Technology Had Little Impact on Tobacco Farming

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Hogsheads are huge wooden barrels. They were used until the late 1930s and were packed using vertical or horizontal prizes, which are large, hand-operated machines also made primarily of wood. Each tobacco stalk has “tips” at the top of the plant, and “seconds,” which are the first two rows of leaves nearest the ground. The rest of the leaves on the five-foot stalk form the main crop. These were usually made into “bundles” of 20 to 25 leaves ready for packing.

“There would be someone inside the [vertical] hogshead,” Lawrence said. “The bundles were packed with stalks to the outside. There was a definite pattern to the packing. You walked around on it and you could knee it.”

The hogsheads and prizes were later replaced with hinged wooden frame-like structures about four feet high and four feet wide that stood on a flat wooden woven basket-type structure. When the frame was full, a second basket was placed on the top, the frame was removed and the two baskets tied together, making a bale weighing about 250 pounds. Both the frames and the baskets were hand-made. The bales were then shipped to local warehouses for auction while preparation for the next crop was already underway.

Hand-stripping of tobacco stalks was a community event that involved family and friends getting together in the winter months to work and visit. The Farm-Life Museum tobacco barn features a typical setting for this event. Simple furnishings include low handmade wooden chairs, a wood stove and a small stove with an oven to keep up a supply of hot coffee and meal time goodies.

“The tobacco stripping room was usually part of the barn,” Irvanette said. “Some people built a separate place. It was done like this until quite recently — it was a family affair.” FC

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