Antique Barb Wire

Shortly after we bought our farm, I found a rusty roll of barb wire leaning against a nearly rotted off fence post. Looking more closely, I quickly saw that this barb wire was different from any I had seen before. (See photo.)

I grew up with barb wire, the kind with sharp spikes designed to keep livestock where they were supposed to be. “Making fence,” we called the activity that took place on days when it had rained too much for other field work. It seems there was always a stretch of fence that needed fixing or even replacing. Our fences, they were everywhere on the home farm, consisted of four strands of barb wire stapled to red cedar fence posts that marched around each of our several fields.

The rusty old wire fence I found had no spikes of the kind I remembered. Rather it had little metal triangles woven into two twisted wires. I did some checking and discovered this strange barb wire had been patented by Edward M. Crandall of Chicago in 1879. My guess is Tom Stewart, who had homesteaded my farm in 1867, or another early owner bought this wire to enclose a cow pasture—now the prairie that I am restoring.

The very first popular barb wire had been patented by an Illinois farmer, Joseph Glidden, in 1873. A few others had come up with barb wire designs, but Glidden took the lead, and by 1880, he had sold more than 80 million pounds of this replacement for wooden rail fences.

I am pleased to have a piece of historical barb wire—to go along with the many other antiques I have uncovered on my farm over the years.

The Old Timer Remembers: Good fences make good neighbors.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

--Sept 8. 10 a.m. Mt. Horeb Library, Once a Professor.

--Sept. 21, Evening, Wisconsin Writers Association Meeting, Milwaukee. Keynote Speaker

--Sept.22. 9-2:00 p.m. All Writers Workshop, Waukesha

--September 28, 5:00 pm. Platteville Farm-Town Dinner Meeting. Speaker

--October 6, 10-2:00 pm, Dregni’s, Westby. Book Signing

--October 7, 1-4 pm, August Derleth Center, 300 Water Street, Sauk City, Guest Speaker.

--October 13, Wisconsin Book Festival, Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Time to be announced.

--October 20, 6-8:00 pm. American Legion Post 306, 518 Water Street, Green Lake. Fund Raiser for Princeton Public Library. Phone 920-295-6777 for ticket information.

--October 21, 1:00 pm. Readers Realm Bookstore, Montello.




Purchase Jerry’s signed DVDs and books from the Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
Phone: 920-622-3835

DVDs: His latest Public TV show, One-Room Country School is now available. It’s based on his book, One-Room Country Schools (also available). Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)

Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)

The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows,)

Never Curse the Rain, (based on his book with the same title)

The library has several of Jerry’s signed books for sale including Jerry’s newest nonfiction books, Once a Professor, Every Farm Tells a Story, Living a County Year (reprints), One-Room Country Schools, Never Curse the Rain and Old Farm Country Cookbook, and his novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guidebook for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.