Keeping Warm
Coal Was Stored Near the House
Like the materials used to build a house, homesteaders had to use whatever was available for heating and cooking fuel.
Those who settled in wooded areas could harvest trees, giving rise to the expression that heating with wood warms you three times: Once when you cut it down, once when you split it and once when it is burned. Some planning was required as wood needed to season or dry out for six months before it could be used.
In prairie areas, dried buffalo or cow droppings --“chips” -- could be burned for heat and cooking fuel. A “picker” would walk the prairie and pick up the chips, with a pile of chips 10 to 12 feet long piled as high as possible needed to get a family through the winter.
As you could imagine, this was not the best-smelling source of fuel, but served its purpose. Orval Lookhart observed, “ It took one person to bring in the chips, one to keep the fire going, and another to carry the ashes out. Then mother with her broom and dust pan to brush up the dust.” (From the Nebraska Farmer)
In western North Dakota, coal was a common fuel. A vein of coal on the Hutmacher site was mined by the family for heating and cooking. The coal would be dug before winter and stored alongside the Garage/Summer Kitchen.
Keeping Warm
