Growing up in Willows, a small community in the Sacramento Valley that was centered around farming, most the people worked in some kind of business associated with agriculture. There were the farm equipment dealerships, fuel distributors, warehouses, fertilizer companies, financial institutions, and of course the farm labor force. Back in the 1960's when I spent my summers between high school years working for my dad or another farmer, when my dad did not have anything for me to do, most the labor was either family members, friends of the family or local men that were called Oakies, but never to their face, unless you were looking for a fight. Many of these people were from the southern plain states, some had been farmer themselves, went broke and moved to California in search of work. They earned hourly wages working seasonally for different farmers depending on the crops. Some of them had drinking problems and spent a good amount of time in the local bars and taverns, where they were usually hired when a farmer would come into these establishments looking for help. From experience some were very good at operating different types of equipment, had mechanical skills from overhauling diesel engines, welding and doing other repairs. Those that worked full-time and were in supervisory positions usually earned $500/month, no matter how many hours they worked. Seasonal employees earned between $1.50 to $2.00/hour depending on experience and during rice harvest earned $25/day no matter the hours worked. There was no law requirements to pay overtime.
When row crops, such as tomatoes were ready to harvest by hand, Mexican labor was contracted through the Bracero program, where migrant labor from south of the border had to live in farm labor camps. Farmers would drive to the camps and transport the pickers to the fields. They had their own foreman that could speak Spanish and the pickers were paid by the pound as each box of tomatoes were weighed before being stacked on the truck for shipment to the cannery in Woodland.
When I left the army in 1968 my dad was out of the farming business due to financial problems and living in Stockton. A friend of my dad offered me a job on his rice farm south of Willows, but I declined the offer thinking back on the farm labor I had been acquainted with involving long hours and low wages. .
Many came west and worked as "fruit tramps" during the Great Depression. For a good read, check out the book by David Price called "$35 and a Dream" about the Maddox Brothers and Rose. It's a great story of their journey and how Rose Maddox became the "Sweetheart of Hillbilly Swing."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Cadillac Desert", published in 1987, I remember reading something to the effect, farmers owning under 100 or 500 acres in 60's & 70's in N. California were being bought out or run out, by the state or larger farmers as the water issues were coming into being. Rice crops take a large amount of water. It was a difficult time for Dad. Wish I would have known that then.
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