Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited
Return to career-consulting-limited.com
People |
|
|
 |
Growing Up On A Delaware Farm
Growing up on a Delaware farm was a wonderful and rewarding experience for me. I grew up in an area where a couple of dozen families in an area of about hundred square miles had farmed, married each other and been a stable community for centuries, along Delaware Rout One just north of Lewes. In my early youth, I grew up on a farm where we had 33 cows, 18 we milked twice a day, 3 horses, some chickens, 60 acres of corn, hay and pasture. It was a farm that my maternal grandparents owned. There were barns, tractors, long hours and Sundays in church. We grew corn, hay and pasture. We had a large garden and some fruit trees. We hunted, foraged, and grew what we ate and used in most cases. We ate duck, goose, pigeon, muskrat, fish, crabs, shell fish, groundhog, mustard greens, collards, wild garlic, onion, persimmons, wild cherry, wild strawberries, blueberries, figs, mint, wild carrots, herbs and wild spices. We had plenty of beef, chicken, milk, cream and our own homemade butter, as well as at least two kinds of handmade soap. We cooked on a woodstove which also heated the house. I slept under quilts and on feather beds that were over a hundred years old. We had a little coal furnace but coal was expensive and that was only for the coldest times. We had electric and a phone too. We shucked and shelled corn, some of which we traded to neighbors for pork, veal or turkey. I lived on my grandparent's farm and my great grandmother lived with us as well. My grandmother and great grandmother were both school teachers by profession. I was doted upon, taught and encouraged to read several hours a day. The home was filled with old books and I was the only student they had at home. In the attic were books handed down through the family from the 1500's and since. We lived on land, some pieces of which had been in our family ownership for hundreds of years and is now divided down from thousands of acres to small pieces. We lived much the same as people lived on farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Yet, we had phone and TV, neither of which was used much. My grandfather taught me much; to milk cows by hand and by machine and much more. I shoveled tons of sloppy manure, fed the cows and horses and learned to carpenter, make tools, and to keep things repaired. I learned to make do and keep it going. I learned to mend harness, to render pine resin from the sap of local trees and mix it with bee's wax to treat the home-made linen thread that was used to mend harness. I learned to do minor animal surgery such as castration, dehorning and at least once I helped pull an infected tooth in a cow. I learned to make my own knife at age 4. By 5 I was driving the old Ford some. At 6, I was able to drive the tractors and the truck. By 7 I could work a full day in the field by myself driving the largest tractor Dad had. Dad bought the adjacent farm when I was five and later bought several other adjacent or nearby farms and timber land as it came available. He eventually owned and rented over 3,000 acres by the time I left the farm. We lived well from Dad's industrious work and his advanced techniques. My grandparents were not very modernized. Dad was not a usual person for his time either. He was 20 to 50 years ahead of his time in farming. I helped out on Dad's farms once I started school. By eleven I worked at least 20 hours a week during the school year, often 40. By age 12 my summer weeks were typically 60 hours or more and sometimes over 100 hours. I tried to go for 120 to 130 hours a week for the added money. Many nights I slept in the dirt, in the field, to eliminate going home to sleep so I could make more money. I learned to go to sleep in a matter of seconds and to be up, dressed and working in less than four minutes when I slept at home. Summertime, when there was no school, and being paid for the long hours I worked -- I made considerable income even at the low hourly wage. I saved most of it. I didn't have much time or opportunity to spend it. As a teenager, I made more, many months than some grown men of our area and I had few expenses. We didn't work all the time but we enjoyed work. I don't recall anyone that didn't like working. I arranged to do the hardest and least popular jobs, mostly hauling hay and irrigation. Doing the hardest jobs gave me job security. We got Sunday's off to go to the little country church that our family founded and built on the farm. We worked hard and loved the work and the life it earned us! Dad, ahead of his time, had irrigation, high density crops, no-till farming, airplanes to spray the crops, and used every modern or experimental tool and technique available or being tested. As a youngster, I was accustomed to Dad being in or on the cover of some magazine nearly every month it seemed. Some of the things he helped pioneer 30-40 years ago are becoming customary and ordinary now, some will be more common later. Dad grew his farm from nothing and by the time I was a teen he was farming over 3,000 acres, seeking to profit