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Linking Agriculture & Community: Sharing Memories With Helen Cobb

By Cookie Steponaitis

Helen Cobb and her treasured cat Goldy share memories of life in Ferrisburgh and the role of organizations like the Grange as gathering spots for the town and community.
photo provided
Helen Cobb and her treasured cat Goldy share memories of life in Ferrisburgh and the role of organizations like the Grange as gathering spots for the town and community.
Riding on her dad Stanley’s lap, a young Helen learns how to drive the new steel tractor that came to the farm in 1936.
photo provided
Riding on her dad Stanley’s lap, a young Helen learns how to drive the new steel tractor that came to the farm in 1936.
In addition to farming, the family ran a log cutting operation. Helen recalled vividly that one day the government brought four logs to the place that were so large it took her father and uncle two days to saw them to the proper length. They were for a huge ship.
photo provided
In addition to farming, the family ran a log cutting operation. Helen recalled vividly that one day the government brought four logs to the place that were so large it took her father and uncle two days to saw them to the proper length. They were for a huge ship.
Taken just a couple of years before the farm switched to tractors, Helen’s father and helpers bring in hay one hot July day in 1932.
photo provided
Taken just a couple of years before the farm switched to tractors, Helen’s father and helpers bring in hay one hot July day in 1932.

    Helen Cobb grinned and quickly did the math when asked to share how long she had been a member of the Grange. “Well, now,” she remarked. “I joined when I was fourteen and it will be sixty-four years this year. I am also a national member as well.” Sixty-four years of being linked to the land, farming and the people of Addison County through organizations like the Grange, makes sharing memories with Helen Cobb a piece of history that many Americans do not even know exists.

    With 143 years of service to rural America, The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry is the oldest national agricultural organization with granges in 2,700 communities in forty states. The organization was created following the Civil War with a stated purpose of improving the economic and social position of America’s farmers. Today’s the Grange’s national headquarters are located in Washington, D.C.and it is active at both the national and local levels. While the Grange is non-partisan, it actively encourages its members to be politically aware and active.

    Probably the best known feature of the Grange and what Helen Cobb shared so readily was the focus on community, fellowship, recreation and social activities. “Both my mother and father belonged,” recollected Helen. “We started out meeting over the old Ben Franklin Store in Vergennes, but we moved out just four months before the fire of 1958 burned that block. The Grange bought a house that is now St. Peter’s Closet and renovated it. What fun it was to go there and to be with the people of the area. We had fundraisers, dinners, card parties, and everyone brought a dish to share for pot luck supper. Sometimes, we would hold functions with a speaker, but mostly it was about getting down to visiting. You really looked forward to seeing everyone and hearing what was going on in each other’s lives.”

    Born April 29, 1932, Helen Hawkins Cobb is a fifth generation Vermonter and lives today on the same farm she grew up on in Ferrisburgh. “My dad Stanley, my grandfather Arthur and my uncle Everett bought the farm together in 1918,” Helen explained. “My brothers and I grew up on a working farm, and let me tell you, work was the right word. The first big change in agriculture for the family came when I was just five years old. Dad couldn’t get enough help because the war effort had shifted many of the farm helpers away, so he sold the horses and bought our first tractor.  I have been told by many others in the area that our steel tractor was the first in Addison County in 1936. We bought it from F.W. Warner Tractor Sales, which was located in Vergennes. I clearly remember, in 1937, riding on dad’s lap and he told me I was going to learn to rake. Now I didn’t like the tractor when I was alone so I got off. Two smart spanks on my behind later I got right back on and I learned to rake. I can still rake hay with the best.”

