Breakfast Guest, Not for Breakfast

This picture of my husband, Bill, is at the Lowder Dairy in New London, North Carolina. It is so special because the chicken would sit on his shoulder. The bird knew my husband would have doughnuts for him every morning and knew he would not be harmed. You know the chicken looked forward to early daylight.

In the picture, you can also see the big Holstein cow in the stall getting ready to be milked. They were fed with special grain that was a mixture made only by Bill that made the milk taste wonderful.

This dairy was in operation for 20 years.

It takes a lot of grain to feed 65 cows, in addition to the 60 acres on this farm. The dairy rented land on four other farms to grow corn, beans, oats and barley for the cows, chickens, heifer calves and hogs.

It was work from 3:30 every morning till dark in the evening, seven days a week. Many times a week, I would see Bill out in the yard praying for rain because the crops needed rain, this kind of operation could go bankrupt if it simply did not rain.

Bill and I had two children. Bill served his country in the Navy, but his dream was to be a farmer.

Cleona Lowder, New London, a member of Union Power Cooperative