A Family Tradition

This past Tuesday I got to check something off of my bucket list… stripping tobacco, during my short stay at Penn Manor I have become fascinated with the tobacco crop, something that my students are extremely familiar with and I was determined to learn more about.

We arrived at the farm a little before 5:30 and I was eager to learn all about the tobacco process. Lancaster County is know for its tobacco growth and I quickly learned that the Eshbach farm was the perfect place for me to get a schooling about tobacco. It is a generational family tradition to grow tobacco and it is something that I believe will carry on through the next generation of the family.

Prior to leaving school I had checked at my students record books and saw several times he had wrote that he was "putting down", naturally I was curious and had not idea what this meant. I asked my cooperating teacher who told me that would be a great question to ask Jonathon, the student I was going to visit.

When we arrived at the farm we headed to the tobacco cellar where Jonathon was " putting down" tobacco into the damp cellar so it would begin to draw in moisture and be ready for stripping in a few days. Once this task was complete the student became the teacher as he began to answer my questions about the tobacco cellar and quality grading of the product. Between him and his father they quickly found me examples of what the leaves should look like and feel like when they are ready to be stripped

I was quickly put to work as 10 lath worth of tobacco were brought in to be stripped for the night. Jonathan and I got to work as he showed me how to strip the viable leaves from the stalk and determine what quality they were. The quality of the leaf determines weather it will be a wrapper, binder, filler, or straight strip product.

I got straight to work, attempting to model the stripping techniques and grading quality I was just taught by my student. As I began to get a hang of the process I began asking Jonathon questions about the growth, type, harvest, and storage of the leaves.

Jonathon was highly knowable about the process and would often verify facts with his father who was helping to strip as well.

This family farms 43 acres of tobacco… let that sink in… 43 acres of one of the most labor intensive crops. Jonathan told me that it is a year round process, they are almost done stripping last years crop and last week they seeded the greenhouse and will be planting in a few short weeks as the cycle begins again.

I could go on and on about the information and process I eagerly learned about, but what did I really learn and reflect from this visit?

At the end of the day the time spent on SAE visits is priceless… 

As I reflect on this visit it continues to amaze me, the true power of SAE. 

This student was out of his element, we all know the drill, dads in charge and all questions are directed to him, but this time Jonathon had to know his stuff, he had to be able to explain the process to me in detail. It was amazing to see him struggle and really have to think about the process and the why of it all. This two hour visit stretched Jonathan just a little bit out of his comfort zone as he analyzed the process and taught me about this crop. He was excited to see me struggle and work to make connections as I took a stab at the stripping and bale making process.

In addition, I didn't just learn about tobacco on this visit, I learned about this students life, I met his father and sister, I saw his after school responsibilities, and most importantly I made connections with this students interest and passions… connections that will never be lost.

Farming tobacco is not just a job, chore, or work, it is a way of life, it is a family tradition and he doesn't even know it yet, its just what they do.