•3;-;-".t: 



With the Home Bureau 



And Mostly About the Cliftons of Iroquois 



County 



'E never house our turkeys," 

 commented Mrs. John Clifton 

 of Iroquois County. "They 

 roost out, winter and summer in Pearle 

 and we find they are much healthier." 



"Yes, Pearle is quite safe. Now George 

 is a bit too far away from the house, and 

 Mrs. Buckner is too small," she went on 

 to explain. 



"Pearle," you may be interested to 

 know, is a beautiful wide-spreading elm 

 tree. "George" is another elm tree, placed 

 to shield the living room from the early 

 morning sun. "Mrs. Buckner" is a com- 

 pact Wahoo tree, tucked close to the 

 kitchen door. All are named for friends 

 of the Clifton family. All of the trees 

 on the farm are designated as friends. 



"Since Mrs. Buckner is the home ad- 

 visor of our county, my husband thought 

 she should be near the kitchen to lend 

 encouragement," laughed Mrs. Clifton. 

 "Fannie Brooks and Mary Louise are in 

 the park there, the other side of the 

 house." 



"The Extension staff do better as red- 

 buds," Mr. Clifton admitted, when he 

 came to the house to sort his milk cans, 

 "so the park is made up mostly of red- 

 buds. They were radiant this spring." 



"George" was planted by Mr. Clifton 

 some 35 years ago, when as a boy he had 

 carelessly pulled up a sapling as he 

 walked along. Conscience stricken at 

 having desecrated a bit of nature he 

 planted the spindle stick and now it 

 spreads its great branches to shade and 

 shelter the 80 year old house to which 

 Mr. Clifton's mother came as a bride. 



Years ago Mr. Clifton's grandfather 



came from Attica, Indiana and purchased 

 land from the Illinois Central Railroad 

 to make homes for his three sons. From 

 that time until now, the traditions of the 

 Clifton family have been kept. Three 

 rooms were built of the present house 

 and from them, the house has grown with 

 the needs of the family. Now, nestled un- 

 der the great trees, with its ivy-covered 

 walls and wide windows and doors, it 

 invites the community to enter and see 

 how the house has become a home. 



.Inside, the feeling of cherished tradi- 

 tion continues. From Rochester, New 

 York, came Mrs. Clifton's grandparents. 

 Refusing to make the trip without her 

 furniture, the grandmother filled a 

 covered wagon with her most prized 

 possessions. Crossing a ferry, however, 

 the furniture wagon was overturned and 

 many pieces were lost. A bureau, al- 

 though the story goes that it was in the 

 water for three days, has been reclaimed 

 and stands proudly in Mrs. Clifton's 

 guest room along with a cord bed, an 

 American Eagle coverlet, and a candle 

 stick made from a copper kettle used in 

 those days for making the year's supply 

 of apple butter. 



During the World War, when timber 

 was being cut from the farm to make 

 guns for the government, Mr. Clifton re- 

 served several hundred feet of wild 

 cherry. From that have been made a 

 refectory table and benches and poster 

 beds. One of the boys now is busy mak- 

 ing a night table and setting in it a 

 panel saved from an old cabinet of 

 covered wagon days. 



"The boys, John 17 and Robert 13, 



THE JERSEYS ON THE CLIFTON FARM MAKE A PRETTY PICTURE IN THIS WINTRY 

 scen«. The cream from this fine herd goes fo the Producers Creamery of Champaign. 



JOHN AND ROBERT CLIFTON WITH ONE 

 of their purebred Shire colts. The boys 

 are mighty proud of him. 



work with their father," Mrs. Clifton 

 said. "Since they were four years old 

 they have shipped hogs, gone with him 

 on the freight and been perfectly at 

 home with the routine of the Chicago 

 stockyards. Right now the Shire colts are 

 their specialty. They are proud of Yo-Yo, 

 head of the Jersey herd." 



Yo-Yo is, of course, the pet name for 

 him. He does have a splendid, great long 

 name and pedigree. When Yo-Yo is dis- 

 turbed the boys soothe his w"und?d spirit 

 with a piece of bread thickly buttered! 



Bargaining with his wife, Mr. Clifton 

 agrees to help with the turkeys if he 

 may invite as many guests as he wishes 

 for Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving is 

 another tradition of the family. Every 

 year of the 18 years they have been 

 married, 30 or 40 guests from the com- 

 munity have eaten Thanksgiving dinner 

 with the Cliftons. Last year there were 

 43. 



To begin with, the biggest and best 

 ham is saved for the event and, says Mrs. 

 Clifton, "Woe be to anyone who disturbs 

 the Thanksgiving ham." The finest, fat- 

 test turkey is used and four chickens, 

 as a starter. Sometimes some stay for 

 supper for leftovers, but for all it is a 

 day to be remembered. 



One turkey, Charley — everything on 

 the Clifton farm is named — has survived. 

 Somehow he has so wound himself into 

 the family's affection that the axe has 

 been spared in his case! 



On the mantel in the living room is 

 the guest book. Everyone must sign. 

 Guests are always welcome. From Gen- 

 eral Burnsides who was a guest in the 

 early days of the house, to a gentleman 

 who called this week from Sudan, Africa, 

 all have been met with gracious hos- 

 pitality. 



(Continued on page 21) , " 7 ' 



"Three 



an enth 

 its abil 

 heartilj 



"Four 



painted 

 years a; 

 the bai 

 splendit 

 McLear 



12 



L A. A. RECORD 



