Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 3, 1995 TAG: 9504050017
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Well, what if besides all the work you had to do around the house, you also had to clean out horse and cow stalls, feed chickens and goats and rabbits, collect eggs, take care of the garden, chop wood and help build a road?
If you lived on a farm, you might have to. And, believe it or not, you might even enjoy it.
Clearbrook Elementary School in Roanoke County is just a few miles away from the noise, traffic and shopping malls of the city, and yet, many of the schools' pupils live on farms, said principal Chris Flippen.
Their families have been in the area for so long, she said, that some of her pupils' grandparents attended Clearbrook, too. There are even roads in the neighborhood that are named for the children's families.
Children who live on farms like to do many of the same things city kids do. They play Nintendo, watch TV and go shopping. But sometimes they don't have as much time to do these things because of everything else they have to do.
Justin Fisher is 11 and in the fifth grade. During the winter, it's his job to chop firewood for his family. He often has to get up early in the morning when it's cold and dark, and he has to be strong enough to swing his father's big ax.
It can be dangerous work, he said. "A couple of times, I've hit inches from my foot."
In the summer, he plants gardens for his family. Sometimes he gets paid for all of his hard work, but most of the time he doesn't, he said. But his work helps his family.
Brent and Karen Lorton are 8 and 10 years old. He is in the second grade, and she is in the fifth. The children own three horses, and they spend a lot of time feeding and cleaning them. Shoveling used straw out of the stalls "is the worst," Karen said, but all the hard work pays off when they get to ride the horses.
The Lortons also own mice, goats and chickens, and one of their jobs is to hunt for freshly laid eggs.
Although Brent is still pretty small, he helped his father and neighbors haul gravel to fix the road to their house. Karen said she helped, too.
Karin Murphy, 10, is in the fifth grade, and her brother, Kyle, 8, is in the second. Their family moved here from a town in New Jersey because they wanted to live in the country. They like living on a farm much better, they said.
They have a cow and chickens. They used to make money selling the eggs, but one of their dogs killed some of the chickens. Now there are not enough of them left to lay very many eggs, but Kyle and Karin say they hope to buy more chickens someday.
Sometimes animals die, and that's hard, Karin Murphy said, but it's a part of life on a farm.
The Lorton family once had to kill a goat who broke her leg because it couldn't be fixed, Karen said. The Murphys have a cow that will be slaughtered next fall, so the family can have steaks and hamburger.
The children and their mother have grown attached to the cow, Karin said, and it will be hard to let it go. "Right now, only my dad wants to kill it," she said.
As much as they like the cow, Karin and Kyle said they would still eat the meat.
Troy and Tristin Kaase are 8 years old and 6 years old. He is in the third grade, and she is in the first grade. On Saturdays, they help a neighbor with her horses. They clean out the horses' stalls and feed them, Troy said.
Karin and Kyle said they sometimes get paid for their work, and Troy and Tristin said they get paid every week.
Although he said he doesn't like chopping wood, "I do it for the money", Justin Fisher said. It's fun to have your own money, he said. "You can buy your own stuff."
When asked what they bought with the money they earned, everyone agreed: "toys!" Brent said he was saving for a minibike.
It can be hard to work with your brother or your sister, the children said. They often don't agree about who has to do what. Usually, they said, the bigger kid wins the argument.
Country kids also know what to do when they see a bear, Justin said, and there are plenty of them in their neighborhood. If you see a bear, Justin said, you should throw your shirt or something else that smells like you, and take off running in the other direction.
Most of the children said they enjoy living in the country.
"The country is cool," Justin said. It's nice and silent."
"It's quiet," Troy agreed. "There's not a lot of traffic." He said he likes to ride his bike through the open fields.
"There's room to ride the horses," Karen said.
"I like the city," Tristin said. "They have cable TV."
It's fun to work with the animals, the children agreed, and they also get a chance to work with their parents, although sometimes, Tristin said, "they don't want you to."
by CNB