good memories

Howdy folks,

Well, some bittersweet times this weekend. Dad and I went over to the old tobacco barn and took the tobacco down from the rails, bundled it up, loaded it onto the wagon, and hauled it to the house for stripping for the last time. Government has passed the tobacco buyout so that means good and bad news for us. Good news is that we get a little extra cash in the payments and no longer have all the hard work of raising a tobacco crop and not making any money from it. Bad news is that we can no longer raise tobacco. Sure tobacco will still be bought but most likely at a much much lower price causing any farmer who raises it to have to put out many many acres to even break even. Sad. Tobacco has been raised on our farm for as long as I can remember. I grew up working in tobacco and spent many summers and falls making decent money helping my neighbors work in it. Southern Ohio and Kentucky are losing a big chunk of heritage. Well, while over at the barn I was looking at our threshing machine. So, in the spirit of all this I decided to share a photo my great aunt gave me. It is of my great grandad (who bought the thresher and is on the McCormick Deering 15-30 in the photo), my great uncle, and a hired hand. The thresher still resides in our tobacco barn and still has the company-produced decal of my great grandad's name on the side of it. Hope you enjoy. God bless.

--old fashioned farmer