Successful Swaps

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The county just happened to be building a new farmtomarket road along the edge of my "badlands" and the contractor wanted to borrow water from our creekwhich was backed up by a natural rock damto use in constructing the route. Of course I agreed . . . on the condition that he'd bring some heavy rock fill from a hillside cut they were making, dump the loads into my eroded gullies, and maybe do a little shaping and brush pushing in these areas.

When I returned from Dallas three months later I couldn't believe the change in my place. The pockmarked land I'd just recently left was now gently rolling and contoured for slow runoff.

If I'd paid for this work, surely the project would have cost between $2,000 and $3,000. As it was, I received a topnotch job for only a little water . . . which was renewed each time it rained.

Bill Prince
Rochelle, Tex.

One day seven years agowhen I was divorced and unemployed with four youngsters to feedI became worried. Worried because the fish swimming below me as I stood drowning bait off a pier . . . didn't seem to know they were supposed to be our dinner that night! When my son brought down a few cookies I'd baked the night before, a friendly fisherman yelled, "Hey, Franny, got any cookies for me?" Without even thinking I shouted back, "Well, George, you got any fish for me?" We swapped . . . and I became a confirmed barterer right on the spot.

Now my family's in Iowa. Just a few weeks back a couple came into our shoe repair shop and offered five pounds of beautiful vegetables as payment for a fixup job. Of course I couldn't say no . . . but I was a little concerned over what my new husband's reaction would be. At that time he didn't say a thing. But tonight after reading four loaned copies of MOTHERhubby showed me your Successful Swaps column and said, "Look at this neat article." Then he added, "Oh, by the way, I exchanged a repair job for ten pounds of red potatoes today."

Seems it takes only one transaction to convert most folks.

Franny Hart
Nevada, Iowa

When I bought my van it had 80,000 miles on it, and an immediate overhaul seemed like good preventive medicine. However, since my new wheels had already taken all my capital, I needed a quick source of income in order to have the work done.

My area has a high unemployment rate, so a home business seemed logical. And, since it was only fair that my new beast should help pay for itself, I started a light moving and hauling business (as described in MOTHER NOS. 13 and 16).

I was starting to accumulate some dollars when I noticed something else in MOTHER: the Successful Swaps section . . . and the thought "Maybe I could do that, too!" flashed through my mind.

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