from the economies of scale and mechanization. Smaller farmers were often making far less than minimum wage by the 70s. He rented thousands of acres of farm land but owned many hundreds of acres of tillable land as well. Sure I miss the rural farming that I grew up in. We decided, several years too late, to sell most of our farm land into development when the government decided to make pawns of farmers, farms and farm products. First went the domestic farm commodities market with one crop after another and then in the international market with the corn, wheat, soybean debacles with Russia and China - where our government contracted to feed the USSR and China for decades with our farm products. This contractual agreement multiplied the need and value of American farm products. The smell of diesel fuel may be the smell of life in some cases. I don't like the smell of it either and starting at 7 years old I pumped a lot of it into our tractors and burned it long hours as I drove those tractors. It's probably some sort of illegal activity to let kids work on the farm today. There was a lot more diesel in the air before the developments were here. The tractors are gone now for the most part. And they seldom wake up the late rising city folks anymore. Our democratic interests don't allow any manufacturing down here in Sussex so we have no high income support base. The highest income employment we have is banking and outlet manager jobs. Other than that we have self employment, waiting on tables, minimum wage and production based income and it's not usually farming. We have a few, very few people who have been able to stay here and serve non-farm interests. Few remain who still farm and those few have either other income, extreme government subsidy with our tax dollars of some sort or will be gone soon. Copyright 1999-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com Source of this article: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/growingupfarm.html
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at CMS CMS Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers BASF Careers Fred Hutch News Service Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers Washington State University US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group Vivek Ramaswamy indicates massive federal government job cuts in US Business Standard UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Careers City of Scottsdale Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA How to Apply FEMA Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Careers KPMG Join our team FHI 360 Jobs And Careers | VA Albany Health Care | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs BCG X Careers | Building Tomorrow and Beyond Boston Consulting Group Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider Mayor Adams Launches Multi-Pronged Effort to Connect More New Yorkers to Jobs and Training, Reduce B nyc.gov Work with Us JPMorgan Chase Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Career Paths FEMA Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota The 16 Best Jobs for Creative & Restless ADHD Brains ADDitude magazine Mental health at work World Health Organization The 20 Most Stressful Jobs U.S News & World Report Money The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024 The Australian Financial Review Benefits for the whole you Accenture Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily JobFeed NSW Department of Education Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Current opportunities Turner & Townsend The 10 Most Enjoyable Jobs for Older Workers U.S News & World Report Money AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. International Monetary Fund 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond HBR.org Daily Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) Careers at Campari Group Campari Group 8 global issues shaping and driving job creation World Economic Forum Jobs Energy.gov Careers at King County King County More and more jobs can be done from anywhere. What does that mean for workers? World Economic Forum Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Transform a Boring Note Into A Killer Cover Letter - Part I The AIDA formula is as old as dirt. It was taught when I was in school over a decade ago. 7 Secrets of a Highly-Effective Resume Cover Letter Just like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, the "humble" cover letter gets no respect.Job-seekers spend so much time and energy on their resumes they've got nothing left to offer their poor, neglected cover letters. 5 Things Every New Caterer Should Know It has been over twenty five years since I started a small catering company that specialized in International Tapas, tiny silver trays of finger foods to delight the eyes and satisfied the stomach. These little morels were tasty, light and filling. What Your Guidance Counselor, Career Counselor, and Own Mother Probably Never Told You... The alarm clock jars you awake at some insanely early hour. As you hit the snooze button you think, "there's gotta be a better way to make a living. Troubleshooting Your Job Search OK. You've posted your resume online. 