Livestock In The City Limits

Remember when it was not uncommon to see livestock within the city limits of small communities, including Glasgow?

Rural residents that moved into town during the school year often brought the milk cow and chickens along. These were animals that needed daily care as well as providing food for the families and chores for the kids.

I can remember stories of measures taken to save these valuable animals during one of the big floods in Glasgow. There is a cute little house on the south side of Glasgow that was once a barn, with a loft, that housed some of these animals during flooding of the early '30s.

Then there were a few lucky kids that had access to a horse that could be picketed on an empty lot or such and provide a lot of summertime riding for some. That also required chores, as the horse needed fresh water and had to be moved to fresh grass, but the upside was all you needed was a bridle or maybe halter, and you were set for a good half day of entertainment. That era is gone unless you live in a city that allows chickens in the back yard.

I personally prefer the larger livestock and I am pretty sure we will never regress to allowing them within city limits again, which is not all bad, but it does deprive our young of all of those chores.

Gwen welcomes your memories at 367-5582.