Excellent.
The local (family) farms would hire kids to put up hay.
In retrospect, I think they were shoveling a few bucks to "poor" local kids. I wasn't aware that we were poor until I got into my 20's.
Anyway, it was a thrill to drive an old John Deere B with the hand clutch. Did anyone else stack the hay in the barn with secret passages and chambers that only we knew about?
Round bales are probably the result of a few kids getting their limbs caught in elevators with lawyers close behind. Progress, I suppose.
**Did anyone else stack the hay in the barn with secret passages and chambers that only we knew about?**
That was one of our Christmas break pastimes. Great fun! Also, once the barn got over half empty, we would swing on the barn rope from one deck to the other.
The men drove the old Oliver tractors while I drove the stake bed truck that pulled the hay wagon (when I could barely see over the dashboard). It was my job to follow the baler and load the truck and wagon. I didn't appreciate the hidden benefits at the time, but this made me very strong, and I can drive anything that moves and back a trailer any place you want it.
My Mom’s dad was a grain elevator exterminator in the Palouse in Idaho. When we visited the grandparents on family trips, dad and I would tag along with Grandpa. Riding the continuous man lift in those old elevators really made a 13 year old suburban kid feel grown up. I heard all the danger and horrow stories about grain and augur accidents...scared me half to death. Those manlifts were dangerous as can be, too. Back in the pre-OSHA days you could do those things and not give it a moment’s thought.