Life lessons learned in a potato field....

Everything I learned was from the entry level job as mr. potato picker.  From the age of five, children in Aroostook County head to the fields in the darkness of early morning with frost on the ground at times in the fall. Dressed warmly with long underwear, and carrying a water jug and lunch box filled with goodies from mom, the potato warrior decides on how large a section they can handle.  A tractor digs two rows at a time and lays them out flat...with the picker having to shake off some dried up vines..depositing the golden spuds into a basket.  Four baskets make a barrell which weights 165 barrels.  But things go wrong...digger breaks, rain, snow, and life lessons that tell the picker..if you don't want to do this for a living, get an education.  Sixty cents per barrel...big money for a youngster.  What is bought with the money is not bought without careful scrutiny.  I have a daughter Elizabeth that when she was nine picked up a item for $3.60 at Walmart, pondered a purchase but then put the item back on the shelf saying that is not worth six barrels of potatoes! Had she bought it and parted with her money, she would have taken very good care of that purchase.