There was a time when $3 per hour was a decent rate of pay.
Granted that was 45 years ago. The work was hard, the heat relentless, but many a farmer would enlist local kids or extended relatives to get the hay in. Depending on the operator, each of those little square bales ranged from 30 to 50 pounds.
Over the course of a summer with a first and second cut, thousands of bales left the field, hiked an elevator and were placed in the mow. The work was monotonous and sweaty.
In between loads a rest under the canopy of a maple tree and water from a jug prepared workers for the next round.
Looking back, all that effort built character and a sense of stubbornness that follows us to today. Keeping time with the baler, loading a wagon properly as to avoid it falling off the rack, placing it on the elevator so the bales stayed tied and packing the mow as straight and true as possible ensured safe storage. Every step had a purpose.
In a larger sense, this willingness to work produced many positives. Come pay day, there was a pocketful of spending money, of which some would get saved and often a portion would be attributed to a bigger goal – a new bike, money towards a first car or extras that didn’t factor into household basics. The dream of a first 10-speed would take 33 hours of slugging at $3 per hour as an example. It proved to be the starting point for independence and choice.
Those early lessons are something our youngest is starting to learn. At 13, there’s plenty of work on the farm or in the mailroom to learn the significance of goals, time and what it takes to get ahead. Instead of strictly talking price, we now communicate on hours needed to achieve something. It’s been quite rewarding since the summer began, to see the wheels turn and watch his short-term goals come to fruition.
For today’s young worker, $3 looks like chump change, but it used to buy a Big Mac meal, a movie ticket or a pack of smokes.
All these years later, with a minimum wage rate of $16.20 for students, quick math suggests wages are up at least five times, but costs have risen too. An hour gets today, what an hour got in our formative years. There are always exceptions, but in general we found that revelation interesting.
Time is money; spend it wisely and earn what you have.
