A couple of days ago I showed you the ladies in the house cooking the noon dinner. It and every meal since has been so good. In order to get a place at the table there was a little deal made. Now I don't know if in the old days this same deal was struck but I bet it was too far off. I am welcome to fill my belly as long as I keep the wood box filled. Trust me it is a fair trade off.
While swinging the ax I got to thinking about the amount of wood that a 1920's farm like Wagner's would have used. We are just playing and only making one meal. For them it was all three meals, heating the water for cleaning and washing and warmth in the cooler months. In Cook County in 1920 there were 5,520 farms so that would mean a lot of wood.
Sarah and I did find one interesting reference when we were doing research for the house interpretation . It seems that in this area most of the timber had already been cut by the turn of the century. Remember there weren't forest preserves like we have around us today. The land was either in farmed or being built on. So to provide the fuel for the heating and cook stoves coal was a popular alternative.
