When we bought a worn out farm for less than $30 per acre, the county road was not always passable, the one room dwelling had no dependable water supply and the “bath” was at the end of a path. The REA electric line was available, but mail and telephone service were about two miles away.

My retired father, O.D. Meyers, advised and helped Chub build terraces, fertilize the soil and get the first crop in. Our two toddlers and I took lunch for the men and spent the afternoons at the farm.

Dad surprised Chub and me by giving us 10 registered shorthorn cows from his herd. Our first corn crop came up and looked great until it was about waist high. Like other farmers in the Midwest, we watched the sky for clouds that never came. The corn leaves began to rustle in the hot wind and we knew that this crop would not produce grain.

It was soon obvious that if we were to have feed for those cows we’d have to make silage out of this failed crop. There was no silo, but we heard that some farmers were putting chopped corn into earthen pits. Chub chose one of the remaining deep ditches and called for a bulldozer to make us a pit silo.

Chopped corn stalks and leaves made enough silage to take the 10 cows through the winter and, as farmers do, we determined to have that bumper crop the next year. We also decided to close our home and spend the next summer at the farm.

I started a little garden in front of the farm house, but the corn fields almost surrounded the dwelling. We made Walt and Nancy a tractor tire sand pile, hung a bag swing from a limb of the mulberry tree and installed a jungle gym.

Early one morning that summer, I was admiring our tall green corn. I heard a wild turkey hen and a far away rooster. The sky was deep blue with cotton ball clouds. We had 160 acres of fresh air and space -- great for raising children. Suddenly I saw a deer in our yard and we stared at each other, unafraid! That moment changed my outlook on life. The deer was standing in our yard as if he owned the place -- and he did, of course!

Chub and I knew we couldn’t make a living on such a small acreage, but we decided we could both work in town and increase the herd to support the country life we wanted for Nancy and Walt. That winter an architect helped us plan to modernize and enlarge the farm house. The next spring, we rented our home and went to the farm to stay. Relatives and many friends helped us build and we did stay.

Chub was elected to the school board and I helped the Turner School get it’s first telephone -- before Nancy was old enough for first grade. I returned to Christian College to teach water sports and recreation and Chub became an inspector of the new water system, helped clear the roadsides so a school bus could get through and needled the county court for a well maintained road.

It was inconvenient, being without a telephone for the next few years, but a space finally became available on a 10-party line. We like it there.

What a great decision that deer helped us make.