The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1911-05-04

1 bottom OIL the SACK opens and tn
yellow balls roll in, just about as tn
Iowa farmer would handle his pota
toes or apples. These boxes ar
scattered all over the orchard, [Speak
ing of boxes don't mean to say thes
are what the finished product is pack
ed In, but they are what are Gale,
the picking boxesl and after bein,
filled, no cover being used, they ar,
piled on the large wagons and hauled
to the packing house, and here Il
where the actual packing begins. Tn,
fruit is dumped into large woodei
vat which stands at about As de
grees; over the oranges in this va
are fastened short heavy brushes, two
or three inches apart, which clean the
fruit of all dust and dirt, then they
roll up an inclined plane and dror
easily into two chutes along large
inclined table--everything is on the
slant, so the fruit Is kept on con
tinuOus roll-here the workers on
either side sort out the "culls," those
which the packers won't use, and
these are tossed into the third or cen
ter chute, where they roll to the
dump. Still on the roll they start
down two long inclined boxes, but on
each side of these boxes or chutes
are cutoffs, or =. to make ii palmer,
small square holes into which the
fruit rolls according to the size.
ha 70 nf
these cut-offs on each side of this long
plane. From these chutes they go
to the packing boxes, and here is
where the girls begin to get in their
fine work Now the fruit is "culled"
again and for the last time, when the
fine tissue wrappers are placed over
the orange and then the box makes
its last trip to the mailer, who slaps
the thin covering on the box and
clamps it down so quickly you can
hardly see how it's done. These
girls who do the wrapping are very
proficient and fast in their work.
This part of the work is all done by
the piece. The girls keep moving up
thus giving all an equal chance
mean as regards the different size of
the fruit. Their pay runs from $1.50
to $500 per day. | could write you
almost without limit, but don't want
to tire you.
We were favored with visit from
Mr.. and Mrs. J. c. Ferrall, of Los
Angeles yesterday Sunday which
We all enjoyed very much. On We'd
nesday of this week we all go into
Los Angeles Tor few days, and from
there will visit some of the many
smaller resorts along the coast, when
will give you one more letter, which
will probably be my last.
know the reader will pardon me
for what shall now write, but |
feel that | must pay one last, loving
tribute to our beloved mother before
close the chapter. Although | am
in this beautiful country of flowers
and orange blossoms, and with the
two best friends | have in the world,
my thoughts day and night have been
almost constantly with my mother,
whom | worshiped and loved better
than | did my own life. When |
stood by her couch on the night of
March Both, with sister on either
side, and we watched and waited, al
most breathless for the last short
gasp for life, and the pure lips made
one more little effort, and in second
more the noble, generous heart had
ceased to do its work, and we knew
that awful thing had COME won
dered how one could pass through
such an ordeal and not go mad. |
believe her death fell with greater
force upon myself than upon any of
the otherS-not but what we all loved
the same, far from it-but they had
been weaned from the old home so
long, and had gone out into the world
and made homes of their own, while
during our entire lives. with the few
when | would be from
partners in everything,
'buddies," | used to lovingly tell her,
and she would smile and answer me,
Yes, we're 'buddies,' as you call it.
Mamma" was our pet name for her,
and many times in the later years,
with her arm about me. she has said
TO me that she loved to hear me say
that word; that it seemed to make us
dearer and closer to each other, IL
such were possible. For forty-seven
years we had lived in our own home
on South Third, way beyond the aver
age lifetime. 1t was not a mansion
by any means, but the sweetest spot
in the world for us. You say eighty.
four is old. 1t may be. But as the
years crept along over this sweet
soul, and the voice trembled a little,
the eyes grew dim, and the always
strong and bright mind wavered just
a little, it was then our love for her
grew richer and stronger, and every,
thing the human mind could conceive
was done to make her last days her
happiest. | have been, In my more
mature years, at least what the
world calls "doubter." 1 have said
there was no God, that heaven was
myth, and that the hereafter we talk
40 much about could take all care OF