| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Chuck Hinman. IJMA No. 182: Sport (Hinman), a farm dog It's Just Me Again No. 182, Sport (Hinman), a farm dog, (1930-1944) an unforgettable friend. Writer says he can't imagine life on a Nebraska farm without a farm dog like Sport The next earlier Chuck Hinman: Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 341. Knock Knock Is Chuck Hinman your favorite Sunday with CM columnist, as many tell us? If so, we hope you'll drop him a line by email. Reader comments to CM are appreciated, as are emails directly to Mr. Hinman at: charles.hinman@sbcglobal.net by Chuck Hinman This is a simple story about a collie dog, who lived with the Arley Hinman family of rural Liberty, Nebraska. His name was "Sport." He wasn't unusual. What I write about him could have been written about "Doc," the Dillow's Airedale dog, or any of the scores of Gage County, Nebraska farm dogs. They weren't "pampered poodles"; yet, when Sport passed away, an unemotional grown man -- my Dad -- sobbed in his privacy. You wouldn't have believed such bonding had taken place between dog and master. I don't remember Sport's early days. It just seemed like he was always there when you came out of the house. I don't remember one time seeing Sport inside the house -- even in bad weather. He was not a house dog and he would have been uncomfortable inside. He was in all respects an unassuming farm dog -- always ready and waiting to accompany the family anytime, anywhere. He was upbeat and enthusiastic at all times -- you could tell because he always preceded you wherever you were going, often barking at nothing. He was eternally young at heart -- always ready to join us kids in whatever we were playing. Sport appears in so many of my writings, such as when we used to sleep on the front porch in the summertime. On moonlit nights when lightening bugs filled the night air in the front yard, Sport would join us underwear-only clad kids chasing those bugs. He had more fun than anyone, falling asleep near someone's bed when fun and games were over. In Sport's lifetime I have seen him follow horse or tractor-drawn farm machinery from sun-up to sun-down, back and forth across the fields taking a short break only pee on something. He was a very busy dog in the fields; yet he was always there when I made my nightly trek to the pasture to bring in the cows for milking. He didn't "know beans" about driving cows, but he didn't have to; the cows knew there was some alfalfa waiting for them in the milk barn. Some of Sport's routine tasks were to mark all wheels visiting our farm yard. I never made one trip to our outdoor privy (men only) that Sport didn't wait for me at a discreet distance. He loved to go fishing and rabbit-hunting. When we went skinny-dipping at the bluffs, Sport was the first one in the water and the last to leave. I would swear that Sport had a boy's heart in a dog's body if that is possible. Sport passed away when I was overseas in World War Two. It was a custom in our neighborhood that when a beloved farm dog passed away or had to be put down that a neighbor or best friend took charge. All I know (or want to know) is that Sport is buried somewhere on the Nebraska farm he knew and loved so well. He was so loved that I suspect all the other farm animals missed his cheerful disposition. I can't imagine life on a Nebraska farm without a farm dog like Sport. Rest in peace, faithful friend. This story was posted on 2011-01-30 09:25:58
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Chuck Hinman - Reminiscences:
Chuck Hinman: IJMA 108: My Sixteenth Birthday Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 089. Cutting wood in the winter Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 005. My Foxy-Looking Teacher Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 345. Running Away from Home Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 030: Merry Christmas, Mom Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 026: What You Got Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 055. Grandma's Doll. A Christmas story Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 179. Lanky the cat Chuck Hinman: IJMA No. 023. Thank God for Pets Chuck Hinman. IJMA No. 135: Small town doctors View even more articles in topic Chuck Hinman - Reminiscences |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
