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Our American Stories

Life Lessons From a Dairy Farm: A Cow Patty Story

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6817 Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, listener and longtime Our American Stories contributor Katrina Hine shares a personal story from one of her first jobs out of high school, working as a dairy hand in rural Kansas. From whistling cows in from the pasture during brutal winter weather to learning the hard way why you never put your head under a cow’s tail, her story is a reminder that some of life’s most lasting lessons come not from classrooms or corner offices, but from honest work and unexpected moments on the job.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.5

Guaranteed Human.

0:14.4

And we continue with our American stories.

0:18.1

And up next we have a listener's story from Katrina Hine.

0:22.1

Katrina has contributed to our show in many ways, but this story is a personal story from one of

0:28.4

Katrina's early jobs out of high school entitled Cal Patty.

0:33.7

Here she is with a story.

0:39.3

As a child, I had the good fortune to have grandparents that lived on a farm in southeast Kansas

0:45.3

near a little spot in the road called Bartlett.

0:47.3

The highlight of my summer and the best memories I ever had growing up were on that farm.

0:53.3

In fact, some of my earliest

0:56.0

memories were of the old dairy barn behind the house that was surrounded by colorful

1:01.1

hollyhocks and wild roses. No one can explain it to you, but for those of us who are

1:07.2

familiar with dairy barns, know that one of the best smells on a farm is in that

1:12.7

dairy barn besides the recycled grass of course I remember walking into the dairy barn on

1:19.9

chilly mornings and being met by the whirring of the milking machine the warmth of a pot-bellied

1:25.6

wood stove and the mixed scent of sweet feed, milk and bleach.

1:29.3

The rhythm of the milkers and the radio playing Hank Williams in the background could almost rock you to sleep.

1:35.3

My Uncle Vernon, an old bachelor, moved back to the farm when I was a teenager to run the dairy,

1:43.3

and he named all the cows beautiful Hollywood sounding names like Betty and Esther, Dolly, and Clara.

1:50.8

We never were quite sure about Uncle Vernon.

1:55.1

Each morning I was met with the sound of a farm report from the local KGGF radio station, the smell of biscuits

...

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