1945 - Pea Factory

Around World War II peas were a major crop here.  The farmers would take the vines down to a central spot not far from my place for processing.  Near the end of the war when farmers started to be called into the military, German POW's were brought in to work.  My grandfather brought his pea vines in and asked the guards if he could speak to the POW's.  "Sure," said the guards.  Grandpa explained to me the guards were lax since they were in the middle of the U.S. and the prisoners didn't speak English.  Where would they go?   While my grandfather was born in this country, his family spoke German at home.  He talked to the prisoners in their language asking how they were doing.   Grandpa said the men he talked to all seemed happy to be away from the fighting and enjoyed being able to get outside to work.

Sunny and above freezing today. A nice respite in the middle of winter.  Last fall when it got this cold I was shivering.  Today I was walking around outside w/o my coat thinking how nice it felt.  Cold is just a state of mind.