HIRED HANDS AT EDWAMAR FARMS

 Sometime during the 1950's, our parents Edward and Mary Swartzendruber decided to combine their first names to identify their chicken-raising business Edwamar Poultry Farm.  The first place that this name appeared was in the August 1957 Bulletin of the Indiana State Poultry Association.  Not too long after that, they shortened the name to Edwamar Farms since corn, oats and wheat [and one off-the-rails year of tomatoes] were also being raised.  Ed was the first in the area to put in an irrigation system for the corn, and most everyone thought he was crazy.  However, after a few dry summers, others decided it was not such a bad idea, and now virtually every farm in the area has an irrigation system.

When Ed got more involved with Wolfe Grain in Shipshewana, and then later with EDD'S Supplies, a fertilizer business, he decided to hire a full-time farm hand.  I did my share of chicken catching, manure shoveling and irrigation pipe moving, but the farm needed a full-time worker.

There were only two hired hands in the history of Edwamar, and the first was Jim Boyer.  The Boyers had a farm not too far from ours, and Jim was available.  The Boyer family all flew small airplanes, and Jim was a good mechanic.  One thing that I clearly remember about Jim was that he was never in hurry to get anywhere or do anything 😃 You can read about Jim in this obituary.   I'm not sure how many years Jim worked on the farm, but when he departed, his replacement was Devon "Slugger" Bontrager. 

  

To say that Slugger was a character would be an understatement!  He grew up Amish, but like many, left that group to join the Mennonites - "jerked-over" as such folks are affectionately known!  He spoke Platt·deutsch throughout his adult life, and never did lose that low-German accent.  He was a bear of a man, and there was nothing farm-wise that Slugger couldn't do.  Some particularly great memories include the sweet corn patch that would always be planted so that we kids and cousins could sell corn in a makeshift stand along the road; the Concord grapes that grew behind the chicken houses and at Slugger's house that he and Esther built on the farm; and of course the barbequed chicken!!  When Slugger would fire up the multiple grills for a big barbeque, there was never a shortage of helping hands who knew that they would be the first to taste the freshly grilled chicken.  You can read about Slugger here.

STEEL WHEELS

 

I had the pleasure of attending a Steel Wheels concert in the small-venue intimate setting of Swallow Hill Music.  Our daughter is friends with the primary fellows, having met two of them at undergraduate school at Eastern Mennonite University.   A third band member is the son of a fellow that I went to school with at Goshen College.  

Trent Wagler is the front man for the band, and is a very talented singer, musician and song writer, and his bio can be found here. He has a distinctive sound that I like. Jay Lapp is the guitar and mandolin player and a bit of info about Jay can be found here.  The third primary member is fiddle player Eric Brubaker who writes here.

Their live performance was impressive in several ways from musicianship to clarity of delivery to song content.  I was very impressed with the variation in styles - way too often bands play a couple of songs and then they all begin to sound alike.  Not so with the Steel Wheels - a very enjoyable evening indeed.

Enjoy a concert!!

 

 

ART FROM THE BINS - AMADO PEÑA

I have found two art pieces by Amado Peña, who is described as "a contemporary American visual artist of Mexican and Yaqui descent. Born in Laredo, Texas, in 1943, his work is known for celebrating the culture of the Southwest and its indigenous peoples with bold colors, dynamic compositions, and stylized figures."

The Artist 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first piece is a Native American Gallery Poster - I could not find a title, and it measures approximately 10" x 12"

The second picture is a signed pencil lithograph with the full name

Amado Maurilio Peña Jr. 1983

Size is 8" x 10"

 

Three Women Red Chilis

 

 

 

I very much enjoy Pena's style and subject matter.  For much more, visit this link - https://penagallery.com/

ART FROM THE BINS - JJ MORA

I snagged this as soon as I noted that it was a signed print.  

 

 

TÉU-MAHS KÁTCHINA 

JJ MORA

140/650

10" x 14"

 

Below the TÉU-MAHS KÁTCHINA title, the subtitle reads "Mother of Two - Tuen Whuip Kat's [Hopi] East Mesa 1904 #13

Joseph Jacinto Mora (October 22, 1876 – October 10, 1947) was a Uruguayan-born American cowboy, photographer, artist, cartoonist, illustrator, painter, muralist, sculptor, and historian who wrote about his experiences in California. He has been called the "Renaissance Man of the West".  Read more of Mora by clicking the Wikipedia entry.

This particular print is apparently a part of a series of eight, and more detailed information can be found here.

 

ART FROM THE BINS - BEN NELSON

 When I spotted this painting resting in a bin, I snagged it immediately because I liked the style, subject matter and composition.  A quick google told that the artist is Ben Nelson, aka Ahn Hia Ohm.

Untitled* 4" x 7" Original Watercolor - 1993

*I could not find a title for this watercolor, but other paintings have titles like An Honorable Return, Encounter, and They Return Singing and a possible title for this would be Kiowa Horseback Riders.  I have found similar paintings that have sold at auction for several hundred dollars.

Here is the AI Summary of Ben Nelson's Art:  

Ben Nelson, also known as Ahn Hia Ohm, meaning He Knows, is a contemporary Native American artist of Kiowa, Navajo, Taos Pueblo, and Delaware descent, born in 1982. His intricate, self-taught watercolors are inspired by his Kiowa heritage and often depict scenes of historical and active Native American life, including dances, hunts, and horsemen, in a ledger-style format. He began painting as a child prodigy, winning awards at Indian Market, and his work has been featured on the cover of Indian Arts magazine.

Read about his journey from Ben Nelson to Ahn Hia Ohm to A-The Son of Picasso at this link

 

ART FROM THE BINS - CONRAD SCHWIERING

 Those of you who have spent some of your valuable time reading my ramblings may remember my post about The Goodwill Outlet Stores, otherwise known as The Bins [link here].  One of the more amazing things about the 'last chance' material that gets sent to The Bins is the amount and quality of artwork, some of it quite nice.  So this post is going to be the first in a series that describes some of our "finds."  We are particularly fond of Western and Southwestern art, so everything that we have picked up fits this genre.  And remember, at The Bins, you pay by the pound, with a maximum of $10 for any heavier items.

 The first piece of art is a print by Conrad Schwiering.   The Wikipedia entry on Schwiering can be found here.  And this is a photo of the artist and one of his paintings:

1916-1986

 

 

 

 

 

 Tetons 20" x 24" Lithograph 49/500

This is the print that we found - click on image to enlarge.  Schwiering lived for a long time in Jackson, Wyoming, and many of his paintings are of the Tetons.  This particular print is Number 49/500 and is numbered and signed by the artist.  I found another copy of this print for sale on eBay for $399, but could not find any recent sales of lithographs like this.  Too bad it's not an original - those go for $5,000 and up!!!