A Shift of Focus

In the mid 1970's I was living in Fairbanks, AK, going to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF), and working at Budget Rent-a-Car in the Fairbanks airport. The car rental desks were placed quite near each other. Directly to my left was the Dollar Rent-a-Car desk, and working there was, unlikely though it seemed, a native of the state of Virginia. Her name was Edna, and the two of us became very good friends. I am now living here in WI, and Edna is back in Virginia, but our friendship continues.

We were visiting on the phone recently, and she mentioned her dad and his work horses. Of course that led to my asking if I could interview her for this blog, and she agreed. That interview will appear here soon, but I wanted to write a bit about work horses in the US. Uncertain when farming made the shift from horse power to tractor power, I turned to my good friend Google, and got the answer "about 1945". I found the linked article interesting as it showed the transition from horses to tractors. I also find it heartwarming to know that horses continue to be used for specialty logging, as they do not destroy the habitat in the same way that heavy equipment does.