Johnnie Russell’s early-day spread of farmland flowed in several directions, some of it ending up against the town of Harrington. My dad told me Johnnie took great pride in his accomplishments. Being well heeled, he could do funny things after harvest with the sacks of wheat that was laying all over his fields.
One particular year long ago, Mr. Russell wanted to see what his crop looked like in one big pile. That fall, when his neighbors were busy hauling their sacks of wheat to the warehouse, Johnnie greased his wagon wheels up for a different reason. He had his hired men cart all his crop back up to his farmstead, including all the sacks that were laying in the stubble that bordered on the edge of Harrington.
The sight pleased Johnnie’s eyes, as he looked at his man-made mountain of sacked wheat from every angle. When farmer Russell got tired admiring his wealth in the sack stage, he must have gathered all his hired men and said to them, “Let’s get busy boys, and start hauling all this scenery back to town, so I can have it turned into money and see what my wealth looks like in bank-book figures.”
"...including all the sacks that were laying in the stubble..."
Lee Russell / Library of Congress, 1941
Harrington History / Marge Womach
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