New-York tribune., 1908-10-18
AT WORK IN THE HOP FIELDS.

about September ! the hop picking began We
got e Job at one OF the small places There were
only thi-ty pickers there Some places had
thousand Half were and half men. The
woman were all natives-wives sisters, cousins and
s,,nts Of the farmers round about. There didn't
seen 70 be any daughters. There wasn't young
szirl IN the held The women kept strictly 10 them
selves They never once spoke 70 OF Us, seem
saE 70 regard al of BeliaL The con-
tempt of the Cherry Valley native FOR the foreign
hep picker e complete and abys1nal These WON
era brought their own lunches and lived at home.
They were dour kind of lot but, word
they could pick hops. We had 70 own that that
was one occupation IN which the eternal feminine
was superior Their fingers worked like lightning
and they picked faster and cleaner than any of
could The sreenho-n always thinks he has
easy fob merely to strip the poles into the boxes
When he finds that leaves not paid for-that
no pole be stripped, but every hop must be
picked OF separatey-it isn't SO funny.
-Four persons pick at big box This box is
divided into four compartments. each holding two
bushels and half. You get 90 cents for filing this
corpartment-with hops, not leaves. The man who
can eli It twice day Is good man. They settle
sTl the You don't notice II while you're pick
Eng, you're prns IL Up all the time. But leave
3t for luncheon and when you come back it's dis
oourxang. We often discussed 10 whether the
farmer didn't come out and press them down while
we were gene. I don't think he would have been
above it al. but guess he wouldn't have dared.
he would have had fight a field 1uu of infuri-
ated II he had been caught. I've always found
everywhere ever went that certain rules Of con-
Duct have TO be observed There wes one funda-
mental rule IN the hop field: Don't Jar the box
The first tiTns you Jared IL you got a scowl: tn.
second time a cuss, and the third time you had a
fight on your hands. AL hands would stop singing
ard go 10 fighting.
e'They sang all day long: Bowery ditties and the
Old songs. In field Home. Sweet Home was
& great favoTite. I guess il in all Of them. I
u much OF a kid think OF il them. but fl
was rather pathetic for to most OF them. any old
place they hung their hat home, sweet home
We slept IN q barracks. with boards nailed along
the walls for bunBs. We were well fed. excepting
that there butchers meat They gave
fresh vegetables the farm. salt pork and milk
gravy. and once or twice a feed of eggs We had
Prfddle cakes FOR breakfast. Supper was Ike the
dinner, only less of il. There was plenty TO eat,
tire work healthy and all happy. We
were al q pretty decent lot at place. In the
evening the farmers wife would play the organ
and get as 20 sing Moody and Sankey hymns. Some
Of the big places were pretty wild. Iu albany and
ali tee towns round about they make a practice
throughout the sumner of sentencing petty offend
ers 50 that they VIII gel ou- just the picking
begins. Then Irainloads Of them pour into Cherry
Valley. women ana men Every Saturday night
through the season there open air dance on
a big platform near CoopersovYn and i've thousand
nothing drink but cider. black ink. that would
make a man climb telegraph pole and jump on.
The dance finished up in a cutting or some kind Of
4 row every Saturday night
There were three fellows in from good
families IN Jersey City. for 4 lark All the rest
were wanderers, l think Very few names were
Used. A nickname Was instantly fastened on some
personal popularity. shorty Long 'Blackey'
Whitley and Red were most common. and there
was Chicago Red and san Francisco Red One
tall sedate looking, man. with STay side whiskers.
WAS called Professor He told
called anything use. Each le@ ga:s Instantly