    Helen’s family had strong links to the land and she went on to explain that her family made no distinction between women’s chores and that of the men. In addition to caring for the cows, Helen also learned to care for the vegetable gardens, chickens, beef, apple orchard, plums, grapes, and bee aviaries that kept the farm in food the whole year long. “My grandfather was the Honey Maker of the Year for America in 1904,” Helen recounted. “I grew up learning skills and learning hard work. You learned to do with what you had and to make it or fix it yourself. To this day I can still change a tire, oil and there are many different uses for duct tape.” She paused for a moment and her voice took on a much more somber tone as she stated, “I really worry about the future of the farms in this region. When they are gone, and I am afraid that may come to pass, where will America get her food? We can not afford to not be able to feed ourselves.”

    Growing up in rural Vermont also provided other benefits for Helen who walked the 1.5 miles to the Gage School, a one room school for thirty students’ grades 1-8.

   “We had some great times at that school,” Helen recalled. “We used to have card parties, and we learned to square dance. Hank Brace and Bernice Devine would play the violin and the piano and we would square dance. I loved one called the Butterfly Whirl and think if I was pressed could still do the steps. Another fun thing was the school had three sets of twins at one time; the Leggett twins, the Hawkins twins and the Griffith Twins.”

    While there were not many days off in the school year, Helen recalled vividly the impact the weather had on the roads, the creek and getting to school. “When the snow was too deep for the trucks to move, we would go through the fields and walk on top of the drifts. Now, I will tell you that many a morning we arrived at school with our lunches frozen solid and we would put them under the potbelly stove to warm them up. When the roads were muddy, we just trudged through and we dried out, eventually.”

    Helen, in addition to the Grange has also been a member of the Rebekahs who are a part of the Oddfellows and meet twice a month. During these community gatherings Helen recalls that a great deal of focus is on the U.S. Constitution, the history of America and working on projects that reach out across the generations of the area. Helen appreciated and loved her time in the Vergennes chapter and its emphasis on fellowship, teaching and community. Sadly the group has disbanded and the charter has been lost, but the years there still bring a smile to Helen’s face as she remembers.

    Another civic organization that involved Helen’s time is the Eastern Star. It is currently the world’s largest fraternal organization that both men and women can belong to and has over 10,000 active chapters in twenty countries. The once a month gatherings were wonderful times for Helen who enjoyed sharing a meal and a story, learning about the Bible, history, the U.S. Constitution or raising awareness about issues facing the town and community. “It is hard to explain to people today who are used to computers and instant messaging,” remarked Helen, “But the strength of all of these organizations was the time, bonds and friendships of the people. We were mostly all from rural towns and many of us worked on the farm. We shared a history, a set of skills and a love of where we lived. It was about being a community. I remember my mother playing the piano at gatherings, then later Helen Larrow and for years Anna Husk. We sang, ate, and enjoyed being together.”

    Sitting with Helen Cobb and her every watchful cat Goldy, sharing memories and photos of the farm, surrounding area and hearing the stories of the Grange as the town tradition and heart; it is easy to see a time in Vermont’s past when technology brought change, but the handshake of a person was their word and people gathered together to work, talk and celebrate life in different ways. While Helen’s farm and family saw the changes tractors, bulk tanks, new haying techniques, and vats brought, some things remained the same. Helen was quick to call the bulk tank a blessing, “…because we didn’t have to carry the milk cans and use the vats, but the work ethic was the same.” While the technology of the farm changed, the daily interaction with nature, people and community did not.

    Joined together by the land, agriculture and civic organizations, the fabric of rural Vermont life was based on an age old system of work, celebration and community.   They were interchangeable and all who called this region home experienced them at different levels. Helen’s farm sold in 1997, but she still maintains an active egg business and can be found on the road delivering her fresh eggs at all times of the day. Looking back at all the dinners, meetings, suppers, barn raising and times shared she can only smile and pass along to the generation that is wired for the Internet this advice. “Take sometime to go to the Grange, Eastern Star or the Rebekahs. You will be surprised who is there and how much fun they can be. The do more than give us good memories, they link you to your friends and your state and your nation.” With a flick of his tail, Goldy seems to nod knowingly and he settles in Helen’s lap for some much needed human time and petting. The interview was officially over.

 

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