[AT] the way we were raised

[Cecil R Bearden]

When I was 3 yrs old I followed my Uncle ( a carpenter) around on 
building sites.  I was the gopher for all the carpenters on site.  They 
shared their lunch and coffee with me.  When the builder came areound he 
always had some kind of treat for me.  OSHA would had had a cow.   I 
walked beams and roofs and learned not to fall off, it would hurt!!  I 
went to work with my Uncle in the morning, and when my Dad got out of 
college he would work as a carpenter on the site and take me home with 
him.  I did this until school started and then in the summer.    I 
started driving a tractor at 6 when Dad bought our first place.  I 
worked in the lawnmower shop at 12 then moved to the tractor shop at 
13.  I bought my first tractor at 13, (9N Ford) and traded it for a WD 
allis 6 months later.   I worked my way through college by buying & 
selling equipment and as a tractor mechanic and truck driver.  When I 
was 32 I built my house, and all those memories ans skill learned on the 
job site with my Uncle and Dad all came back.  I can only retain my life 
style in my retirement by using the skills learned at that early age. If 
my back would just cooperate, I could really enjoy retirement..

The demise of America will be because kids do not know how to work.  I 
felt proud I could work with the Big Guys!!   Today kids and adults are 
glued to a phone or video game.

The only reason we won WWII is because we had country boys in our 
military.!!!

This is just another case of the Feds sticking their nose in where it 
does not belong....

Just my $0.02

Cecil in OKla


On 5/17/2014 7:53 AM, Jim Thomson wrote:
> John;
>
>    While I did not work on a farm growing up, I did work in our family's heat
> treating business. I started working at the age of 9. I started driving
> forklifts' early on and learned to weld and braze. There were open flames,
> hot steel, oil, bad fumes, and plenty of heavy things in the shop. It was an
> ice box in the winter and hotter than h*ll in the summer. I would not trade
> my experiences at all. I learned a lot of good lessons that I carry with me
> to this day. I also got to work with my Dad. It also made me appreciate how
> good I have it now. If the temperature goes above 73F now in the office, I
> just think back to the heat treating days when 100F was a cool spot in the
> shop.
>
> Jim Thomson
> Rehoboth, MA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of jtchall at nc.rr.com
> Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2014 7:47 AM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: [AT] the way we were raised
>
> Off topic for the most part, but considering how most of us were raised,
> maybe not so much.
> The story may be more relative to southeastern states due to the amount of
> manual labor, but I'm certain midwest grain farms could fall into this as
> well, maybe more so if you consider the larger equipment. I'm not in favor
> of putting kids at risk, but with proper supervision and job selection I
> have trouble finding a problem. Your thoughts before you head to the shop
> and tinker on some old iron on this chilly (it's less than 50deg here, way
> below normal) morning.
>
> Anyway, you know where the delete button is.
>
> http://www.wral.com/report-highlights-child-labor-on-us-tobacco-farms/136426
> 74/
>
> John Hall
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