer" mentioned at 24:00 is Jim's sister and also suffers from dementia. As sad as it is to see it is sobering to think that my generation is next in line...

[@menopassini9348]

@@jeromehealy421 God Bless you all.

[@mrs8792]

My Father was a Marine, fighting in Iwo Jima during WW2. His brother stayed behind in Illinois farming.

[@mariekatherine5238]

My uncle also fought on Iwo Jima in the Marines. He passed away in 1972.

[@johnplong3644]

My parents moved to Schaumburg ILLINOIS in 1960 I was 2 at that time Township of Schaumburg was just like this I remember Northern ILL looking like this growing up All the farms are long gone is Schaumburg it is all built up I Remember the different types of farms that were in Schaumburg Hard to believe that North West Cook county Looked like this at one time The village of Schaumburg population was mostly people of German ancestry and they were Lutheran This video brings back memories of by early childhood in Schaumburg

[@trussell8510]

Nice capture of a time we will never see again, thanks for this.

[@ritajohnson5322]

This video has recently been shared with the many descendants of a family featured at the end of the video. Our family facebook contacts are commenting on this like crazy!

[@stevehomeier8368]

My mom grew up on a southern Wisconsin farm during this era.My uncle was flying B 24s over Italy

[@melaniewestberg2886]

-4Carl, Mother was born in '27 near Sharon, WI. She had a few stories to tell and to make sure we understood, sent us to Wheeler farm summers thru the sixties.

[@shirley4490]

how wonderful for you sue. wish I could have seen my grandmother who had a turkey farm. the birds helped the army that both my dad and uncle served in back then.

[@hoodoodino2335]

The music warp at the beginning is quite melancholy, don't you think ? It sets the mood so well...

[@oldbaldfatman2766]

April 16, 2020---Dad was born in '32 and with the Great Depression, he and grandpa moved to his brothers farm in Golconda. He and grandpa joined the Army, doing time in Europe. Grandpa was with graves registration, while Dad was an engineer with Patton's army. Dad was there when Dachau was found/liberated and only thing he ever said about it was you couldn't believe the smell. Skip forward MANY years where I found myself being a truck driver, going all over the country. Heading south thru Illinois and saw via my road atlas, Golconda was something like 20 miles or so from the freeway. Since I had time on my hand, I'm goin'. Parked 70' of truck and trailer in front of the courthouse, the wandered around town and believe me, it's NOT a big town. Like maybe a block or so long? Took a bunch of photos with me in/not in them and when I had a chance, emailed them to Dad. He was shocked/delighted and wondered how I got out of there. All I needed to do was make a couple of lefts and back down this 2 lane county road to the freeway. Glad to make Dad happy as it had been quite a few years since he'd seen the place.

[@RadhadaniteBabylonian]

yeah, I bet the smell of all those dead bodies from Typhoid was horrific. Typhus was rampant in the labor camps from headlice. Since America and England bombed out Germany's infrastructure there was no way to get food, water and medical supplies to these labor camps. That would make the allies guilty of war crimes since they knew from aerial photos there were labor camps throughout Germany and elsewhere and what they were doing was contributing to the deaths of these workers.

[@pgronemeier]

BS! Your dad was 10 when he 'enlisted'? Even if he 'enlisted' in 1945 AT THE END OF THE WAR...He was 13? I'm guessing/saying you're an Old, bald fat LYING man!!!

[@pgronemeier]

My dad REALLY did drop out of HS and joined the navy at the end of WWII. He was born in 1927. He got his GED after the war. He was good at math. Too bad I can't say the same about you, ObfLm! LoL

[@kayg6504]

Does anyone know about the little boy Doug Knight Jr at 4:31? Back then I suppose they didn't know how insecticide could cause harm to both human, animal and perhaps the milk supply. The little guy is spraying insecticide to kill flies and it is spraying on him and he is breathing it. I hope and pray he avoided cancer and any children of his did as well. I know back then DDT was used a lot until it was finally banned and discontinued. Thank you farmers for feeding the world and for all your hard work to do so.

[@robertnymand9889]

Really and up to date farm for 1944.

[@SuperKyle309]

Had to be. Camera equipment was alot to operate back then. In order to make a good film every detail had to count.

[@backachershomestead]

Family grew up in central Illinois. Moved away 3 years ago. We all farmed there till around 85. Lived around Onarga and Cissna park Illinois.

[@backachershomestead]

@@plhebel1 Almost middle and east side. Close to Kankakee.

[@agent3857]

The dairy buy-out was in '85.

[@mondopinion3777]

That spray was DDT. I remember Papa used to ask us kids to step outside when he sprayed it.

[@joshk.6246]

And folks today are concerned. Lol. I mean nothing wrong with it necessarily but take it in stride with history.

