Diary of Arthur Bryan Bass

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Week of November 15, 1960

Tuesday, November 15, 1960
Another big fog this AM. Did not lift until 10AM.
Fair & warm.
Picking peanuts; slow still in field east of cherry tree.
Picking corn (Arthur).
Combining beans (Turner).
Discing and sowing oats in land in front of silo.
Sold tow loads peanuts. 3570 lbs @ 11.44 and 2707 @11.73.
Four men from town came in PM.

Wednesday, November 16, 1960
Fair & warm.
Picking peanuts completed the field east of the Goat pasture.
Picking corn completed the black bottom field.
Counted 27 new crop calves.
Sarah left this AM to spend the night at her mother’s housel she not so well.
3 men from town.

Thursday, November 17, 1960
Light rain before 7 AM.
Cloudy and warm balance of day.
Hauled up, baled peanut hay and fed cows with loose hay.
Picked Arthur Thigpen’s peanuts in PM; ½ day.

Friday, November 18, 1960
Cloudy and warm with Rain at 12:30 pm.
Rain at noon.
Picked Peanuts for Arthur, completed at 11:30 AM
Hauled up Hay and fed cows.
Turner went to football game; high school @ Hillsboro, NC.

Saturday, November 19, 1960
Fair and cool.
Peanuts, bean and corn too wet from yesterday and last night rain.
No one working.
I settled with Norville; final check 532.27
I settled with Thigpen; final check 145.87

Lewis did not come home for weekend.

Sunday, November 20, 1960
Fair and warm.
Sarah, Turner and I at home.
Turner and I were at farm all pm.
CALVARY CHURCH OBSERVED ITS 100 ANNIVERSARY TODAY.
About 7 PM Joe Reed phoned Sarah that her mother had a stroke and was unconscious and advised that she should come home. She and I left and spent the night. Returned Monday at 10AM.

Monday, November 21, 1960
Fair and warm.
Sarah and I back home at 10AM and Sarah left to go back to her mother’s home at 3:30 PM.
Picking peanuts on last field rear of cabin.
Picking beans and corn.
Two loads of peanuts to market.

The Edgecombe Bank new branch uptown opens today with open house tonight.

Week of November 8, 1960--Kennedy elected!

Tuesday, November 8, 1960
Fair and Cold, Big Frost this AM
½ inch of ice last night.
Picking peanuts completed Norville at 3 PM
Combining soybeans—David and Harper
Picking corn.
THIS IS ELECTION DAY: NIXON AND KENNEDY at 7PM it is very close.

Wednesday, November 9, 1960
Cloudy to Fair
Picking peanuts Henry Lyon’s Field.
Made very slow progress.
Combined beans and picked at cabin.
Some corn #1 field.
KENNEDY WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT: I don’t think much of him and did not vote for him.

Thursday, November 10, 1960
Light rain last nigh and today. Warm.
Hauling up peanut hay.
Bailing hay left in field.
Two loads soy beans sold to Super Grain at @.00
1 load peanut sold at $11.25.

Friday, November 11, 1960
Cloudy and Cold.
Scattering picker beds on field # 4 (Norville) and sowing multigrain oats in stack rows
(other part the oats [?])
Picking corn.
Started picking peanuts; completed field on road to Manning and started on east side of road @ the cherry tree.
Lewis came in from Raleigh for the weekend.

Saturday, November 12, 1960
Fair and cool.
½ day only.
Scattering picker beds so that can so oats.
Picking corn.

Sunday, November 13, 1960
Fair and warm.
Sarah, Turner and Lewis and I at home and spent at Farm as had expected to
Get someone to combine. No such luck. My help knew that I wanted this and left before I got out.  Sarah went out to see Whit Powell, B.W. B Sr. and Jimmie came by to see us.
Monday, November 14, 1960
Big fog this AM and fair and warm after fog raised.
Started picking peanuts late with three men from town.
Picked three loads of corn.
Sowed oats in stack rows. Fertilized with 5-10-10 (400).

Week of Nov. 1, 1960: Harvesting

Tuesday, November 1, 1960
Cloudy & Warm.
Cleaning up scrap iron pile and in orchard.
Dragging out water furnace in field. Rear of (?) house.
Started picking corn in field #1.

Wednesday, November 2, 1960
Fair and warm. Nice Day.
Started thrashing peanuts. Completed hill field and field in front of Dave Moore.
Fill holes in road with 420 tractor.
I attended dinner at club by Edgecombe County to all industries in Edgecombe.
Harvested 72 bags of peanuts.
Three men from Town.

Thursday, November 3, 1960
Fair and Cool. Nice fall day.
Picking peanuts ½ day.
Hauling up peanut hay to loft in town shelter.
Bailing hay.
Combining beans at mail box.
Six men from town.

