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| Green tobacco sickness was funny if you were not the one affected since the "green" is not from the color or dryness of the leaf, but rather this was the color the kid turned. The kid's skin would turn green and the closest thing I can liken it to is having the dry heaves. I never had it. Probably because I was chewing before I started priming tobacco.
When I was growing up any kids 14-15 years old through high school primed tobacco for area growers to make a few bucks. I think I started at 12 or 13. Priming tobacco kept me in shotgun shells, fishing poles, and bought my first 2 pick ups. My dad believed in me paying my way for non-essentials and now I am thankful. I could clear $40-$50/day pretty easily and this was in the late 70's and early 80's.
The sickness usually hit a kid early in the morning when there was one of the super heavy fall dews. It was like the extra moisture on the leaf accelerated the nicotine intake, You have to remember you are carrying a large bundle of leaves in your arm pit which is an area of quick absorption anyway. My cousins were susceptible to this, but they wanted the cash so they learned to take a Hefty bag and cut head and arm holes then that insulated them from the moisture and this worked well for them. I've seen kids leave their breakfast in the row and couldn't even walk. We would drag them to the end of the row and lay them in the shade. Preferably in a place where the old timers pulling sleds wouldn't run over them with the sled tractor. They would lie there puking and moaning , sometimes as long as a couple of hours, until they could regain their senses enough to ride the sled back to the barn. Once at the barn they were stuck again until someone took pity and drove them home.
There were 2 problems with the ride home. No one wanted puke in their car and everyone was busy. Once the day started it didn't stop until the barn (or 2) was full so goofing off extended the work day. Remember even I just wanted enough money to buy some shells and a box of skeet so I had to get to the store before they closed and needed to shoot it all up before sunset.
All the tobacco harvest now is done with mechanical harvester's or migrant labor. The Mexican's came in and took over just as I got out of college and was quiting. My last year or year and a half priming I just pulled the sled tractor in the field. I could smoke anyone in the neighborhood with priming, but I couldn't hold a candle to the crew of Mexican's in our neighborhood. By the way harvest is "priming" in the piedmont of NC and "pulling" in eastern NC and I think SC.
If this was to happen in todays climate I am sure some government agency or lawyer would get involved. You know kids being kids, we gave the kid with the sickness a ton of grief about slacking off. They are laying in the shade just trying to keep their stomach on the inside of their skin and we would make all kinds of appropriate comments when we happened by.
At least we learned if you want the money suck it up and get on with it. There were a few kids who just couldn't learn to suck it up, but not many. You should have seen the reactions around the tier barn when the kid who slacked off all day or got "hot" or "didn't fell well" thought he should get the same amount of money as everyone else who sucked it up. I didn't feel well either. I just spent 6-8 hours walking several miles bent over to the ground in 90-100 degrees, but I didn't growl because I wanted the cash. Some great life lessons were learned those summers.
Thanks for jogging a few fond memories. | |
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Interesting........Very very interesting....at least to me.
