West Liberty History 1838-1938

Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
MILK

A decade before the turn of the twentieth century milk wagons delivering milk to private users were unknown in West Liberty. Because of this fact it can be readily understood that many cows were privately owned throughout the town, and while it is true neighbors frequently reciprocated in the exchange of milk and butter, it is also true that for each family to own a cow for domestic use was more the rule than the exception. Pasturage for these cows was a problem during the summer months and for years it was prevalent for the owners of the cows to turn them loose on the street to range over the streets and country roads.

Sometimes it would be a problem when evening would come as to whether the cows would find their way back to their respective homes, and frequently the elder boys were required to go on a searching expedition to locate their family cow. Out of this duty the boys of the town developed a rather superstitious practice of determining the direction in which they would travel in search of their cow. They would locate a granddaddy-long-legs and would shout, "Tell me which way my cow is or I will kill you." The insect when disturbed would invariably raise one of its slender legs and this action was accepted as the proper direction for the boy to travel in his search. There is no record of the method ever having failed.

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