Being raised rural and growing up on a farm a person looks at the calendar differently than those raised in or near town and definitely were not raised to understand a calendar in the same way. A farmer takes fewer holidays than I think any other person on this planet. Let me try to explain what I’m trying to say.
On our farm we went to work before 8 a.m. and worked until 5 or 6 in the fields and after supper we worked in our garden or mowing the lawn, etc. Those jobs that needed done but didn’t generate the cash to pay the bills. Monday through Saturday the procedure was repeated. What we were doing might change but not the time spent doing them. On Sunday we didn’t work. We went to church in the morning and after a Sunday dinner everyone rested as it was the Sabbath and the assigned day of rest. This was carried out summer, winter, spring and fall.
A farmer sees the dates and days on a calendar but he doesn’t give much notice to the days printed in red letters. Holidays were for the most part Sunday. I don’t recall us taking a day off to celebrate Memorial Day or Labor Day. The only ones I recall that affected the schedules were Thanksgiving and Christmas. We for many years celebrated the 4th of July as Grandpa Houser and his brother Archie were both born on the 4th. So the entire family gathered for a family reunion and a large birthday party. After both had passed away this holiday faded from our calendars.
Actually when, oh say, a Memorial Day arrived we were setting tobacco and we would get extra help from men off from the factories on that day. They were happy to lend a hand as help could get scarce and they were getting holiday pay from the factory so they celebrated by doing a little labor to help out. By this gesture we felt a holiday was in a way designed to benefit farmers and help them to get a little extra done on that day. Same way on Labor Day. We got a lot of tobacco cut and housed in the barns on that day. Maybe if our tasks at the time were in the fields and it was pouring rain we did get a holiday I guess. I don’t recall it ever raining on those holidays. As a matter of fact on Thanksgiving we stripped tobacco until noon and took a half day. The only holiday I remember being scheduled to take off was Christmas. I really don’t know why but I’m going with the obvious reasons for Christmas.
As a boy I just couldn’t understand why folks that work away from the farm got extra days off from their job. We didn’t and I thought in large part because we were just so dedicated to farming and these men who worked in factories just weren’t doing enough. Some years later I left farming and I found a job in town. I learned that comparing farm work to working in town was like comparing apples to oranges. At first when I was given a holiday off I went to the farm and worked hard and at first was seeing this from the farming side. But as time passed and more holidays passed and I got to take off the day, I actually did take the day off. And on top of that I enjoyed being off and didn’t feel guilty about it at all.
Many years have passed since I went to the field six days a week and work from early morning to sometimes past dark. A farmer is his own boss and how long or how short he works is all on his shoulders. There is nothing other than just how much do you care to accomplish in each day. In the world off the farm there is a time to start and to stop. We are expected to work on the average 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and there are 2 weeks’ vacation that is granted you. Anything and all things are done for the benefit of another person or persons. All that is asked is we work, the hours ask, and do a good job. If the business hits financial problem or needs to repair things it is not our obligation to worry. A farmer worries when things break etc. Therein lays the big difference.
So when I look at a calendar and see a day in red letter I get a little excited. I think to myself (oh boy I’ve only got a four day week to work.) Many of the holidays we get with family and celebrate the occasion or some days just putter around the house and enjoy our holiday. The bottom line is all the work was completed and the employer is happy as he has the day off also. This is such a far cry from rural living where every minute gained could possibly earn that farmer a little more. Neither side is wrong in approach but it can be very hard to understand. When I farmed it never crossed my mind I was missing out on off days as I didn’t care. Today however I certainly look forward to those days off. Let’s just say I have grown to accept the business ways approach. Bottom line is it is all in how we look at it.
Rick Houser was raised on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. He may be reached at [email protected].
