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National Cotton Picking Championship, Arkansas
This digital story recording was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and its Stories from Main Street student documentary initiative, called "Stories: Yes." The project encourages students and their mentors to research and record stories about small-towns and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, as well as thoughts about American democracy. These documentaries are then shared on Smithsonian websites and social media.
Recorded by Buffalo Island Central High School, EAST Students, in conjunction with the Buffalo Island Museum, Arkansas.
Jerry McAfee shares this amazing story about competitive cotton picking! He and his brother both competed and won in the 1950s in Arkansas.
This story is part of Buffalo Island Central EAST's online story map From Swamp to Farmland and exhibits at the Buffalo Island Museum, which both trace the the history of agriculture in the area.
Jerry McAfee (00:04): Dad raised us to be cotton pickers. I went on to be a junior worlds champion cotton picker. And my other brother went on to be the world’s champion. We won it two years in a row, 1954 and 1955. Cotton picking contest was called National Cotton Picking Contest at Blytheville.
Jerry McAfee (00:23): Each year, they would have it and you would pick two hours and they would judge you on how clean you pick it, and how many pounds you got and how clean the roll was. Not only was the cotton being clean. You didn't mean if you got the most cotton, that didn't mean you won. They would go through it and make sure, some guy would go out there and pull it, might get the most of it, but that didn't mean he should win. So dad raised us to pick cotton cleanly so we didn't have any trouble.
Jerry McAfee (00:51): When we went to enter the cotton picking contest, all we did is what our father told us to do. My brother went on to win the cotton picking contest one more time, but he came in second, all the rest of the time. My brother came down here from Michigan. What happened was he came down and he said, Jerry, let's go pick cotton today. So we got up real early, and we picked all day and picked as much as we could.
Jerry McAfee (01:16): He picked 604 pound and I picked 402 pound. He said, let's go to that cotton picking contest tomorrow. I said, there ain't no use for me going, you picked 200 pound more than I did. Didn't know it was a junior division. And that was the next day we won. But that brings back very good memories. And in Monette, in the museum is some articles about that contest.
Asset ID: 2018.20.21
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By The PealeThis digital story recording was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and its Stories from Main Street student documentary initiative, called "Stories: Yes." The project encourages students and their mentors to research and record stories about small-towns and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, as well as thoughts about American democracy. These documentaries are then shared on Smithsonian websites and social media.
Recorded by Buffalo Island Central High School, EAST Students, in conjunction with the Buffalo Island Museum, Arkansas.
Jerry McAfee shares this amazing story about competitive cotton picking! He and his brother both competed and won in the 1950s in Arkansas.
This story is part of Buffalo Island Central EAST's online story map From Swamp to Farmland and exhibits at the Buffalo Island Museum, which both trace the the history of agriculture in the area.
Jerry McAfee (00:04): Dad raised us to be cotton pickers. I went on to be a junior worlds champion cotton picker. And my other brother went on to be the world’s champion. We won it two years in a row, 1954 and 1955. Cotton picking contest was called National Cotton Picking Contest at Blytheville.
Jerry McAfee (00:23): Each year, they would have it and you would pick two hours and they would judge you on how clean you pick it, and how many pounds you got and how clean the roll was. Not only was the cotton being clean. You didn't mean if you got the most cotton, that didn't mean you won. They would go through it and make sure, some guy would go out there and pull it, might get the most of it, but that didn't mean he should win. So dad raised us to pick cotton cleanly so we didn't have any trouble.
Jerry McAfee (00:51): When we went to enter the cotton picking contest, all we did is what our father told us to do. My brother went on to win the cotton picking contest one more time, but he came in second, all the rest of the time. My brother came down here from Michigan. What happened was he came down and he said, Jerry, let's go pick cotton today. So we got up real early, and we picked all day and picked as much as we could.
Jerry McAfee (01:16): He picked 604 pound and I picked 402 pound. He said, let's go to that cotton picking contest tomorrow. I said, there ain't no use for me going, you picked 200 pound more than I did. Didn't know it was a junior division. And that was the next day we won. But that brings back very good memories. And in Monette, in the museum is some articles about that contest.
Asset ID: 2018.20.21