(Page 10 of 13) Print Version
IT'S NOT ALL WORK
Break TimeImage is from USDA 1976 Yearbook of Agroculture THE FACE OF RURAL AMERICA
Frequently, the digger lags would come apart and the digger driver had to shut the digger down to fix it. "The digger broke down" meant that there will be a chance to catch up on picking potatoes or to rest or play. This picture shows the Myron Gartley farm in 1976. <kids rolling on the barrels> As you can see, the younger pickers did not seem to mind a break. Students such as these would pick 15 to 40 barrels of potatoes per day.
See how Presque Isle Middle School student Isaac's grandmother occupied her time in the potato field