DAY 6: Saturday Oct 25th:
Becky Picking Cotton


Here's the video:

3.6mb Video of Becky Picking Cotton


The Becky Picking Cotton video is one of the best because it has everybody talking about how cotton is picked. Kate explains that everybody had their own method of cotton picking and that the better pickers could do it "two fisted" down the center of a row, picking from each side. She had to pick cotton when she was a child. Bob asks about the "still closed" cotton balls that are only the hard shell, if they'll open up eventually. Lynnwood is starting to explain that they will never open, that at this point they'll just harvest what cotton they can rather than wait for the remaining closed ones to open and therefore lose all the cotton that is already opened up.




Becky: So would you pick up a whole handfuls and put it back or what would you do?

Kate: Oh, Everybody has their own technique.

Lisa: Oh, so there's special techniques for ...

Warren Lee: You're pretty good! You got the whole bowl in one grab! You're pretty good!

Kate: If you were *really* good, Becky, what you would do is pick two rows at a time, you'd get in the middle ...

Becky: Oh really?

Kate: That's right, you've got it!

Becky: Oh can I try that?

Lisa: Double fisted?

Kate: Yeah.

Becky: Wow, and then who gets the seeds out?

Warren Lee: The cotton gin

Lisa: Oh so you just put the whole thing in and it, like, sorts it out?

Warren Lee: U-huh.

Becky: And how much would a bag weigh when you're done?

Kate: Well, it would depend ...

Becky: On how wet it was?

Kate: U-huh.

Warren Lee: The kids had smaller bags and the adults had bags like the one poppa had.

Kate: And if there was dew, you know, when we were picking we always liked to pick in the morning cause the dew's on the cotton and it weighed ...

Warren Lee: Now, how much cotton did you pick?

Kate: 3 pounds.

Warren Lee: Well there's nobody here to dispute what you're saying, is there.

Kate: Well, you can ask my mother!

Warren Lee: Hah hah, I will, I am.

Becky: Now where ...

Warren Lee: Hah hah, how much ..

Kate: She made all of us go out and pick, except Jim, which made us all mad, because he was allergic, so he got to stay at home! And the rest of us were out pickin'.

Bob: so this stuff is not ready yet, that has ...

Kate: The bowls.

Bob: And we're hoping that they'll open ...

Becky: Am I picking up too much cotton?

Kate: No! (to Becky)

Lynnwood: These never will open, Bob, this ...

Becky: Am I cutting into your income here?

Lynnwood: Now what he did, he came in here ...

Ripley 2003 Trip Page
Lisa's Travelogue Pages