Read it Again: Week of June 6, 2002

80 years ago this week. Investigation found that thousands of children between the ages of 9 and 15 are employed in the onion marshes in Hardin and other surrounding counties. Their labor does not comply with the modern ideas of employment. Bosses and overseers are using profane language when talking to the children, and the children are working 10-hour days. Investigation by Percey Tetlow and E.U. Whitacre found the children are also living in unsanitary conditions. They are living in sheds and shacks, are not properly nourished and are not attending school or church. Because the child labor laws do not apply to agriculture, Tetlow is asking the attorney general for a remedy.

Federal Prohibition Commissioner Hayes has ruled that dandelions are not a fruit. This means they cannot be legally used in making wine for family use, under the federal prohibition rules. Commissioner Hayes did not rule what the dandelion is however.

50 years ago this week. For distinguished success as a breeder of Ayrshire dairy cattle, Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Krahling of Hillshire Farm, Beloit, have been presented the the Constructive Breeder Award by the Ayrshire Breeders’ Association. On a strictly twice a day milking schedule, the entire herd of 11 head averaged 8880 pounds of milk. No less than 100 percent of the herd has been bred or owned by Krahling for the last four years.

A registered Jersey cow owned by Falklands Farm, Schellsburg, Pa., has earned the Gold Medal award of the American Jersey Cattle Club. The cow recently completed a production record of 12,259 pounds of milk containing 649 pounds of butterfat in 305 days at the age of 5 years.

Farmers are getting deeper into debt, according to F.P. Taylor, Jefferson County agricultural agent. Mortgages and notes are double what they were five years ago and increasing by about $1 billion a year. The brighter side of the picture is that farmers’ assets are also increasing, up $46 billion in six years to $143 billion. A Senate agricultural committee describes farmers’ financial position as a whole as being “sound.”

25 years ago this week. Orville Gutgesell was hit by a train at Fox Lake, Wis., while driving a modern Allis Chalmers tractor. He was hauling a manure spreader for the Green Giant Corporation and got so interested in something up ahead that he forgot he was crossing railroad tracks and that a train was bearing down. The locomotive made mincemeat of the engine part of the tractor. The back half and the manure spreader flew around and banged against the side of the engine. Not much was left of the spreader, and a battery crashed through the lower window, but Gutgesell, who was wearing a safety belt, escaped with some bruises and two cracked ribs. It’s likely that a photo of the tractor will be used by agencies promoting farm safety across the country.