[AT] Corn Picking and storage.

[Paul Waugh]

I did not even realize I was doing it. It was during the first summer at age 
15, I was shoveling wheat.  My uncle stopped and said "how do you do that?" 
I thought everyone could.  I have found it to be a big advantage through 
life. At 70, I can probably keep up with most city kids ... of course that 
is not saying much these days.
Paul-46555
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ernie" <cchopper at centurytel.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.


> How many people even know what you mean when you say shovel right or left
> handed.  At 62 I can still out shovel a lot of 'kids' 1/2 my age just
> because I can shovel both directions.
>
> Ernie
>
> 'In God We Trust'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Paul Waugh
> Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 11:19 AM
> To: Tractor
> Subject: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.
>
> This topic is starting to stir some memories.  The snapping glove my 
> father
> used, I still have.  I have tried it a couple of times. The whole concept 
> of
> going down through rows and getting beat around by stalks and piling corn 
> in
> the snow because it snowed way too early, is a lot of work!!
>
> My uncle was a hog farmer, raising 300-400 head a year. And doing it the
> hard way. A lot of work and TLC, he loved his hogs.  To do this he needed
> corn, so he built a crib around 1953. Big for our area. 60 ft x 60 ft x 20
> ft high.  It was divided into 3 sections. a 40 ft center, with a 20 ft on
> each side, and of course, 60 ft long.  Each section had a 'trough' in the
> center of the floor. This was 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. They were
> exposed to the outside. There was a lip to hold 2 x 4's to cover the 
> trough
> before filling with corn. This gave ventilation and is were we would slide
> the 'drags' for the corn sheller.  It was a pretty neat set up and 2 guys
> could shell a heck of a lot of corn or a Saturday morning. The sheller was 
> a
> MM, I have no idea of model, it was a pull type and pto driven. He had 3
> section of drags, each 8-10ft long, they could be hooked together to make
> one one drag.  Just pull a couple of boards off the through and let the 
> corn
> fall into the drag.
>
> In the falls of 1956 & 57 my uncle contracted to shell 'government' corn. 
> I
> have no idea what this was about, other than farmers stored the corn in
> every available place he could find.  Some were nice and used cribs. We
> would set up the drags along the outside and remove some bottom slats to 
> get
> the corn out .. very little shoveling.  Some was stored in bins in upper
> part of barn, and was lot of shoveling.  The worse was hog brood houses. 
> A
> couple of farmers just lifted the lid and filled hog houses.  Any idea how
> hard it was to get that first corner open enough to stand on the floor so
> you could shovel .... by then you were half done with that house, and the
> next was waiting on you. We were at one place 4 days shoveling houses.
>
> It was always interesting, bees, mice, rats, oh my the rats, birds nest,
> just about anything.  It was always fun on a warm fall afternoon, when 
> corn
> fell down and a wasp nest came with it .... they were pisssed to say the
> least. We did a round wire crib that had so many rats in it, we took turns
> walking around and smacking them in the head as they tried to squirm out 
> of
> the crib and corn  ... must have killed 20-30 rats that day.
>
> I will never feel 16 again, with the warm sun on my back, shoveling,
> sweating in 40 degree like it was summer .... I was one of the lucky ones, 
> I
> can shovel right, or left handed.
>
> Paul-46555
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