Friday, November 4, 1960
Fair and Cool. Beautiful Day.
Picking peanuts. RH Norville Crop.
Bailing Lespedeza hay.
Hauling up peanut hay.
Combining beans at Mail Box west and east of lane.
Our peanut elevator is working fine. We hauled one load peanuts in bulk to Col. Peanut Company; sold at $11.15 per CWT 3100 lbs.
Six men from town.

Saturday, November 5, 1960
Fair and Cool. LAST DAY OF TARBORO’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
AND IT WAS A BIG DAY.
7 mile long parade started at 10AM. Big dinner on Commons.
Two white and two negro dances at night. Parachute drop from Fort Bragg.
Quiet day. No farm work.

Sunday, November 6, 1960
Fair and warm. Nice Day.
Sarah, Turner and I at home.
Turner and I fed cows and hogs. Everyone thanks our Birthday Party last night was Tops.
I went to BWB Sr. fro a visit.
Turner went to Raleigh to see Lewis. Left at 6 PM.

Monday, November 7, 1960
Fair and very cold. Windy. Our first cold day; only about 40 degrees but felt like 20.
Not enough labor to pick peanuts. Hauled up hay and hay to cows.
Cleaned up at picker beds.
Got started combining beans and picking corn after dinner.
Turner returned from Raleigh at 4 PM.

Week of Oct. 25, 1960: Tarboro's 200th Birthday Party

Tuesday, October 25, 1960
Fair and cool. Another beautiful day.
First thin ice this A.M.
Mowing Hay.
Cutting weeds on Lespedeza.
Fertilize oat land.
Started peanut picker; picked one bag and 1/2 bag off three stacks so I could check.
Moved machinery from about Nowell’s House and shop.

Wednesday, October 26, 1960
Cloudy and Cool. Ice this morning.
Picking corn.
Discing and harrowing for oats.
Sowing oats.
Norville completed picking his cotton. This cleans up the farm. Only three bales
Weighing 1590 lbs off seven acres.
One bushel to gin (Norville).

Thursday, October 27, 1960
Fair and Warm.
Curtis Tucker phoned me about 7PM that he is going to work at Hart Cotton Mill tomorrow.
Mowing weeds off Lespedeza with Roto Mower.
Turner got a 8m Belt from Ligget Gin to fix up a peanut elevator.

Friday, October 28, 1960
Cloudy and cool to 1 pm.
Light rain after and till tonight.
Tucker left as of 7AM to work in Hart Mill.
Combining early hill beans; 72 bags, 130 bushels.
Had 3 men from town to trim shrubbery and working on town shelter.
Odd jobs after dinner to keep labor; floor to pack house.
SOLD LAST OF TOB CROP. THANK GOD FOR A GOOD CROP. 10.23 acres; 22,524 lbs for $12,556.52.

Saturday, October 29, 1960
Fair and warm.
Arthur and Norman came up at 7 AM and I put them to work on center line of town shelter.
Curtis Tucker is moving.

Sunday, October 30, 1960
Sticker affixed to page:  
You Are Invited to
TARBORO”s
200th Birthday Party
Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 1960

Turner, Sarah and I at Home.
Wiley Walston met me at Farm and we talked about him coming back to work for me.
I attended services in the commons to open the birthday party. A big crowd. Looks like its going to be a big week.  The boys have done a good job on arrangements.
                                               
Monday, October 31, 1960
Misty. Rain all day.
Odd jobs; fixing gate, feeding place in hog pasture. Fixing peanut elevator.
Attended annual stockholders meeting as director of the National Farm Loan Association @ Armory with dinner at Deberrys and Directors meeting. Got to farm about 5 PM.

Week of October 18, 1960: Lamenting Loss of Pines

Tuesday, October 18, 1960
Fair and warm
Nice fall day
Completed fence on canal in hog pasture and started work on fence around lot house.
Mowing weeds off lespedeza.
Completed clover and rape in hog lots
Picked small amount corn.
Bought 30 square feet aluminum roofing from town @ $5.00 square.

Wednesday, October 19, 1960
Fair and warm.
Picking corn; it’s very slow as half is on the ground.
Picking up corn in the field on the highway that the picker has been over. Curtis and four boys.
Mowing with Roto mower.
The Georgia Pacific Lumber Co. completed cutting the pines.  I will miss them as long as I live. They were more than 70 years old but had not grown much in 25 years.

Thursday, October 20, 1960
Rain in AM; Fair PM. Warm.
No work in AM.
Building fence around the little house in lot occupied by David Briggs.
Only Curtis, Arthur, and Norman.

Friday, October 21, 1960
Fair and cool. Nice Day. First Fall Day.
Picking up corn, all hands in field #3.

