![[dan-truett-mcwhorter.jpg]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_473nrD5vEv8/S5hAR2x0JVI/AAAAAAAACVo/caHZJMX-j9o/s400/dan-truett-mcwhorter.jpg)
This photograph was taken in the 1910's, and shows children picking cotton in a field. Cotton picking was very hard work, and some of these children look like they are no older that 6 or 7, and are working in the field barefoot.
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That also looks like a very thin crop. Dry land farming is probably the hardest way to make a living ....at least that is what my father has told me. Seeing that picture makes me wonder if that family made it that year and what happened 20 years later when the long drouth made much of the country a dust bowl.
ReplyDeletelittlpadre,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I have read that while much of the country is flooding this year, other parts are having the worst drought since the great depression . . . just what we need, another Dust Bowl.
That could be me and my three brothers back in the 1940s. We worked in the fields all summer, hoeing the Johnwon grass and weeds and while most kids looked forward to starting school come September, we were out there picking cotton for two more months. The only payment I ever recieved was a two piece pink sweater set. All four of us kids got to go on to junior college. One brother made a farmer, we had a hard life but I still have sweet memories of growing up on the farm with mama and daddy. CR
ReplyDeleteCR,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story. We look at pictures like this, and wonder if the children ever had a chance. It is encouraging to hear your story, of similar circumstances, and a happy ending. Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if they could enjoy going barefoot or if they only felt like something they had to do to save money?
ReplyDeleteI have walked barefoot in a cottonfield, and it actually feels good to feel the soil on your feet. A well maintained cotton field has not stickers, and the soil feels good on the feet. This is not to say that these children wanted to be barefoot.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutly cruel. Cotton slices right through your hands when you pick it.!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow I really love this picture! I feel like if we showed our kids more of history they would appreciate what they have, instead of complaining because they have to take the trash out or do the dishes. Thank you for opening my eyes as a young adult to relize that things could always be worst.
ReplyDelete