Editor’s note: This is a series of articles. Kathy Pallaise lived with her family on the Longwood Farm. They lived in a cottage that was directly behind the Longwood Manor. The cottage is not there now. Her family took care of the farm and all of the animals. She will be writing about her experience living there. Other articles in this series can be found here.
It was in June of 1983, and it was time to bail hay on the farm. Me, my dad Tom, Mr. Tedrick and Bob Skelly was getting ready to bale hay. I was driving the Ford tractor with the hat wagon while My dad and a couple of others were throwing the hay onto the wagon. We had the wagon about ¼ full of hay, when I hit a bump. The next think I knew I heard buzzing and felt like I was on fire I looked down and the tractor and I were covered in huge black and yellow bumble bees, my dad yelling me to get off the tractor. I said “no dad doesn’t want to wreck the tractor and dump the hey. Mr. Tedrick and dad were made me shot off the tractor. Everyone was brushing the bees off me. As my dad was yelling at me, bees ended up going into his mouth. I finally got off the tractor after I stopped it. Everyone who was baling hay was still brushing the bees off me, my dad told me to run into the bushes, so the bees would get off me. They all walked me to the house, I was getting sick. My dad and Mom took me to Brentwood Ambulatory Hospital in Sagamore. When we got there the doctor gave me some medicine and started to count the bee stings, the nurse and doctor stopped counting after 237 stings. The next day the hay still had to be baled, my dad told me no I didn’t need to help but I wanted too so I put on a pair of my dad’s pants and a shirt and my mom put pillows in them because I was still sore and hurting but I still made my way out to bale hay. All they would let me do is drive the tractor that day, I loved the hard work of living on the farm and hay season was my favorite time.
