Time Capsule - My First Job

I guess that each and everyone of us recalls the experiences of the first job we ever had. Here is a recounting of mine..... picking tobacco leaves in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I was born in Holyoke, MA in 1951 and moved to New Jersey in 1962. Long ago, my mom worked for National Blank Book, a paper manufacturer there in Holyoke, which was an Industrial city. My dad worked for A.G. Spalding in Chicopee and made golf balls.

I would return to Holyoke several times during the 60's and stay with my dad. The year of 1966 was one of those years that I went there, so I was 15 years old at that time. I enjoyed seeing several of my friends during those years and this time, my friend Joe and I wanted to get a job. We knew several 'kids' who were working in the tobacco fields in Southern Mass and Connecticut. At that age, all we could ever get as far as jobs went would be working on farms.

Joe and I went to someplace that was similar to an Unemployment Office and signed up. We would have to catch a bus at a location a few blocks away from where I was staying. The bus would go around and pick up maybe 8-10 other workers (kids) and take all of us south to the tobacco fields, where we would work for the day and then ride the bus home. Perhaps we went about 25-30 miles and each day we went to a different field. Our job was to pick the tobacco leaves which were used as wrappers for Roi Tan Cigars back then. This was referred to 'shade tobacco' and was used as wrappers on cigar filler tobacco from Honduras and the Dominican Republic

Since it was early in the season, we began picking the lowest leaves on these plants which stood about three feet tall. (that is NOT me in the picture) In order to pick these leaves, you had to lay on your back and scoot yourself along the row, taking 3 leaves from the right plant and then 3 from the left and then another three and you made those into a 'pad' and laid then down in the middle aisle as you worked your way up the row repeating the process. Later, a 'hauler' picked them up and placed them on the wagon and when there was a substantial amount, hauled them away.

During the early part of the 'season' you went from field to field picking the leaves. Then a week or so later, you would be taken back to the same fields and pick the next layer. These tobacco fields were covered with some kind of cheesecloth and it was rather cool in the morning and then around noontime, it heated up. It got pretty hot inside there.At the end of each day, the bus would take us back. I would take a bath every day and the water would be almost totally black from the juices which got on your body. Of course, the clothes got a little roughed up also. I worked there for six weeks and will never ever forget the experiences of my very first job. I only received $1.05 per hour, but that was good enough for me. I was just a kid. The very first thing I bought was a radio...I forgot how much I paid for it.