Earlier this week, we reported on 10 rural myths debunked by the Great Falls Tribune. The list included headless chickens' ability to walk around, which reminded Michael Babcock, also writing for the Tribune, of his experiences with decapitated fowl.
"It got me to thinking about what several generations have probably missed when it comes to life on a farm or ranch," Babcock writes. "I have participated in the capture,slaughter, cleaning, cooking and eating of chickens on my grandparents' farm in Nebraska, where I stayed part of each summer as I grew up. It was a wonderfully bloody and fascinating practice for a young boy to witness and participate in.
"It was off to the wood pile and off with their heads: We used an ax. Sometimes the headless chickens would fly away a dozen yards or so and I would have to chase them down, grab them by the legs and hold them away from my body so I didn't get blood on my clothes. Sometimes they would just flop around on the ground but I never recall any of them walking around."
After more grisly details, Babcock went on to recall his summers spent on his grandfather's farm. "Spending a few weeks or a month or two on that Nebraska farm each year was splendidly fascinating for a kid. ... Oh, that we adults could enjoy what amused us as children. We would be forever young. That farm is gone now — the land still is there but the house that smelled of wood in the winter and the barn that smelled off work horses and milk cows and the groaning windmill are gone." (Read more)
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