by Gina Caswell Kelly
I do not normally write in first person because that is not “journalistic” writing. But, I wanted to write about the Farm Tour in first person because it was such an amazing event. In my opinion, quite possibly one of the best ever.
Sadly, there were not very many people there. This is a shame. Our Terry County Soil and Water Conservation District Board goes to a tremendous amount of trouble to put this event on. They have done this for the last 65 years! This is the longest continuously running Farm Tour in the State of Texas.
Your TCSWCD Board
Years ago, there would be as many as five or six bus loads of people taking off on the tour, which would travel throughout the County. This year, we all jumped on one bus. Of course, there was a good side to this. We all got to hear the stories from Monty Henson, Kyle King and Ray Gober. All great story tellers and great historians of agriculture. It was a worthy experience.
To sit and listen to Kyle talk about the early days of ginning to where we are now. To hear him telling the stories of his younger days and how he learned the ginning business from his dad, Alvin King, was a true blessing. You could see the past come alive with his telling. So very much has changed throughout the years. Not the least of which is the fact that there were once 24 cotton gins spread across the County. Today, four stand ready to open in this very light crop year this fall.
The reasons for the closings of these other gins are many, but tops among them is the fact that it is just too hard to make money in a smaller gin setting. Many have merged with others. Another reason is that more and more of our land is being taken out of cotton and put into other crops, in order for producers to try to find a way to survive.
Gins close to the farms were once a necessity with the hauling of cotton trailers. Now days, module trucks pick up modules from all across the County with much more convenience. Ray stated, “Back then, you needed your gin close to your farm because your trailer tires were not very good. They couldn’t handle long routes.” I know this is true. I hauled cotton trailers a good half-mile down the road to the now gone Gomez Gin when I first married. Trailer tires were whatever you could find that fit. They were not the best around, for sure! After all, you only needed them a few weeks of the year!
Kyle talked about the old days of the trailer suction. “You would dance with that suction pipe. You would move it around and back and forth in that trailer to get all the cotton out.” Those days are gone and cotton modules are not moved in on a feeder.
Kyle also talked about the advent of technology, of which he is not necessarily a fan! “I like things where you have a green button that says ‘Go’ and a red button that says ‘Stop.’ That is all the technology I wanted.” But times change and so does machinery and the technology associated with it. And certainly, Kyle and all the other Gin Managers and Ginners are grateful for the changes that have taken gins from processing 2 or 3 bales in an hour to processing as many as 40 to 50 and even more. “I used to make me a pallet and rest for the 20 minutes it took for that next bale to come out,” stated Kyle.
Reliable Gin owned by Herb Chesshir
As the bus traveled across the County, 60 miles worth, old gin sites were pointed out and stories told. Ronnie Seaton, who was on the tour, talked about growing up around Pool Gin and the people that worked there and what all he remembered from those days.
Monty talked about growing up in the Johnson and Gomez communities and the gins that are no longer there. He also told about the building of module builders when they first began to gain popularity. “We built 15 in just a few months. I didn’t think we could get it done. After we started building them, others began to build their own.”
Having watched my own husband build a module builder from the ground up in those days, I will have to say building 15 was quite a task. The welding, the measuring, the hydraulics. It was amazing to watch.
The tour would wind its way back to the Amphitheater and to a great meal prepared by the West Texas Young Farmers. The pork chops were an inch and a half thick and cooked to perfection! Meals by these guys never disappoint. The blue and gold of FFA was seen throughout the building as Terry County FFA members served the meal.
An amazing video was shown which highlighted some of our long-time farm families in Terry County. Megan King Day talked about growing up watching the gin run and how she loved the sights and the sounds as she would be in the gin plant with her dad, Kyle.
The Bingham family was represented as Cliff talked about the changes he has seen and how it has become necessary to diversify. Peggy, Cliff’s mom also spoke of the farm way of life.
The Neill family was also included with pictures of Grandfather Almos, Father Clay and the boys – Clint, Gabe and Cliff. The boys talked about missing their dad and grandad, but also about how much they rely on each other daily for encouragement, wisdom and just plain old shooting the breeze at the end of a tough day.
No Farm Family or any other type of awards were handed out this year. Let’s face it. This has just been a strange year all the way around and farming has certainly been impacted in this weird time in which we are living.
The Harvest Festival Queen Candidates in attendance were also introduced.
Sponsors honored included Ag Texas, Ronnie Hedges Insurance, Carter and Company Irrigation, South Plains Implement and Birdsong Peanuts.
You have a year to clear your calendar and make sure to attend this event next year. Agriculture is what built this County and is certainly what is keeping it going. I am making my mean face here. Get out to the Farm Tour next year! You will not be disappointed!
Support agriculture in all its forms!
Wear cotton.
Eat Beef.
Eat Peanuts.
Drink wine.
Pray for rain.
And get down on your knees each night and pray for these guys who do so much for so very little and pray for God’s grace and His wisdom to be showered upon them. And a shower of rain wouldn’t hurt either!
Andrew Furlow offering thanks before our meal
(Gin in the featured photo is the old Lahey Gin.)
