My father, Harold F Waggoner, told me that when he was sparking [ dating ] my mother, Violet Currie from Lamoni ,he did not have a car so he hitched up the horse and buggy. The old Wanamaker post office was on the corner of Grandpa's farm south west of Kellerton. Mom's dad, Tom H. Currie owned the blacksmith shop in Lamoni. On the way to town there was a windmill pumping water for the cattle in the pasture. Dad would stop and open the gate, take the horse in for a drink and then drive around the water tank and out to the road and close the gate. On the way home after the date when he headed home he would do the same thing. That watering spot was about halfway and worked out just right.

One night after a long hard day in the field and a long night of dancing and a guest spot in the band with his banjo he headed for home. In a few minutes the horse whinnied, bucked and kicked the buggy. It was standing at the gate waiting for a drink. Dad crawled out of the buggy, opened the gate and just stood there. The horse went to the tank and got a drink, backed up and went around the tank and stopped just outside the gate. Dad closed the gate, crawled back in the buggy and went on home. When they got there the horse again whinnied, bucked and kicked the buggy. It wanted in the barn.

Those were the days when you could doze off and stay on the road. Doze off heck, sound asleep for miles.

Submitted by Gerald Waggoner, September of 2014