Anyone Ever Work in a Tobacco Field?

[diamondback]

I worked harvesting burley one summer between semesters back in the 80’s. Hardest manual labor I’ve ever done, and I’ve worked some tough jobs in my younger days. All the farmers in the area would use the same crew, so it went farm to farm. Lord-a-mercy did the sweat pour... phwew. It payed pretty good though. Not sure how much of it wound up in someone’s pipe.
Anyone else have the pleasure?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yes, but I don't remember it paying very well though, ha ha.

 

[diamondback]

Oh it wasn’t spectacular, but IIRC it was a couple bucks higher than minimum wage, so it was perspective based. I was all over it... at first... but it was a blast.

 

[acidpox]

I have, from the time I was 11-17 years old I would work on an 120 acre tobacco farm. I would work weekend when school was in and everyday excluding sundays during summer. Then when all the bases/contacts got bought out the farm slowly switched to produce. By the time I was 18 or 19 it was 100 percent produce and I would occasionally work there to make a little extra cash. The farm I worked for our tobacco whent to make Marbolo Reds, or at least that's what the owner told me. Cosmic is right, pay sucks for the amount of work that is involved. Job I hated most was hanging it/booking it down.

 

[diamondback]

Definitely! I abhorred climbing up those hot barns and being handed stake after stake of tobacco leaves.

 

[haparnold]

Sure did. I grew up farming in the heart of dark-fired country. Quickly decided to work hard in school so I didn't have to do that kind of work when I was 40.

 

[acidpox]

Yeah, being younger and more nimble than a lot of the workers I was always "volunteerd" to have to climb to the 3rd or 4th tier of the barns come hanging time. Looking back it was super dangerous work.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

My blind guess is that today half of the workers on the tobacco fields are Mexican or other immigrants, in Spain this is how this is now,

 

[jpmcwjr]

No, but I watched some tobacco being put up near Rabbit Hash, KY.
I did work in a barn putting up hay. For one day. Allergic reaction to the hay dust as well as the heat and straining a 15 to toss 65 pound bales. Also helped me decide to make it through college.

 

[diamondback]

Quickly decided to work hard in school so I didn't have to do that kind of work when I was 40.

Most definitely. I was majoring in Computer Science at the time. I remember thinking that exact thought: I’m NOT going to do this kind of work for a living! Though I often think back to those “good old days” now.

 

[lawmax3]

Yep, more than I care to remember.

 

[olkofri]

I'm terrified of insects, especially grasshoppers, crickets, moths, and jumping things. I couldn't work in a field.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yep. From 12-16 years old.

 

[mikethompson]

Did any of you guys who worked in tobacco fields get interested in pipes that way?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Not me, but I did start smoking cigarettes really early.

 

[mso489]

My late wife (1948-2000) never worked in the fields but would stick tobacco (hang the leaves on sticks to hang in the tobacco curing barn) on her grandparents' tobacco farm in Dover, N.C. I've seen the harvest from the highway going on into the night with the harvester tractor with many headlights aglow.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Did any of you guys who worked in tobacco fields get interested in pipes that way?

That came the year after I quit. I did learn how to make and chew twists at that time though.

 

[acidpox]

Just now picked up the pipe about 9 months ago, but I did start smoking cigs at 16, 31 now

 

[yohanan]

worked harvesting burley one summer between semesters back in the 80’s. Hardest manual labor I’ve ever done, and I’ve worked some tough jobs in my younger days. All the farmers in the area would use the same crew, so it went farm to farm. Lord-a-mercy did the sweat pour... phwew. It payed pretty good though. Not sure how much of it wound up in someone’s pipe.
Anyone else have the pleasure?

Yes I have, many years ago.

 

[upnorth1]

Back in the day I picked tobacco in Southern Ontario. We would travel there from Quebec to work the fields. It was back breaking labor, and then we partied hard at night. It paid well because no one wanted to do it.