[@unitedwestand5100]

I remember in the late 70s, early 80s when they pulled DDT out of circulation. People were getting caught dumping it by spraying itmo along roadways, and stuff. Big fines and jail were doled out... I remember milk getting so cheap that the Feds bought whole herds of milk cows, and then slaughtered them for hamburger.

[@martinjenkins6467]

Here in Australia I've never seen That on the dairy farms of spraying The cows. We drenched for worms And sprayed for Lise every few Months.

[@danielmorse6597]

Great video. Love it!

[@capecod50s]

Look at how well proportioned these cows are. This was before the “mad scientists” began their crazy breeding programs. I do believe in progress but I have been told the current physique of cows is not good nor comfortable for them. Production may be up but at what cost to these critters.

[@mondopinion3777]

same for chickens.

[@stevewright6632]

4:30 Doug jr pulling that pesticide sprayer with no mask is a yikes from me, heh.

[@joshk.6246]

We had a pipeline but grandma used to tell me how they milked. This just makes it vivid.

[@mrgriff281]

It's amazing to see some of these places that are now filled with houses and strip malls.

[@johngnipper8768]

and fake profit

[@SuperKyle309]

All the farms featured here are either still there in operation or at the very least still farmable ground. 😊

[@suzuki694]

Is the people of that day knew what was going to conspire in the future? Do you think they would still fight?

[@danielmorse6597]

Most of these farms are now subdivisions and housing tracts.

[@doriehess5835]

I'm sure subdivisions can produce more per acre than a farm. Wait til we run out of farms to subdivide.

[@homelessman2257]

why don't you open google maps and look at Illinois, and you will be shocked by how wrong you are.

[@Chris.B1111]

@@doriehess5835 Please explain, although there is the possibility, the fact is it's not the case and those subdivisions are nothing but a scab on this earth.

[@doriehess5835]

@@Chris.B1111 I was referring to the tax money revenue on improved land. Agriculture land tax is less.

[@Chris.B1111]

@@doriehess5835 Id rather have a farm that provides for the local community than a bunch of ugly copy pasted houses providing fun tokens to the local government.

[@lemoncrinckles]

The 30s, 40s, and 50s were our best years.

[@mattfogarty8144]

Undoubtedly

[@estebangonzalezrodriguez3166]

Great video, I am a farmer too, God bless you all.

[@traderjoes8725]

kiddo with the "really effective home-build sprayer" @4:29 - what kills the flies can't be good for kids - unbelievable

[@nicholaspeterson804]

From a person who was wondering" Why do Britain and the UK have so much info and shows about the wartime lifestyle but America doesn't?"

[@mamaknows1062]

simply because the war was actually there on their soil, shelling and tearing up their country. Just like we do have video and movies of Pearl Harbor.

[@mr.matthews67]

I like watching these videos. They help me escape the BS of today. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century.

[@danieljohnstone6805]

Agreed Mr Matthew's I think the same way

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

Virtually all of us were meant to farm. We've been divorced from the natural way of life -- farming, herding, hunting, and gathering -- by the accumulation of land into a few hands combined with overpopulation. It's sad but inevitable. Still worth it to try getting out there if you have the opportunity. Remote work is making it more possible.

[@michaelhostetler5190]

I feel the same...

[@robertnymand9889]

My grandparents and dad didn't get power till after the war.

[@mariekatherine5238]

I lived in Lewis Co., NY where most farmers didn’t get power until the early 1950s. When I was there in the 1980s, we still had party lines on the phone. I was on a five liner, and my ring was two rings followed by one.

[@seththomas9105]

I don't know the exact numbers off hand, but this electric company promo film did an lot of hand picking to find all this electricity and modern conveinance in 1944. My dad was born in 40 and I know they didn't have power other than a battery radio until 52. I know many who didn't have electricity until around 1960, but I think it was pretty common by the mid 50's. But for the upper Midwest electricity was not real common until after 1950.

[@russellgay9442]

It is mind boggling all that is involved! God bless them all?

[@taylavlogsthetas4784]

8:58 thats how a real Angus looks

[@GM-xo7yy]

Oh the stoves those women had 😍😩

[@triple6758]

A hard-working and Civil Society. What happened to change it?

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

Immigration, sending kids to public school, and the dissolution of the family.

[@ArmpitStudios]

Hippies.

[@1-thriftyman27]

I lived in Streator was cool to hear.😊

[@robertnymand9889]

Remember my grandpa telling how corn did get high during the war. Around 3 dollars per bushel!

[@Farmscrap1183]

and now all those electric motors are made in japan by the very people we were at war with what a shame and waste

[@buzzsaw301]

Illinois is not like this today.

[@amierichan7231]

Very interesting film, but the narrator says that the son is fighting in the war 2000 miles away. Where the hell was that?!:-)

[@arthurdewith7608]

Europe

[@robertnymand9889]

Still great ideas now! 2021!

[@StonesAndSand]

One thing for sure...there were no obese farmers...or family members.

