In our travels around Oxford to capture hay bales, we ran across a cleared field that permitted a view to some still-standing tobacco barns. Not only are family farms quickly disappearing, but tobacco, once the most important cash crop of North Carolina, is disappearing even faster as the US economy has moved away from tobacco production for health and other reasons. While some tobacco is still grown throughout our region, most of tobacco production has shifted to overseas, Many of our regional farmers have elected to have their tobacco resources 'bought out' while they are are retrained to grow other crops -- such as horticulure crops -- niche foods, flowers, landscaping plants, etc.. So finding some tobacco barns still standing and viewable from the road without the need to trespass was a wonderful opportunity to capture yet another piece of passing history.
5 comments:
Another beauty. I think tobacco barns are so interesting too. I saw a lot of them in Kentucky also.
Lovely watercolor! I remember tobacco barns from when I would help during the harvest. My skill level only allowed me to hand clumps of tobacco leaves to the stringers who strung the clumps over wood poles so they could be hung in the barns to dry. Hard, hot work and very little money, though a fortune for a kid.
Beautiful job on the tobacco barns!! You find such interesting things to paint.
Hi Lin,
Yet another beautiful painting! As a teen I spent quite a few hours in barns like this hanging the green tobacco in preparation for curing... spent even more time on a tobacco harvester looping tobacco over wooden sticks! Ah, the good old days! I moved to the US as a teen from the UK...there were few summer jobs for teens there so when I found out I could work in tobacco I hastily signed on! Bought my first car with money from working in tobacco. Woo Hoo! Thought I was really something when I drove off in my own car! LOL!
Yes, lots of them still in KY. I keep hoping they will switch over to soy beans or corn!!! Not even sure if those would grow well here but they do in Indiana. Just a lovely pastoral scene Lin. Glad you were able to capture it.
Hugs,
Lorraine
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