King Cotton
In the 40's and the 50's I grew up in a small community where farming and lumber were the main sources of income. Most of the kids were farm raised and their family worked the 20-40 acre plots to make a living. They grew up learning to work the farms and listening to stories of our parents and grandparents' farm.
Most of the plots were planted in cotton and occasionally you would see corn grown for livestock and corn meal for the family. Traveling down roads in north La. you would see many fields white with cotton and whole families working in the fields harvesting the crops. The cotton would be carried to the gins, sold and the money would be used to support the family for another year.
A lot of hard work went into producing a crop of cotton. With the invention of modern tools such as the cotton picker and rising prices small farms could no longer sustain a living for families. We have seen many young people who grew up on farms go on to become bigger and better farmers and others migrated to cities in search of jobs.
A lot can be contributed to the farmers who started with small family run farms. Every year you would see new equipment that was made to help the farmer improve and work larger acreage. A lot of the equipment you see at the museums today is the actual product used to produce cotton and other crops needed on the farms.
During the summers, I had an opportunity to work with some of the equipment you see here today. Older people can look at this equipment and remember what it was like to finish a long day in the fields. These museums are here to show what life was like on the farms and plantations. They show the process of growing cotton from the time the seed was planted to harvesting and to the gin where the product was baled and sold. So after you do your caching go thru the museum and see what life was like back in that era.
This cache is part of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission’s 70th Anniversary Geocaching Event. You will need to make note of the special code found in the front of the logbook. Enjoy