175 Power Verbs and Phrases for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews While you're revamping your resume or cover letter or constructing your proof-by-example stories for interviews, you'll find you need to watch your word choice. Why? Communication is powerful if the words we use to communicate are powerful. 60 Hour Work Weeks - Can You and Your Career Survive Them In the 80s while I was an account executive for AT&T most people in my organization worked normal (for then) business hours. By that I mean they arrived close to 8 or 8:30AM and left between 5 and 5:30PM. Writing A Great Resume, Part 2 TIP: Update your resume often. Be sure to add details of any training course, new interests and areas of responsibility. When the Teacher Becomes the Student A relationship expert once said that during an argument, there's usually three sides to every story: his side, her side, and of course, the truth.This is something we must definitely keep in mind as teachers. Home Healthcare Careers One of the fastest growing sectors of the medical industry is that of home health. There are many reasons for this growth, but most important are:The number of aging and infirm citizens in the country. Talented People I was asked last week for an article about employment, "What is your favorite 'employment phrase'?"Wow, talk about tough questions! What sprang to mind were all the phrases that people should avoid like the plague, so I had to do some fast thinking to come up with one that I loved. After mentally narrowing down my options, I settled on one: 'talented people'. How to Tell if You are Fired and Just Dont Know It No one should be fired and be surprised about it. There are always warning signs. Sample Resume Objectives: What They All Tend To Miss Sample resume objectives. When a harried and possibly panicked job seeker finds one he thinks is good, he feels like the drowning man who just got rescued. "How to Look Your Best in a Down Economy" As you know too well ~ many jobs have been lost during the turn down in our economy over the last several years. Important sectors as well as entire industries have felt the challenges of lost profits and reduced staff. The Changing Values Landscape of the U.S. and How It Impacts Midlife Job Searchers Imagine a huge river that has been flowing for centuries: See the thick underbrush that has grown up on either edge of the river's expansive banks and the moss-lined stones that litter its shallow edges. Feel the power of water so deep and so strong because it has been pulsing through this landscape since the Renaissance, yet now this mighty river approaches a "Great Divide" such as has never been seen before in human history. Networking Masterclass - Part 1 - Practicing Empathy Practicing Empathy A vital part of your networking skills is your ability to build rapport quickly and effectively with others. To build rapport successfully with another individual you need to understand 'where' they are coming from and have 'empathy' with them. Have Enough Money to Change Careers - Five Key Steps At every talk I give, I ask the audience to tell me the reasons why people don't change careers. The most common answer given each time is "lack of money. What Exactly Online Recruitment Agencies Do? Any online recruitment agency can help you to submit for vacancies to the agency by employers.Online recruitment agencies are used by employers for many purposes. How To Get That Promotion If you're looking for that promotion or pay rise then you'll need to be noticed by your employer, so here's a few tips to stand out from the crowd:Have a Friendly & Positive attitude towards Everyone you come into contactProvide Service and treat Everyone as your customerBe Professional at all timesAlways look for extra work, especially when others are ducking for cover to avoid itWatch what your colleagues are doing, copy from the ones who are receiving praise for their efforts but learn to do it better than them, while avoiding doing what your "lazier or negative" colleagues are doingBe a Thinker and offer suggestion on how to do things better and more efficientlyPlan and follow your planDon't Procrastinate, do what needs to be done NOW!!Think ahead, when ask to do A & B, do C as wellAnticipate the next question and provide the answer before you're askedDress and Act as if you were already in the position you want to reachGo to lunch with successful people and learn from themDon't be afraid to ask questions and ask for helpAvoid Office PoliticsBe an Individual while being a team playerLearn everything about your company and productsFollow these tips and you won't need to ask for a promotion or extra money, it will happen automatically.Garry Munro is a successful consultant, speaker & coach. Job Lead Websites To Use in Your Telecommuting Search Let me ask you a question: are you tired ofusing job sites only to find scam after scam? I bet you're noddingyour head in agreement to that question. I know that I was sickand tired of spending all my time online searching fortelecommuting jobs only to find scams.
|
|
|
| © Career Consulting Limited.com 2011
|