Elbert Dean Jr.,
Sophomore at Baird High School
In the early 1940's, we grew Spanish peanuts near Baird, Texas. Harvest began with plowing up the peanuts and leaving them in rows. After they dried, we piled them in stacks with a pitchfork. The owner of the thresher arrived with his machine four or five days later for threshing day. Neighbors who also grew peanuts arrived to help. Most of the time, the entire stack could be picked up and loaded onto horse-drawn wagons with a single lift of a pitchfork. A tractor provided the power for the thresher. Men bagged the peanuts in 50-60 pound burlap bags which we sold in Cisco to wholesalers. High in protein, the vines were baled for sale as a cash crop for feed. Every time the horse walked a circle, the bailer plunger made a complete cycle. During the cycle, workers pitched the peanut straw into the bailer case to be compressed by the next sweep. By compressing the bales and inserting wooden separators, room was allowed between bales to run bailing wire between bales and tie it off. When compression was released from the bales, the bale filled out the bailing wire tightly. At lunch, work stopped for a great meal provided by the farmer's wife and family. There was one bachelor with a big farm in the group. He hired someone to prepare his meal: What a feed! This threshing day was repeated at each of the farmers in the group until everyone's crop was harvested. (recollections by Elbert Dean, Junior)
