Ping, ping, ping. For kids growing up in Carlton in the 1970's and 80's, no sound could make you feel more despondent than the sound of those first few berries hitting an empty picking can. In my memory I see legions of us rubbing bleary eyes riding our bikes down the streets in the first light of dawn, grass still covered with dew. In reality, it was just all the kids I hung out with. We'd hit the fields hard and early because by the time the sun was high in the sky we wanted to have enough money to get into the Carlton pool and buy something at main street market. At night we'd lay out in our yards, or up in our beds with rows and rows of berries haunting our vision. The fields don't hire children anymore and though I can certainly see why (we threw and ate more berries than we weighed by far) it still makes me sad for the generations of American youth who are growing up without the availability of consistent piece work. When kids come into hopscotch with their own money I always ask them what they did to earn it. The answers are varied, birthday money, tooth fairy money, went potty in the toilet, good grades, cavity free dental visit, but the kids who just beam are the kids who have worked hard for those dollars. It means more to them because they did good work and received a wage for it. Our house is here in town, not a farm, but we have lots of fruiting trees and shrubs. First the strawberries come on, then the cherries, then the raspberries, marionberries, blueberries, blackberries, plums, apricots, pears, and finally apples. We pick and process as much of it as we can, and the kids are all required to help. My kids, my sisters kids, they all get paid a dollar for each Nancy's Yogurt container they pick full of blueberries. They also get to enjoy blueberry pancakes, muffins, pies and smoothies through the year, but that's just a fringe benefit. The real benefit goes to us as their parents because they have hard earned pocket money to learn to manage. We have blueberries in the freezer, and the corner store has a steady stream of customers with their own money jingling in their pockets.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Piece Work A Plenty
Ping, ping, ping. For kids growing up in Carlton in the 1970's and 80's, no sound could make you feel more despondent than the sound of those first few berries hitting an empty picking can. In my memory I see legions of us rubbing bleary eyes riding our bikes down the streets in the first light of dawn, grass still covered with dew. In reality, it was just all the kids I hung out with. We'd hit the fields hard and early because by the time the sun was high in the sky we wanted to have enough money to get into the Carlton pool and buy something at main street market. At night we'd lay out in our yards, or up in our beds with rows and rows of berries haunting our vision. The fields don't hire children anymore and though I can certainly see why (we threw and ate more berries than we weighed by far) it still makes me sad for the generations of American youth who are growing up without the availability of consistent piece work. When kids come into hopscotch with their own money I always ask them what they did to earn it. The answers are varied, birthday money, tooth fairy money, went potty in the toilet, good grades, cavity free dental visit, but the kids who just beam are the kids who have worked hard for those dollars. It means more to them because they did good work and received a wage for it. Our house is here in town, not a farm, but we have lots of fruiting trees and shrubs. First the strawberries come on, then the cherries, then the raspberries, marionberries, blueberries, blackberries, plums, apricots, pears, and finally apples. We pick and process as much of it as we can, and the kids are all required to help. My kids, my sisters kids, they all get paid a dollar for each Nancy's Yogurt container they pick full of blueberries. They also get to enjoy blueberry pancakes, muffins, pies and smoothies through the year, but that's just a fringe benefit. The real benefit goes to us as their parents because they have hard earned pocket money to learn to manage. We have blueberries in the freezer, and the corner store has a steady stream of customers with their own money jingling in their pockets.
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