With Summer having just arrived I thought it would be a good time to post this again – in memory of those hot summers long ago when I learned what hard work was all about.
Barnin’ tobacco is a tough, sweaty, exhausting job but the some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Of course, I speak from the point of view of a barn worker. Whatever tobacco farmers have to say on the subject I humbly acknowledge and totally respect. And I’m also talking about how tobacco was cropped in the 1960’s. It’s managed differently these days.
I grew up in tobacco country. My grandfather, one of my uncles, and my daddy were all tobacco farmers – although my daddy only farmed on his own for a couple of years. Most of the men at the church where I was raised were tobacco farmers. And helping “barn tobacco” was what I did in the summers to make money to buy my school clothes. The first summers I spent at the barn I was too little to work but I learned to help out and…
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ARTiculation 
Never heard about any of this – or anything like it – before. What a wonderful picture you paint!
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It was another time – long ago in the South – circa mid 1960s.
Tobacco is harvested and handled differently today.
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That was a peek into another world. A few times in my youth I was driven through tobacco country and saw the barns with their hinged sides. I had no idea of the hard labor involved. Thanks for that insider’s account.
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Indeed, this world was for me late 50’s and through the 1960’s. It was long ago and faraway.
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You are most welcome. Thanks for reading.
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I realize that I have never seen tobacco growing. Sounds like a tough life. Maggie
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It was certainly hard work but it is a fond memory of childhood. Being tired never lasted long then and the fun I had outweighed the work. Thanks for reading.
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That is HARD work. Your story captures it tellingly. By the way, it’s unbelievable how expensive a pack of cigarettes is these days. Ten dollars or more, I think.
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Holy Cow! I’m glad I’m not a smoker!
And, yes, very hard work. Thanks for reading.
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Thank you, Linda. I never barned tobacco, but I learned the ropes from friends and a helper of my mother’s. You explained it well. My dad always thought that I should have tried it.
Love, Celia
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Thank you, Celia. It was an unforgettable experience, that is for sure!
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