My grandfather had built the wooden silo in the 1930s during the middle of the Depression. All of the materials had arrived from the factory by train, and he had to take several trips with the wagon and team to bring everything back to the farm from the railroad depot. I had heard stories about how Grandpa had mixed all the concrete for the foundation by hand in a wheelbarrow.
In 1960, the wooden silo still stood next to the barn, and a newer 25 foot tall concrete stave silo had joined it. Both of them were filled with corn silage every fall that was fed along with hay from the haymow throughout the winter, and until the cows returned to pasture in spring.
The concrete silo had a Patz electric silo unloader that worked with the push of a button, but as the youngest son, it was usually my job to climb up the wooden silo and throw down corn silage to where my brother Henry would load it into a wheelbarrow, and bring it out to the cows in the stanchions. I always loved the early spring where I didn't have to worry about frozen silage along the silo walls.
Although the wooden silo has been gone for many years now, and I don't miss my work with the ensilage fork, I still have fond memories of that wooden silo.
