It’s cold, it’s grey, it’s upstate New York in the winter. The threat of coronavirus abounds and certainly makes our family not want to venture beyond the farm boundaries today. Sounds like a perfect day to learn about Sparky, our 1931 Ford Model A pickup truck, which we purchased for the farm last summer. We love learning about our 1860 farmhouse, and learning about the families who lived here and worked the land. A family from Finland lived in our farmhouse during the Depression. We learned that during that time, all the failing farms surrounding ours were sold to the federal government because of bankruptcy, except ours. We’re in the process of researching this incredible family and how they survived those hard times. We suspect they had a Ford Model A pickup truck, as did most farms during that time! Therefore, purchasing Sparky seemed like the most natural thing for our history-filled farm! One look into Sparky’s old headlights was love at first sight: he had us at “Haruga”! There’s something about learning hands-on with Sparky that puts us in touch with that by-gone era, and helps us appreciate the spirit of the times.
For today, we focused on identifying the different parts of the engine, and how they help to make Sparky run! Zoë says she was amazed by how each part played a role in the complicated process of turning fuel and air into the action of turning spindly bicycle-like wheels. Zach enjoyed learning about the radiator, and the modern addition of antifreeze to the engine cooling system.
The 101 of today was understanding how a family works just like Sparky’s engine, and how each individual part needs to do their job, or the truck doesn’t run. It makes us wonder how this Finnish family must’ve worked together with their own interdependent pieces functioning as one family/truck. Thanks, Sparky! Good work!
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