Back in 1962, we got put in the fields picking green beans. Hot and humidity almost killed us. We got a penny a pound for the work.
I made $5.00 one day! Thought I was in hog heaven! Then the weather turned dry and hotter. We picked the same amount of beans but I never made more than $2.50 a day after that. The buyer then upped the pay to a whole 1 1/2 cents lb.
The next year it was back to the bean fields. It was so hot my brother passed out in the fields.
That's when I was 12 and doing the cherry picking. The income is about right, 6 - 8 lugs at 75 cents each - about 5 bucks.
Sorry about the beans, at least we could stand straight up and pick without having to bend over. Of course we were constantly yelled at for just picking the lower cherries and not climbing the ladders into the trees to get the higher ones.