When Revolutionary War veteran George Kirk received his 600 acres on Lot 16 in the Town of Cato, now Victory, he had no idea that the farm would eventually be sold to the Christopher Timerson family and farmed by them for more than 130 years. There was a Centennial Program with family singers and musicians, held on June 14, 1964 to celebrate the century of farming at the homestead in the Town of Victory. The family continued farming until 1995 when Herman Timerson retired and sold the farm.

At first, 150 acres were sold to Christopher Timerson in 1863 for $7,000. He and his wife Harriet Dodge Timerson came from the Mohawk Valley area with their baby son, Christopher Sackett Timerson (Kit), just 6 months old. They later added more acreage to the farm.

Their big barn on their farm was built in 1876 and sheltered cows and chickens. By the 1890s, the important crops were tobacco and apples. Kit Timerson married Bridget “Biddie” Kelly in 1884, and their four children were Ida, Stella, Edward and Ruth.

Kit worked the farm and added two purebred Holstein-Friesian heifers in 1916, the only two cows the family ever bought. There were also many reliable horses used in the farm work. They used acetylene lamps in the barn for light until electricity was installed in 1935.

As the only son of Kit and Biddie, Edward took over control of the farm in 1940 along with his wife, Mary Etta Taber Timerson.

While Edward worked hard in the fields and barn, his wife worked hard in the house making three big meals a day. She was up at 5 a.m. along with her husband and baked and cooked for the day and also went to the barn to care for the chickens and small animals. All meals included potatoes and other favorites were baked beans with salt pork, canned fruits, vegetables, chili sauce, pies, cakes and molasses cookies.

They had a large vegetable garden plowed by the horses and where all the children worked. Edward and Mary Etta's four children are Celia Timerson Gallop, Sylvia Timerson Semans, Herman Timerson and Eleanor Timerson Pittroff. All the children worked on the farm, from the hand milking of cows to taking care of the hens, washing and cleaning eggs, feeding pigs and washing milk pails.

December was the month to slaughter pigs for the winter meat. If an occasion to go out or go visiting came up, all chores were done early to accommodate time away.

When Kit died in 1971, Herman, the only son, and his family managed the farm and automated many farm operations. On July 7, 1963, the dairy barn and tobacco shed were destroyed by fire by a lightning strike from a summer storm, but the barns were soon raised again.

When I visited with Herman and his wife, Ella and his sister, Eleanor, they said that the worst part of farming was the long hours as most work was done by hand without all our modern day conveniences. However, Herman said the best part was watching the calves and cows grow and develop. All the cows were registered and they, along with the horses, all had names and the family became very attached to them.

Herman's family also raised rabbits for fun and offered many for church suppers. Along with the importance of the farm was their love of family, and also their faith and service to their church. Many social functions of the Victory Presbyterian Church were held at the homestead over the years.

Herman and his sisters went to school, first at Victory country school No. 12 then on to Red Creek Central School in 1939, when the schools centralized. Education was important to Edward and Mary Etta, herself a graduate from Syracuse University, and while Herman carried on at the farm as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather did before him, his sisters went to college.

Celia graduated from Potsdam State Teachers College and became an elementary/middle school reading teacher with some 30 plus years of service around East Aurora. Sylvia graduated from Morrisville State College in the food service program and went on to be a school lunch director in Ontario County retiring after many years from the schools in Canandaigua.

Eleanor graduated from Oswego State Teachers College and retired after 33 years of teaching Kindergarten at Cato-Meridian Central School. Herman, along with being a successful farmer, is an accomplished musician, like many in his family, and still plays the drums with the Red Creek Legion Band, the Skaneateles Community Band and, in the winter, with the community band in Zephyrhills, Fla. The Timersons have all worked hard and have led successful, productive lives with their family, their church and the wonderful memories of farm life.

Edward Timerson, his wife, Mary Etta, and their children posed in 1946 on the occasion of his 50th birthday. The family has a long history of celebrating 50th birthdays.

For those who live on a farm or used to, I found a poem at the Victory History Center, “Christmas on the Farm” by David P. Dickson that goes:

#“Yes, Christmas time is here again

and the city is fun to see,

with its hurry and rush and excitement,

it's the busiest place to be.

But I like Christmas away from the crowd,

a holiday brimming with charm;

one of the things I'll never forget

is Christmas at home on the farm-

Where stars provide the twinkling lights,

the trees are tinseled with snow,

and “Silent Night” tells of a quietude

that only a farmer can know.

#But Christmas Day is best by far

when we rise before the sun,

to rush right out to milk the cows

and see that the chores are done.

#And I pray for another Christmas

that begins at dawn in the barn;

that is filled with the many blessings

I recall, back home on the farm.”

Please join us for “Christmas in the Country” from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Victory History Center. Bring your hobby/collection/pictures to show, tell a family holiday story or share a Christmas reading. Refreshments will be available and the public is invited.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all from the Town of Victory.

Beverly Sayles is the Victory town historian.