1960 - The Chicken Killing

1960 – Thanksgiving and Killing Chickens

I was working at the coil plant ten hours a day, six days a week. on Wednesday I had gotten off work early for Thanksgiving. I hurried home and got my cleaning started so I could rest then start baking.

Harold had to take a medical leave because of his back; but he was working for Garland Harlow at the hatchery and up at the egg house. There were a bunch of hens who had slowed down about laying. So Garland told Harold to crate them up with twenty five chickens in a crate for twenty five cents a piece; when they bought the crate.

I smoked back in those days so I had finished cleaning and was going to rest while I smoked and had a cup of coffee. I had just sat down with my cigarette and coffee when Harold came in looked around at everything shining and said, “I got a surprise for you. I bought twenty five hens at twenty five cents a piece. I figured we could kill and clean them for the freezer tonight. It won’t take long.”

I didn’t say anything but I thought to myself that tomorrow was Thanksgiving and like always we were expecting a houseful of people. I was really aggravated but I went along with what he had planned but I was really aggravated.

We had a gas stove in the basement; there were cabinets down there too; along with the freezer. It was easier to do the canning and putting up stuff for the freezer there than in the kitchen upstairs. Harold went on down and put the water on the stove.

Harold couldn’t have killed the chickens if he had too, not even a fly if he had to I don’t recon. He just couldn’t do it. So the chicken killing was up to me. I couldn’t wring the chicken’s necks the way that most people did. My method was to stand on the chicken’s feet, stretch their heads, then cut the head off.

We got started out; we had five chickens done but the necks were getting shorter and shorter; because I was thinking what a mess I would have because I had worked in the basement all night instead of being upstairs getting my baking done. I just kept thinking about that house full of people coming the next day.

Harold could see that I was mad because those chickens necks were getting shorter all the time. The neck was his favorite part of the chicken. So he finally said, “Bert, I think the rest can wait until after Thanksgiving. We can feed them in the crate and they will be okay.” So we waited until after Thanksgiving and I got my baking done.

We had to cut corners back in those days and those chickens really made good eating, fried chicken, and chicken with dumplings.