[SEL] Cutting Up Grandmother's Bones

[Charles R Bryant]

In my previous message I told about my Humphrey Bone Cutter that I had restored. Before 
days of feed supplements farmers used to chip up bones to feed to there poultry to make
the egg shells harder. Each year in Marthasville, MO my friends Lois and Bob Hostkoetter 
put on a 2 day show called Deutsch Country Days. The show authentically  demonstrates 
the early German immigrants functional life style . Butter churning, rail splitting ,woodworking, blacksmithing. weaving and over 55 other skills. One year I took my Humphrey Bone Cutter. 
In two days the average attendance is 40 to 60,000. Believe me after two days that's a lot of
questions to answer and gets kind of boring. Near the end of the second day this gal came by. 
After a demonstration she asked "where did you get your bones". Well I said remember last year 
during the flood (flood of 1993)  the cemetery along the Missouri river was flooded and 
several caskets were washed away and not found. Well I found some of them caskets and 
that's where I got my bones,. She exclaimed "oh my gosh your cutting up my Grandmother's bones".
Then she went on to explain her Grandmother's casket was one of them that washed away
and not found. After that I was more careful how I answered there questions.