About Octobers of Yore
NOTE: A blog from Mrs. Crumly’s unpublished work.
Sixty or seventy years ago this would have been the ideal fall for farmers to gather their crops – this is back when cotton was picked by hand. In a time when modem meant what Pa had done to the hay patches – he mowed ‘em. Farmers hoped for dry weather so the cotton could be picked and hauled to the gin. Schools would let out at noon or in some cases the schools would close for two or three weeks so the students could help with the harvest. 
October was a very busy month. Usually by the middle of the month the cotton was well on the way to be finished. If it were a cloudy day and no dew was on the crop, the workers could go to the field earlier and accomplish more. I was not the best cotton picker in the world, but I remember one such day when there was no dew and we took our lunch to the field. Needless to say, this saved time and we could pick more. That day I picked the most cotton ever – 250 lbs. The wagon would be parked near the pickers and at lunch time we gathered around to see what there was to eat. Of course, whatever it was it was was just barely warm or maybe cold. Baked potatoes would be one item on the list — maybe a cold biscuit with something in it. Water was always the drink of the day – at least in our case. Pulling that partially full pick sack up in the shade of the wagon we sat down on same so we’d be a little more comfortable for the “meal.”
Recently we passed several very large white cotton fields — just ready to harvest. It’s strange for us to see the size of today’s cotton stalk and remember the size we dealt with in our day. Today the cotton stalk is very short, compact and loaded with cotton bolls. Back when I picked cotton, the stalks were very large and at the first picking we had to literally fight our way through in some places. Many times old saw-toothed briars had grown up in the cotton and it was a challenge to get through to gather the open bolls.
One problem in that day was keeping the pick sacks in repair. Usually we started off with good sacks – maybe even new ones and they had a coating of tar on the bottom, but by the middle of the season a bit of patching had to be done. Of course, the material was ducking and would take lots of punishment, but the saw toothed briars and general use could dish out the punishment, too. Each worker had his/her own sack — because it fit. The shoulder strap had to be the correct length. 
Overalls, long pants, bonnets and gloves were the order of the day. Ladies didn’t want a bit of sun to get to their skin. There was an stinging insect called a “pack saddle” that we dreaded to meet. Tobacco juice was the recommended treatment and even that didn’t stop the burning and stinging pain. This is a few of the memories of Octobers of Yore with that style of country living.