We worked some with Mr. Montgomery too. I remember so well the boys pulling bolls all day while dad was working on the railroad and just before he got off to come by the cotton patch they would get up in the wagon and take a hoe and chop it all up real good and it just looked like they were picking it rough. Dad would come in and say, "You boys are picking this cotton to rough!" They weren't picking it at all, they were pulling it and that did make a difference. When you pulled bolls you didn't have as much chance of nicking your fingers on that boll and causing yourself some misery. It sure did have an effect when you took the cotton to the gin if you had picked it rough. I didn't mind it as bad when the cotton was a little wet because it weighed heavier, but sometimes they knocked off some in weight for the water so it didn't help too much to pick wet cotton. I remember putting rocks, clods, old coke bottles and everything that I could find in my sack to make it weigh heavier but I got caught nearly every time. Crime doesn't even pay in the cotton patch.
One time Harvel threw a chunk of chewing tobacco away while the boys were chopping cotton. Later in the fall he found that chewing tobacco and made Jamie and Ray chew it. It had laid there thruogh all the rain and everything from the summer to the fall. They threw up their socks and were sick as they could be.
Some people could pick a lot of cotton and some worked just as hard as they could and couldn't pick nearly as much. Many years ago they had the National Cotton Picking Contest at Blytheville, Arkansas and if I remember correctly one guy picked 900 pounds in one day and won the championship. It would have taken me five days to do that!
Two of my favorite stories do not involve the Knight family. At Swifton the Bill Wheeler family raised cotton. Every day at a certain time Vesta would have lunch ready for the pickers. One day Gary wanted to go to the house early because he was so hungry and Bill Sr. kept telling him there was no use because dinner would be ready at the right time. Gary asked several times and was denied. Finally he asked his dad, "Could we just bow down here and offer thanks and then when we get home we can just start eating?" At that Bill went on to the house for dinner. Sam Wheeler was Bill Sr's brother. One time a bunch of people were at the dinner table and the jug of tea was sitting on the floor by Sam. One old boy kept saying, "Pass me the tea please."That bothered Sam a bit. After while Sam looked down at the tea jug and hollered, "Scat out of there!" He wasn't bothered by any more requests to pass the tea.
Barbara loved to pick cotton. After we moved to Swifton and Marty was a little boy, she would go to Bill Wheelers or Ira Ferrells and pick cotton. I had back trouble so I stayed home and took care of Marty, don't you know! Some years ago I wrote the following words as I recalled my cotton picking days:
IT'S LATE IN THE EVENIN' AND THE SUN'S GOING DOWN;
I'VE BEEN WORKIN' HARD ON THIS HOT, HARD GROUND.
THEN I HEAR MY DADDY SAY WAY UP THE LINE,
"COME ON BOYS, IT'S QUITTIN' TIME."
WHEN I RAISED UP IT NEARLY BROKE MY BACK,
IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY PULLIN' THIS SACK.
BUT IT WON'T BE LONG 'TIL EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE
CAUSE DADDY'S DONE SAID, "IT'S QUITTIN' TIME."
I GO UP TO THE WAGON, CLIMB UP ON THAT BED,
LAY BACK ON THE COTTON TRYIN' TO REST MY HEAD.
LEAVIN' ALL THEM COTTON ROWS WAY BEHIND,
GOIN' TO THE HOUSE 'CAUSE IT'S QUITTIN' TIME.
I SEE MOMMA OUT BACK WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE,
SUPPERS WAITIN' SOON AS WE SAY GRACE.
THEM BEANS AND CORN BREAD, THEY'LL TASTE JUST FINE,
THEY'RE ALWAYS THERE COME QUITTIN' TIME.
BUT, IT WON'T BE LONG 'TIL THE SUNS GONNA RISE
AND DADDYS GONNA HOLLER, "COME ON, YOU GUYS;
WE GOT A LONG DAY AHEAD, A GOOD NIGHT BEHIND,
AND A LOT OF COTTON TO PICK 'FORE QUITTIN' TIME."
Yes, Sir, everything is alright at Herman Junction tonight.
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