True to our word, we arrived at work the next morning with tobacco...Most of us didn't smoke, NONE of us chewed...But I think we were so bored with the endless drudgery and repetition of the job that we would try anything...I remember feeling like the quilty teenager, when I tried my first cigarette, but that morning standing in front of the belt, on the "mean machine" all of us slipped tobacco, just inside our lower lip, like seasoned pros...The idea was, that slowly over the day, the nicotine, seeping into our bodies, would keep Clada from having to light up a cigarette...BAD IDEA!..It didn't take long for all of us to start feeling dizzy and nauseous... All together, we managed to spit the tobacco, toward the ground, where it disappeared along with the dirt clods...That didn't stop our antics, we continued with the practical jokes and plain craziness, but tobacco chewing had to be the stupidest thing we tried, in our career, on the potato digger.
Near the end of a long day, the field almost finished, Cliff pushed on, hopeful that we could finish before dark...Abruptly something hot and wet hit me in the face, I yelled the standard "WHOA", Cliff stopped, looked back, saw nothing piled up on the table, shook his head and immediately let out the clutch and I yelled "STOP, DAMMIT."..Again he looked back at me and this time could see that my face was splattered with oil...One of the hydralic hoses had split and I was in direct line of the spray...He felt so bad and apoligized profusely, while I mopped my face...Kiddingly I said, "Cliff, you've ruined my best pair of bibs, I'll have to send you a bill!" Not to be outdone, he answered, "Wait until I dock your wages for that hot oil treatment."..We finished the field the next morning after a new hydralic hose was installed.
I worked two seasons on the digger, alongside others, like me, looking for a few extra dollars...I remember a poet, school teacher, librarian among the women...The men were older, semi retired or younger boys, still looking for a permanent job...By the end of the two years I was doing substitute work at the Joseph City Library and the Joseph School Cafeteria...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
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