18
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
It’s hayin’ time!
By Jim anderson
Correspondent
Many in Sisters Country
are familiar with David
Asson as a member of the
Sisters City Council. Perhaps
not many are familiar with
the other side of David: his
fascination with putting up
hay in Idaho as a kid, his
life-long interest in haying
machinery, and the book he’s
written about haying, titled
“Bringing In The Hay.”
Asson will sign copies of
the book at the Friends of the
Sisters Library Book Corner
at the library on Saturday,
January 10.
When Asson was asked
about his detailed and won-
derfully illustrated book, he
smiled and said, “I really
never intended to write a
book. I just happened to
have lived at the right time
and learned a lot about horse
farming,” and went on to
explain what it was like
growing up in Rupert, Idaho
in the ’40s.
“As my interest grew, so
did my desire to take lots of
pictures of equipment and
haying operations, and years
later, when my kids asked
questions about haying, I
decided to frame some good
shots and add a caption or
two. More questions led to
a few more paragraphs and
eventually guidance from
Ivar Nelson, director of the
University of Idaho Press,
then on to Word, PageMaker
and PhotoShop…
“After thousands of miles
of back roads and wonderful
talks with aged ranchers in
every western state — clear
to the Missouri — over a
six- or seven-year span — a
book was born. Timing was
critical. Had I not shot all
those derrick and stacker
pictures when I did, it would
not have been possible. Now,
as I drive some of the back
roads where I know stackers
once stood, they are no lon-
ger there. Time and weather
have taken their toll, and all
of that history would have
been lost.”
Many old-time residents
of Sisters Country have
come around the corner of a
familiar old country road and
wondered what happened to
that old hay derrick that had
been standing there all those
years, or found the crumbled
remains of a proud old hay
barn slowly going back to
soil.
Asson’s book brings to
life the early days of haying
as he describes what it was
like during his time, and that
of his friends, fellow ranch-
ers, farmers and family. What
it was like swinging on the
derrick cable; chewing one
more drying stem of alfalfa.
If you never lived the good
times of bringing in the hay,
you can feel what it was like
through the author’s words
and photos.
Of the hundreds of let-
ters and emails Asson’s
received congratulating him
on writing and publishing
his detailed account of what
it takes to bring in the hay,
one sent from Terry Cline
of Miles City, Montana,
reminded Asson of another
facet of haying:
“Some of your memories
about haying and mine differ
somewhat. For instance, what
about the rattlesnakes that
ended up in the stack with
the stackers? Alfalfa leaves
down one’s neck? Drinking
photo by Jim anderSon
david asson, sisters city councilor and author, explaining to his granddaughter (and “literary agent”), hailey
asson, how a hay derrick works.
water from a common bottle
wrapped in filthy burlap?
Working in the hot, boiling
sun? Machinery breakdowns
with every fourth dump?
Numerous trips to town for
buckrake teeth? Hired men
not showing up? Mosquitoes?
Horse flies? Skunks? Field
mice? Smelly field hands
who bathed once a month?
Being dragged in the tines of
a buckrake?”
And if you want to know
what a buckrake is all about,
all you have to do is ask
Asson’s granddaughter —
8-year-old Hailey Asson.
Some people know Hailey
TREATING SPORTS
INJURIES
SISTERS
GARAGE DOORS
Children & Adults
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as a third-grader in Sisters
Elementary School, but she’s
also a saleswoman who won’t
take no for an answer.
Back on March 14,
Central Oregon Hay Growers
Association held their annual
business meeting and dinner
at Aspen Lakes Golf Course.
After the meeting, Lee and
Peggy Fischer of Tumalo
introduced Asson and his
haying book.
Before he could get his
pen out of his pocket to sign
even one book, Hailey-the-
book-agent — who was run-
ning the book sales card table
— had already sold 30 copies
or more.
To start the new year off
right, Asson has decided to
make a contribution to the
Sisters Library.
On Saturday, January 10,
from 1 to 3 p.m., his hard-
working “agent” will have
a table set up at the Friends
of the Sisters Library Book
Corner on the north side of
the Sisters Library to sell her
grandfather’s book, and he
will be on hand to sign them.
The price will be $15, with
$5 going into FOSL’s coffers.
The book will be available on
any Saturday or Tuesday the
Book Corner is open.
Live Music at the Winery
Thirsty Thursday with The Substitutes
Jan. 8 | 6-9 p.m. | $5 cofer
Fondue Friday with Pear Tree Lane
Jan. 9 | 6-9 p.m. | $5 cofer | $30 Fondue for Two
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