[@afishcalledwanda]

Question: I learned from other documentaries that farms had an R rationing rather than C. "R: non-highway use, such as farm vehicles - unlimited" --> so, there was no limitation for farming usage of fuel, says this website --> www.sarahsundin.com/make-it-do-gasoline-rationing-in-world-war-ii-2/ who's right?

[@davidmeyers6884]

I think you are right. I remember my grandfather telling a story where he got some gas from his farming uncle while visiting, because he was short on coupons. It was kept hush hush at that time. This was in northern Indiana.

[@afishcalledwanda]

@@davidmeyers6884 Wow... after two years, someone read my contribution.... BINGOOO... thx. =:)

[@davidmeyers6884]

@@afishcalledwanda I was at that huge farm in the 70s as a kid. By the late 80s, he passed and the land sold and got subdivided near Wabash Indiana. Just a memory now. Sad

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

You got "unlimited" gasoline, but it required a lot of paperwork for each tankful.

[@jacobeksor6088]

That dogs need to be pay too lol

[@michaelhostetler5190]

Love this...

[@GM-xo7yy]

The first Ronco food dehydrator!

[@teresahunt5521]

Too bad the government isn't encouraging the American farmer to produce in 2022!

[@Надиване]

Красота! А в это время Советские люди проливали кровь на войне

[@judyrosy]

Omg...the little boy in a cloud of pesticide....died at the age of 18.

[@francisparkinson7934]

Nice one.

[@ellendunn559]

Ralph Nader?!?

[@gordonbricker1670]

3:47 blue windows repel flies!

[@lenisbennett3062]

Closed windows repail fly's also.

[@oe542]

Lenis Bennett not a good idea in a dairy barn, besides the fact there’s many other openings to the outside. Barns aren’t exactly air right.

[@capecod50s]

@@lenisbennett3062 After you get the flies back in the “pail” what do you do with them? Sorry just being silly. These were honest, hard working, God fearing folk. Let us be thankful. Just a general comment.

[@mathewjames7553]

Now ag colleges tell us that chicken wire works great to keep insects out.

[@Seemsayin]

I'll bet GE made a killing shortly after this film was circulated. A big thank you to Nikola Tesla. Polyphase AC... good stuff. A HUGE thank you to all those farmers out there. That kind of work will put manners on anyone.

[@JoeKaye-hn5dt]

Isn't there an "s" at the end of "Illinoise?"

[@hawksnake3372]

no

[@samkom33]

There is an s if you spell it like it does on most maps::: ILLINOIS

[@jillspangler5139]

The s is there but has no sound.

[@pgronemeier]

My German Uncles had farms in Elgin and Hampshire. I remember in the 60's as kids. my brother and I milking the cows and feeding the chickens (they were mean!) LoL I always thought, I didn't know how my cousins did that everyday. As kids, it was fun to run through the cornfields, but NOW I realize every ear of corn we trashed was actually costing them money. and back then, a penny was a penny!

[@landanwarren5394]

Wonder what radioactive material they were spraying on those cows

[@mcinty12]

And the kid spraying in the barn with no protection. They used some seriously bad chemicals back then.

[@SuperKyle309]

A non toxic fly spray

[@robertnymand9889]

Threshing machines soon went after the war.

[@ravenfeather7087]

Hey? What cha doin to my baby? "Not to worry. We're just going to eat it.".

[@michaelhostetler5190]

Not. Just giving it a haircut

[@Thehouseoffail]

I just about had a heart attack watching spray chemical pesticide all over those cows. My dad got cancer from those sprays. Can't have been comfortable for the cows.

[@devoradamaris]

🫂❣🫂sharing🫂thankYOU 👑

[@jimwade9570]

Pesticides everywhere !!!

[@loganirwin3988]

So? They don't hurt no one

[@tjlovesrachel]

JIM WADE yessir... keeps the bugs off the cattle

[@doriehess5835]

Thats for your milk.

[@tboniusmaximus3047]

I would still use ddt if i could.

[@wendyeames5758]

@@loganirwin3988 I wouldn't say that. both my grandparents (farmers) died from cancer when they were 63. their parents, who hadn't used pesticides, lived into their 80's.

[@gilfavor4455]

Rip ....all animals and peoples

[@michaelargenta3856]

Where is Marianne Mcormick now? Wow what a women. Cant find those anymore?

[@mariekatherine5238]

Check out the Old Order Amish to find that kind of woman. The modern world doesn’t produce them. It’s hard to find a real man these days, as well.

[@arthurdewith7608]

painted red bsrn in 1944 not likely

[@tjlovesrachel]

Why not

[@arthurdewith7608]

@@tjlovesrachel no money for that

[@tjlovesrachel]

@@arthurdewith7608 ahhhh gotcha

[@alekdog2694]

Video 5555555555555555+10++

[@arthurdewith7608]

painted red bsrn in 1944 not likely