Word: patly
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Steffes do not intend to be on hand when the house is taken later. They do not want to be escorted off their land. Neither is outwardly angry, although Pat wonders why "farmers with debt out of proportion to their assets are told to get out of business, but the Government keeps right on going that way." Her husband has been despondent, but he has come to view his situation philosophically. "I'm still a rich man," he said. "I've got my wife, my kids, my health and some good friends...
There is an air of mourning around the Steffes farm. Friendlier neighbors drop by, bringing covered dishes of food. The quiet talk centers on the misfortune of Steffes, his wife Pat, 45, and their two surviving children, Kay and Bruce, 19. Without saying so, each visitor is aware that his or her farm could go next. Third- generation farmers, the Steffes had acquired 280 acres by 1966, raising livestock and planting a variety of crops. In the booming 1970s they added another 180 acres and rented 530 more. Farming began to sour for them in 1979, just as tragedy struck...
After waiting all week for Sheriff Bill Shaw to carry out the seizure orders, Steffes was surprised when 13 lawmen from several counties arrived at the farm before 8 a.m. on Friday. Pat and Elmer were still in bed. The officers blocked off the access roads to the farm. Pat called some of her neighbors to let them know what was happening, but only a few hiked the half- mile from the nearest intersection in the cold weather. The Steffes did not resist, but cooperated only minimally with the sheriff. Workers hired by the bank loaded many of their pigs...
...spread near Clovis. "I came through the '30s and can remember the problems. But back then the whole country was in the same position, not just farmers." Now there is a glut of domestic raisins and Effird's farm is worth half what it was just three years ago. Pat Ricchioti, 65, a grape and fruit farmer with 3,000 acres near Madera, was also gloomy. "I never thought things would drop this far," he said. "I put away a dollar for a rainy day--and that rainy day is here." "We're pretty close to the bottom," conceded...
Since these legal changes will probably require a Constitutional amendment to institute, you'll probably never see the Springsteen concert while you'll just have to lower your standards. Check out that Pat Boone concert. Or how about The Cramps? The Circle Jerks might be in town. And if you get really desperate, you might want to catch a Harvard basketball game...