Post-War Rural Reminiscences

On Sunday I spent time with my friends Jean and Ninon. They are in their 90s, she was born here, he arrived soon after the War. The discussion at one point was the length of the grass out the back of their place, which led to the merits and disadvantages of various grazing animals and then a description of how grazing animals were managed in their village in the years just after the War. 

 

Farmers were often women, and they lived in or near the village. They had small herds of perhaps 8 or 9 cows. Twice a day the cows were taken to the river to drink as there were no 'abreuvoirs'* on farm at that time. The cows walked through the village to get to the river, and knew their own way. Too bad if you were growing anything within reach in your front garden -- it was likely to get munched. Pasture was not fenced. The cows were taken out in the morning, along the road to their allocated pasture, and guarded by someone (often a child) then brought back in the evening. Jean says that one of his regrets is never taking a photo of one particular elderly farmer, who always took an enormous black umbrella, about the size and shape of one of those one man pop up tents from his description, when she accompanied the cows. The umbrella was mostly for the sun, but sometimes for rain. Once out at the pasture these women embroidered or similar.

 

The description was *exactly* like a painting by Lucien Porcheron, who was from another nearby village but a couple of generations earlier than Jean and Ninon. The woman in the painting is knitting, and wearing a heavy woollen cloak and sabots (clogs). I've seen such a cloak, owned by someone I know and still occasionally worn on very cold market days. Every village would have had a sabotier in this period (late 19th century or early 20th century). This painting hangs in the the mairie (town hall) in le Grand Pressigny, where Porcheron lived for most of his life. 

Ninon said that none of the local epiceries (grocery stores) sold bottled milk at that time. Everyone bought milk direct from a farm.

*abreuvoir translates as 'trough', and it can be a large trough, but more usually an abreuvoir is a rectangular shallow pond with a ramp for entering and leaving so the stock can walk in and drink, or you can drive a cart in and wash it.