lunch pail, lunch bucket, lunch box

Here is the kind I am talking about.  My dad worked for Messer Oil during the 1950's plus we had a dairy farm that my parents ran completely by themselves.  Milking morning and night with all the summer hay, corn and oats to put in.  From the time I have memory it was sitting on a tractor, wagon or in a nest of hay with a blanket while work or chores were being done.  On the cold days I just wanted to stay in the warm house but was too young to be alone.  I spent a lot of time reading or drawing patiently waiting until the last few cows were let out.  Do you know when cows come in the barn to be milked the go to the same stanchion?  That always fascinated me that not one would ever mess up.

I guess I should get on with the lunch pail question.  Like I said, dad worked for Messer Oil which was on the Horse Run Road about 2 miles up from Rt 44.  He carried the lunch  pail like the one above everyday.  Mom always packed it full of food with a thermos of hot tea for him.  I remember how excited I was when he would get home.  I thought dad always saved me something but now I know mom always put an extra cookie in for me.  I loved taking his lunch box and opening the little clamps to see what he had brought me.   That is something for me to laugh about now, thinking of the tiniest pleasures of living on a farm.  It was just the three of us unless visitors stopped in which wasn't often.

So if you remember these, what did you call them?  I have heard pail, box and bucket used.  When I googled to find a picture of a lunch pail I also discovered who invented it.  James Robinson in the year 1887.  I tried to find out more about him, the only thing he was a black man and that was it.  No other information.

As I was writing this I happened to look at a picture of mom, dad and myself I keep on the end table.  I had never noticed but there was "the lunch pail" right in dad's hand.  Funny what I didn't see for all of these years.  It sure is giving me great pleasure to know it's been there all this time.

There we are and "the lunch pail"

 I'm going to mention one more thing about the advantage of living on a farm.  I never used the excuse to get out of school but I do remember one "cool dude" with a car that would ;)  Fog!

Another good supper from the student chef, he even picked the menu!  I think he's liking his new duty station........or at least putting on a good front.  We had fried pork chops with red beans and jasmine rice.  Excellent!  Tomorrow we will be making tamales for Monday's supper along with tacos topped with salsa fresh from New Mexico.  Thanks to John & Diane Surra ♥  They sure know how to "Pass it On".