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Ox Driver & Storyteller
(1923-2003)
Kermit Saxton keeps oxen just as his grandfather and great grandfather did on their small farm in Franklin County. He has always lived on the Saxton Homestead, for which his great-great-grandfather, with the aid of oxen, broke the land in 1835. “I fell in love with the star on their forehead,” Kermit says, as he remembers his grandfather’s pair from his childhood. In 1959, Kermit got his own first pair of Devons, the dark red variety native to Devonshire, England. In the years since, he has trained and worked several pair, or ‟yoke.” His eighth yoke, named Abraham and Isaac, are now seven years old and weigh about two tons. Kermit gives his oxen regular exercise around his farm by hauling stove wood and pulling stumps. He demonstrates traditional driving and working skills at local festivals and field days. Saxton is also a storyteller, who recites poetry and tells stage jokes, in the tradition of community entertainments. Note: All images, text and other material found in this website © 3583 TAUNY. All rights reserved.
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