Along for the Ride

I have to admit I miss the rides to the Co-op during the fall harvest, especially when the kids were little. Whenever it was time to haul corn in to the old AgriLand Co-op elevator located off of Forest Avenue I secretly hoped my husband would draw the truck driving duties.

Armed with storybooks and a blanket (depending on whether the heater in the old red truck worked or not) we hitched a ride into town when the combine filled the truck to overflowing. Back then the intersection of Hickory and Pioneer Road didn't have a stop and go light and we timed our trips to the Co-op to miss the shift changes at Mercury Marine. You can't get a jack-rabbit start with a grain truck hauling 16 tons of corn.

From the vantage point of the cab, the kids loved watching the grain disappear into the underground holding vat. It was hard for them to imagine the corn being fed into the dryer and then into the large silver holding bins. If we had to wait in line behind an assembly of grain trucks and tractors pulling gravity boxes, we fogged the windows by singing every song in the Disney Movie hit list. If we had to wait more than an hour, we often resorted to Tennessee Ernie Ford's classic "16 Tons".

Once the empty truck was weighed, they fought over who could go into the office to get the weight sheet. Please note that the boys hadn't the least interest in corn tonnage, but rather what color sucker they would get from the red, plastic fire hydrant by the door.

Back then it didn't take much to entertain the kids. Today.....it's another story.