In
the old days there were many gates to open and close. Public roads were
scarce and it was usually necessary to pass through a few pastures to
come and go. Of course there had to be gates to allow traffic and keep
livestock from moving out. There were many different types of gates.
The simplest gate was just three or four barbed wires
fastened on one side to a fence post and stretched across the road. On
the other side there was a vertical pole that stretched the gate to the
fence post by means of a loop of wire at the bottom where the bottom of
the pole was placed and another wire loop at the top that was slipped
over the pole, after pulling it tight. A few vertical wires tied to the
individual strands made a nice looking fence and it served the purpose
well. Of course anyone traveling the road had to stop, unhook the gate,
pull it back, and drive through. Then it had to be put back in position
and closed with the loop. This worked well, but if the driver was alone
he was forced to get out of his vehicle, open the gate and drive
through, then go back and close it.
Many farmers and ranchers who didn’t like opening and
closing gates built
bump gates. They were called bump gates because they were
opened by bumping them slightly with the bumper of the automobile. The
vehicle then drove slowly through the opening and the gate
automatically closed behind him. Of course there were several types but
the most popular was a wooden gate about twenty feet across and about
four feet tall. It was swung in the middle to a tall round post or iron
pipe. It was mounted to the center post by two iron hoops that
encircled the post, enabling the gate to revolve in either direction.
It was suspended at the proper height by a small cable
that tied to one end of the gate, ran through a hole near the tope of
the pole and then tied to the top of the opposite side of the gate. If
the gate were pushed in either direction the cable would wind around
the post, raising the gate a few inches as it approached an open
position on each side. When released the weight of the gate caused it
to rotate slowly to its natural closed position.
The gate closed two drives, one for each direction of
travel. The traveler approached the gate slowly and nudged it gently
with the car’s bumper. The gate started opening and winding the cable
around the post. A small post between the two drives stopped the gate
and started it to unwind in the opposite direction. By the time this
happened the vehicle had passed through and gone on down the road. The
gate worked the same way when he came back through going in the
opposite direction. Owners of Model T Fords did some complaining
because those vehicles did not have bumpers and bumping the gate with
the front fenders soon ruined the shiny black finish and left a few
little dents. Some Ford owners added little rams to the front axle or
frame and these worked OK. Others just got out and propped the gates
open and complained constantly.
Another type of fence closure that allowed travel without
gate opening was called a stock gap or cattle guard.
This crossing required a hole in the road about eighteen
inches deep. The hole was as wide as the road and was about five feet
across. The hole was covered with two inch pipe or poles places about
six inches apart. The hole in the road and the distance between the
pipes or poles scared horses and cows and they would not attempt to
cross. Vehicles could drive across without a problem. However, wagons
and buggies couldn’t cross and a regular gate was usually provided on
the side for animal traffic. Goats were not scared of the gaps and
would usually find a way to get on the other side.
When an automobile came to a manually
operated gate, it was the duty of the kid to get out and open it and
close it when the car passed through. Some of these tight gates were a
little hard for the youngster to close. But things like that are what
made country kids tough and taught them to enjoy to the fullest the
thousands of miles of roads that would come later with no gates.
I always insisted on having fun in everything I did, but I
must admit that opening and closing gates sometimes wore my patience a
little thin!
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