tobacco stick fence

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errol

New Member
ok, I know many of you probably never heard of a tobacco stick! But I have sure handled alot of them in my younger days on my dads farm. they are just a stick, usually oak, hickory that when cutting tobacco time, the tobacco is spiked and hung on the sticks to dry.. anyways I found some old hand hewed tobacco sticks last week, got 600 of them and have begun to build a garden fence!! got 40 ft done today. here are some pictures...whatta ya think??

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:)
 

Gloria

Super Moderator
Staff member
I like it!! Great imagination Errol. I remember when I was a child, my brother, sister and I built stick houses out of the tobacco sticks (when they weren't in use). It would be complete with benches inside. I'm surprised you were able to find tobacco sticks..I would have thought they would be extinct by now. I haven't seen any in years!
 

lisa831

New Member
Errol your fence look good had not though to use them for that, Gloria my husband and son are cutting tobacco now.
 

errol

New Member
thank you everyone for the nice comments! Lisa831, I have cut many a stck of tobacco. I always did the spiking, could spike fast as 2 men could cut. but thats been along time ago!! I was born and raised in ky on my dads farm. hard work I can tell ya! I was raised in Simpson county ky. We milked 125-150 cows aday. thats how I met my wife, her dad hauled our milk.
 

Gloria

Super Moderator
Staff member
I've never heard it called "cutting" tobacco. It was refered to as cropping here. And I guess what you are calling "tipping" we called topping which was breaking out the top and any suckers on the stalk. Everything was done by hand back then. Funny how things change or differ from state to state. Buttt..this was way back when the tobacco was hauled in wheeless drays by mules to the barn, where it was "strung" on the tobacco sticks. I wasn't allowed to string..I was a hander. We put 3 leaves together and handed them to the stringer. Two handers to one stringer. There was no slow work going on, you'd have thought we were on a production line!!
Lisa, can you tell us how it's done today?? I'm curious to know the changes. I know there's a lot of machinery now.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Errol ,
Not sure where Simpson is but my husband is from Pikeville. Me I am a born, bred and raise Fl beach girl. :D Have seen tobacco in barns and field but never planted, tended or harvested.
 

Dar

New Member
Your fence is awesome. We just got some tobacco sticks and barn wood from my husband's grandfathers farm in Kentucky, trying to figure out what I can do with the sticks. I think I only got about 50 but there were stacks of them, may have to go back for more because I would love to do a fence like this around my garden. Great Job!!
 


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