The only one I know who should have been allowed to haul [sacks of] wheat was Walt Kruger. His body had 50 pounds more muscle and bone reinforcement than the average sack lifter. He was built high enough that a sack of wheat came level with the truck bed when he straightened up.
The last few days of harvest empty sacks were not needed for refills, so I was able to test other jobs Orlin put me on. Indian Jim, the horse skinner, was quitting because rodeo time was coming up. Seemed like he loved to get thrown off bucking horses. Windy Anderson then got a chance to advance from sewing sacks to showing his skill of driving 24 horses from the swinging crow's nest. With the help of Bill Riddle, I advanced from tying granny knots for ears on the sacks to a rather neat sack sewer.
The last days of harvest Windy Anderson got the "harvest itch" and quit to go looking for women and to raise hell in general 'til his harvest wages disappeared. This gave Riddle a chance to be scared when he drove all those horses on steep hillsides. He got a spooky feeling when his crow's nest nearly touched the wheel team when going up over steep draws.
Tractors were threatening the horse farmers that year. On the last day of harvest, when we finished a long pull up a steep hill, Orlin hollered at Riddle to call a halt to all those horses. He spotted neighbor Carl Grob's Holt 30 tractor fast approaching a steep hill with a combine tied on the back.
We had a choice view of Carl trying to snake the tractor to the summit. When the Holt wiggled and dug for traction, a smile of contentment came over Orlin's Face. It was replaced with a surprised look when the tractor made it to the top with the combine still hooked on. Orlin's patience had to wait 'til times got better before flirting with a tractor.
"Harvest Was In The Bag" Kik-Backs, page 80, part 3 (previous) (home) (thread)
"...a rather neat sack sewer."
Library of Congress / Farm Security Administration, 1941
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