Tobacco Farming

Another attraction at the State Fair is the Tobacco curing exhibit. Russ loves the smell of “curin tubacu”. My husband’s family history is a fascinating one and I wish I could capture it all before it fades into shadows with the older generation but I’m afraid I’ve come on the scene a bit to late to record all I wish I could. To hear Russ talk about growing up is in some ways to be transported into another world. He is only 7 years older than I am but you wouldn’t think that when we talk about our family history. But really I digress. Russ can never remember a time when he did not work in the tobacco fields. Back then tobacco was still grown by small independent farmers with maybe a few tens of acres. When he was very young he worked in the barn picking up tobacco leaves. The summer he turned 8 was the first time he was paid. He drove the tractor. The men would pick the leaves and put them in a trailer hooked behind the tractor. These trailers are often called "slides" since at one time they were simply wooden boxes that slid along on skids pulled by a mule. The boys who drove the tractors would drive forward a little ways, wait for the leaves to be put into the trailers, and then drive forward a little more. Russ remembers his cousin Thomas behind the wheel of a tractor playing with his toy soldiers while he waited for the trailer to be loaded. When Russ was older he worked in the fields picking the leaves. He still talks about the tobacco gum that he would have to peel off his hands. When the leaves came to the barn they would have to be tied in bundles and hung up to be cured. The curing process was done in a barn with oil burners to create the heat that was needed. Russ loved working in the fields. He says he liked making money and feeling like he could contribute to the family. He saved the money he made and bought his first car with it.

The stick Russ is holding is used to hang tobacco as it is curing. When Russ was a young boy he and his friends would play “horsey” with those sticks.