The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-11-01
SAVED THE CROPS

| OLuucutS lIOu Tie pubic SCuOOlS
of this county have recorded victory
in saving crops that had matured
and lay in the fields threatened by
the elements. Heavy losses were
made in some spots, and II the Wig
orous campaign for the harvest had
been taken. up systematically a few
days sooner a large part of the
actual loss could have been avoided.
October is the month for potato
harvest in this climate, and the early
part of the month is the only period
of real safety for potatoes. After
the middle of the month there Is al
ways q risk, and at that time appli-
cation was made to dismiss the
Blackfoot high school to release
| students for the harvest. This re-
quest was declined, but announce
| ment was made that any students de-
string to engage in the harvest would
be excused from school, and about
half of them vanished from the
school rooms. The work of placing
them and transporting them was not
taken up at first, but on the twenty
fourth the farm bureau and the Com
mercial club organized for carrying
them to and from their work and
Max Feldbaum, of the agricultural
department of the school, was put |
in charge of distribution of labor, |
with the result that the high school |
was closed Thursday and Friday, and |
$50 students were apportioned to
the potato fields for three days. They |
picked an average of about forty
sacks day, making total of about
100 carloads harvested by them, the
boys and girls making something
like $2.75 apiece per day and meals
furnished
Most of them worked hard and
did fine service that stirred the adj
miration and confidence of the en-
ployers. In most cases the farmers
and their wives showed fine consid-
GRAFTON for the young folks and
spread the fat of the land upon their
tables at meal time, and fine friend
ships were esta blished. To have boys
go out and do heavy work is not I'M
usual, but it was source of some in
terest to see the girls from the town
homes go out and pick and lug po- {,
tatoes all day and come up smiling ]
at night and declare they were all !
right and would be on the job to-
morrow.
About twenty of the business men {
of the town furnished cars every
morning and evening to make trips
into the country varying distances
of from ten to thirty miles for the
round trip. Some of them had bad
roads and stuck in the mud and had I
to dig out or be pulled out. Some |
Of them stayed with their crews and
picked potatoes all day. There were 1
cases where misunderstanding 1
arose and pickers were left out with 1
)ut transportation and men were 1
called out late at night to go again
nto the country to get the stranded r
workers.. Some of the drivers spent +;
parts of days Investigating to see !:
where help would be most needed to-
morrow and organized to meet the !:
iced. In some spots this work was /:
lot done soon enough and groups of !:
)ickers were stranded without work 81
when farmers not far away were 81
feeding them, but in most instances Il
he workers went from the COM II
,leted jobs to the others and doubled
Up till the last rows were picked. A Ri
ew more days of that kind of or 81
,anized work would have saved all II
tut the largest fields, but the heavy Il
reeze of Sunday night and those fol- Il
owing, did pronounced damage to
otatoes, and all that lay near the
urface were frozen. Men who !;
tudied the situation estimated that
5 or 80 per cent of the crop was in
he ground on Sunday night, and
lost of this amount lay in the Target
Continued on Page Eighty