Doing chores / Ain't what it used to be

[Western]

Yep, bought my first 10 speed bike from mowing yards for 10 bucks a piece, big yards too!! Push mower no doubt!! I think you make an excellent point too, there is work out there, but not what most want or will do. When I was a kid I hated chores, would rather have been fishing in the creek, but looking back I did get to do plenty of fishing and "play.n" indian:laughing:

I knew a couple of young men that in the early 90's hauled hay for me and several other landowners in my county, for 5 years. Those 2 "boy's" went to college in the day and hauled hay at night. They could move 2000 square bales a day ( 19 cents a bale they charged me) the way they set it up and just the 2 of them. ( also worked their parents farm) They paid for most of their schooling this way. One now is a Vet the other an obstetrician. They didn't get many "guvment handouts" ( lets just say they "didn't qualify" for much), but I'm sure they did the loan thing also, but their work ethic will bless them all their lives.

I have immense respect for these 2 young men and for their parents.

 

[DFB]

Yea just try and get a teenage kid to put up hay all day never mind pick apples down at the orchard where I work Back when I was in business with my ex fil we couldn't get any kids to harvest the 5 acres of late tomatoes we had growing most would break at lunch and wouldnt come back. Each day my neighbor loads her two kids into the SUV every morning and drives to the end of our dirt road where they sit in the heated vehicle waiting for the school bus. When I was a kid we walked 2 miles to school everday and back every afternoon lol!


Back when you pretty much did what you had to do.

My grandmother would tell stories where as kids they walked the railroad tracks picking up coal that fell from the cars and remembers her husbands first automobile they couldnt use it in winter because they only had water for the radiator.

She was the oldest of 7 kids took care of them all at 13 after her mother died and was married at 16.

Grew up with coal stove heat and an outhouse and was in her glory when she got a house in town wth central heating system and indoor bathroom plumbing! She always said she would never go back to any other way of living ever again and thought I crazy when I moved up on the mountain outside of town to start my homestead 27 years ago.

At that time the nearest gas station was at least 6 mi away diesel was even farther off and the supermarket farther yet...and still are lol

Nice pics...good thread!

 

[Western]

Found this article, good read, explains much better what I was trying to say and in much better detail..

We are raising a generation of deluded narcissists | Fox News

 

[turnkey4099]

They are "blessed" also. I cant imagine a guy who grew up having to do all that, then one day sitting in a city job, he has to pull a 12 hr day in the office. He can think back to a 12 hr day hauling hay and say, "this aint noth'n"!

The small sect of our society that has be trending towards "there are no winners and losers" IMO also is setting these kids up for more hardship as an adult, but that is outside the the thread topic I guess.

Yep, I went from a farm boy on a stump farm in N. Idaho into the AF at age 18 - spent 21 years steering a desk. Hated not having anything physical to do. Bought two acres and a shack in the country here when I retired. Rehabbed the shack and added a 18x30 addition. Loved every minute and still do of hard work although my stamina is now down to about 3 hours/day. Don't do anything with the two acres anymore except keep it mowed and for stockpiling my wood supply. Got 50+ cords black locust now and looking for more

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

Yea just try and get a teenage kid to put up hay all day never mind pick apples down at the orchard where I work Back when I was in business with my ex fil we couldn't get any kids to harvest the 5 acres of late tomatoes we had growing most would break at lunch and wouldnt come back. Each day my neighbor loads her two kids into the SUV every morning and drives to the end of our dirt road where they sit in the heated vehicle waiting for the school bus. When I was a kid we walked 2 miles to school everday and back every afternoon lol!
<snip>

Back when you pretty much did what you had to do.
Nice pics...good thread!

Not just kids. My last year in the service I took an 'after hours' job in an iron foundry grinding castings (we built mostly man hole covers and the like). San Angelo Texas in the middle of the summer at 5pm in an iron foundry - FUN, FUN, FUN!. I took the job to get back into some sort of shape. The local football coach used that business to "condition" his players - would send them down to get a job at the beginning of training. Usually didn't stick around. One shift we were grinding a batch right out of the Shaker (knocks the sand off). They were still hot but that just added to the pleasant conditions . Two bib bruiser newbies showed up at 5 to begin. An hour later one comes over and asked who the foreman was. I pointed out a small mexican. He went over and both of them disappeared never to be seen again.

The big thing for kids both farm and townies was the potato harvest. A wayi to make some fairly decent money if you could stand the stoop labor. You got a pack of tickets sighned out to you in the morning, hooked a burlap sack to your "picking belt" and went 8 hours stooped over filling sack after sack, one ticket per sack. You got paid forhow many sacks you filled so... Work hard - good money, screww off - wasted day.

Harry K

 

[DFB]

filling sack after sack, one ticket per sack. You got paid forhow many sacks you filled so... Work hard - good money, screww off - wasted day.

Harry K[/QUOTE]

Yes sir and down at the apple orchard they still pay pickers by the bushel...not by the hour!