[AT] Corn Picking and storage.

[charliehill]

Paul I didn't want to say anything but I thought everyone could too.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Waugh" <pwaugh at embarqmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.


>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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