Saturday, October 22, 1960
Fair and Cool. Beautiful Day.
Only Norman and Arthur working. Picking up corn in field #3 completed.
Job Savage came out to try the new ground plow he wants to sell.
Lewis came home for the weekend.

Sunday, October 23, 1960
Fair and Cool.
A Beautiful Fall day.
Dr. Spencer is 77 today.  We saw him at our house and Sarah and I went to see him.
Sarah’s family came over to see us, mother, four sisters and Will Allen Connell.
Lewis left at 9:30 for Raleigh.

Monday, October 24, 1960
Fair and Cool.
Another fine day.
Picking Corn.
Discing corn field for oats.
Norville sold last of his crop of tobacco today except some scrap which will tie up. 876 pounds at $505.80

Week of October 11, 1960: State Fair! Time Capsule!

Tuesday, October 11, 1960

Fair and Hot
Arthur, Norman, Junnie, Ray, Joe,
Street, Curtis, went to state fair in Carryall and Turner and I in the 54 Ford.
No Farm work.

[Editor’s note: A clipping from the Tarboro Daily Southerner from this date was also placed in the journal.  A transcription follows:

Town Council Gives Approval Of Time Capsule

The Town Council last night gave full support to a plan to bury a “time capsule” on the Town Common as part of the town’s 200th birthday celebration. 

Mayor Herbert Bailey told councilmen that the Long Manufacturing Co. will construct and contribute a heavy steel box in which pictures and letters to future generations of Tarboreans will be placed.  The box then will be painted with a preservative, coated with tar, and buried in the Common.  Above it will be placed a stone or metal marker telling of the box and its contents and with instructions that it not be opened until the celebration of the town’s 300th birthday. 

Churches, civic and fraternal organizations will be permitted to place a “reasonable” amount of material in the box at no charge.  However, to offset expenses a charge of one dollar will be made for material placed by individuals.]

Wednesday, October 12, 1960
Fair and Hot
Arthur plowed up his peanuts.
½ day & breaking up lot in rear of hog house in pm.
Building bob [barb] wire fence to divide the sub soiled field
so that cows can graze ½ & ½ to be harvested for lespedeza land.

Thursday, October 13, 1960
Fair and Hot
Completed fence in center of sub soiled field
Started work on fence up grave yard lot
Broke up grave yard lot to sow for hogs
Norville sold Tobacco in Rocky Mount
1074 lb-$688.60 good sale

Friday, October 14, 1960
Fair and Hot
Turner and I went to Atlantic Beach as I wanted to attend
at town board to discuss the building of a sea wall
Left @ 7:30 back @ 5pm
Worked on fence in grave yard lot
and started picking corn after dinner

Saturday, October 15, 1960
Fair and Hot
Picking corn
Sowing oats in lot,
Rear of hog house and cemetery lot

Sunday, October 16, 1960
Cloudy with showers- warm
No fire in house nice outside
Turner, Lewis, Sarah and I @ house
Sarah does not feel very well and has been in bed from 2pm.

Monday, October 17, 1960
Fair and Cool
Norville sold Tobacco in Rocky Mount
786 lb- $492.80
Sowing clover and rape in lots for hogs
Building fence along canal in hog pasture
Started picking corn late in afternoon

Week of October 4--Sowing cover crops

Tuesday, October 4, 1960
Cloudy to Fair. Shower Monday night.
Sowing Rye for Cover Crop
Discing and Harrowing for Cover Crop
Curtis and David removed radiator from 400 Tractor for repairs
Arthur putting up stack rows in his peanut crop
Stacking peanuts in Henry Lyon’s field
Last field of wage peanuts
Stacking with wage labor

Wednesday, October 5, 1960
Fair and warm
Completed stacking all wage peanuts
(Arthur has his four acres to dig)
(Norville has completed his ten acres)
Sowing rye and oats for cover
Fertilize 400 pounds per acre on Norville peanut land to be put in oats
Started installing corn snapper on M tractor

Thursday, October 6, 1960
Fair and Hot
Lewis came home for this night only.
Replaced radiator on 400 tractor (it had been fixed).
Placed corn snapper on M tractor
Disc and harrowed land for oats
Planting oats for cover and for combining

Friday, October 7, 1960
Cloudy to fair and cool
Started picking corn
Planting oats for combining
Completed cover crop. Oats oversowed with rye and wheat
Norville and Turner went to Rocky Mount with tobacco

Saturday, October 8, 1960
Rain all day—Warm
No farm work.
Turner went to Raleigh to see Lewis
I was going to go to Raleigh with Joe Powell to a
football came but we called it off due to bad weather.

Sunday, October 9, 1960
Cloudy and warm
Sarah and I at home.
Curtis went to Durham.
Lift stack (?)

Monday, October 10, 1960
Cloudy and Warm
Rebuilding fence at west side of hog pasture
Cleaning out Hog house