Sunday, February 21, 2010

HELP WANTED

Recent ad in local paper:
Weeding, thinning, and transplanting vegetable and other related work required for market. Work with hoes, shovels, in rubber boots, rain gear, and with hats for heat are common.
Willing to work early or late hours in the hot summer sun. Ability to work while bent over, lift containers that weigh 25-70 lbs. Willing and able to destroy weeds near vegetables and shovel ditches for irrigation. $8.15 an hour. Some housing/transportation...
Except for salary, this is a good job description of about 10 years of my life on NE farm.
Add to it, "Must be able to gather, sort and milk about 45 cows and clean up the barn, milking equipment and barnyard every morning and night, without getting kicked by a cow, chased by the bull."
Or God forbid, try to milk in pitch black when an electrical storm knocks out electricity, milkers fly and cows kick and slap ya `cross the mouth with their manured tails!
We didn't receive - or expect an allowance. It was understood that, "You do it because you're a part of the family." Roni
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You forgot to feed the cats when milking. Moving the mile bucket when cow pissed. No I didn't get paid neither and until I was a freshman, Dan and I farmed 320 acres, anhyrous bussiness with dad and bailing hay and feed a few cattle. When soild and paid for feed we made $10 per head one year. Dan S.
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and what about, "No leave of any kind in season." Lucy H.
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I sure don’t remember milking that many cows, but the cows slapping ya cross the mouth with their manured tails I sure remember. We had thousands of flies even when you did clean out the barn and we had cans of fly spray there we used before we started milking. Oh yeah, I remember the manure in the lot outside the barn as well. Ugly stuff, but we made it through because it was our job for being part of the Young family! Pauline L.
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Not to mention bottle feeding the orphaned calves three times per day and giving shots to the new truck load of sick cattle before going to church on Sunday morning.
Been there, done that. Sue H.

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