The Denison Herald
Sunday,
November 21, 1976
DENISONIAN
IGNORES TWENTIETH CENTURY
By John Clift
Sam Price is a
throwback to some couple of generations
ago. In this day and time when
modern science has put a man on the moon, a
space ship on Mars and can cook complete
dinners in seconds in radar ranges, Price
lives a rustic life.
The
68-year-old Texan still works a team of
horses, although a back injury has slowed
a lot of his efforts. He no longer
does any plowing, even for gardens.
But that
doesn't keep him from doing his own
work. This includes hauling hay of
his horses, cutting and hauling wood for his
house, and hauling water. "I have no water,
no gas, no modern conveniences," he said,
his smile outlined by tobacco stained
lips. At one time he
admitted he worked as many as 4
horses. He has been a farmer all of
his life. But his farming has been
done with horse drawn plows and mowers
and other equipment. Price has granted
one concession to today's technology.
He has a lightweight power saw to cut wood. "I have 5 slipped
discs in my back," he said. "I can't
use a hand saw very easily any
more." Price stood up
and leaned on his pitchfork as he looked at
his load of hay. "That
chainsaw sure cuts my wood up in a
hurry. When you need shorter, stove
links that's a real help." Price looked at
his team of horses. "But when you cut
those bigger logs, the one thing
that chain saw won't do. That's
split the logs," he said. "I still use an
axe for that."
Price's team
of horses were small, almost pony in
size. He figured they had eaten their
fill while he raked and loaded his
wagon. He put the last
pitchfork of nay on top and patted it
down. Then he prepared to climb
on his wagon and head for the 600 block E.
Morgan. That's still a
rural address in Denison.
