Kansas June 27, 1946

In past posts I have documented the family connection with Kansas. This post moves us ahead to the 1940's. My Dad, John G. Sutor is writing from Kansas back to his mother in Illinois. He has gone to Kansas to assist my Grandfather John J. Sutor with the wheat harvest. That year my Dad would be 17 and my Grandfather would be 39 at the time of the letter. I'm sure it was part of the process of training the next generation of farmer a lesson in hard work. Here is the letter.

There are a few things to note. In the last two days he notes they have worked twelve and a half hours one day and eleven and a half hours on the day he wrote the letter. The wheat on one field was too green so they moved west to Earl Grecian's farm. It is over 70 years later and Ken Grecian now farms some of our family's ground in Kansas. In a world where too often we don't know or care about our neighbors it is important to note in rural America this is more often the case. Families are neighbors or business partners for generations. Ken is near retirement now and I suspect that Earl was his most likely his grandfather. When you get to the end Dad talks about driving the Cat 30. He is talking about a Caterpillar Tractor Model 30. Rudy and I don't know who he is has been operating the Cat 60. A final note before I move on. Note my Dad signs the note "Sonny Boy". When you and your father are both named John it was a quick way to determine who you were talking to or about. I remember many times in my youth my Father being referred to as Sonny.

The Cat 30.

The Cat 60.

This is what wheat harvest would have looked like.

One man would now do the work that two did in those days with a much larger machine that harvests many times faster.

In closing it is in some ways sad the amount of history we are losing. Letters like this one provide insight into the lives of our parents and grandparents. We just don't write letters now and if we do no one seems to keep them.