Foreverglades_Valiente2019

CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER SIX
Bean Pickers Never Sleep
The Chosen Place
Belle Glade's Wandering
Post Office
Although other vegetables were likewise raised, yet
following the Big Freeze of 1927, most Glades farmers
I can't tell you about Belle Glade without including
turned to raising string beans, for they matured in only
Chosen. In one manner of speaking, Chosen is now a part
55 days. For years we lived in a bean economy. When prices
of Belle Glade, yet in another way it's not. While the first
were good everybody was happy. Farmers bought new cars
people were settling in the Belle Glade area, another
and bean pickers purchased used jallopies and cash regis­
colony was starting nearer to the lake. Unlike Belle Glade,
ters jingled a merry tune. But let there come a general
Chosen had an active promoter, and for a while it even
frost or a torrential rain, then all business slowed to a
seemed that Chosen might be the leading town. Believe me
grinding halt. Farmers quit paying their store accounts
brother, jealousy was keen. Yet now, Belle Glade is a
and bean pickers took their bamboo poles and began fish­
fair sized city, while Chosen still is not incorporated. Those
ing for their rations.
folks sure as heck don't want to be city slickers.
Everybody had a stake in beans. Most every merchant,
store While clerk the or people carpenter down had the a canal share were in the doing crop about of some and
farmer, getting organized, either white Hans or black. Stein, Most the bean original farms settler were at small, the
lake yet market end of the reports canal showed was busily that tending the south to his eastern own affairs,
shores
of locking Lake boats Okeechobee through were from the the greatest lake with string one bean hand producing
cleared section up of elder the nation. land with During the other, winter until before he became
the
Hurricane one of the big of 1928 farmers some on 1520 the shore. cars were Stein, shipped, originally but from
the
following Courland, season, the despite Baltic sea, the had storm, come there from were Wisconsin 2692. The to
peak Manatee was where reached was in 1946 trying with to 4088 raise carloads celery, until of beans. Wagner
while
he
persuaded Beans were him to quick try his and luck easy at to share raise, cropping but the harvesting on Kreamer
required Island. a Moving heap of his laborers, family for by wagon beans, to Lakeport, be top quality, then
by barge across the lake, he farmed on Kreamer in 1916
It all began on the shores of Torry Island where Emmett
McLaughlin had his fish camp on a creek which
wound through the swamp on the island's south end. The
islands and the newly exposed lake bottom between the
Hillsboro canal and South Bay were attracting settlers,
so, in 1916, Howard Stowe built a store across the creek
from the fish camp and on March 31, 1917 he opened a
post office there. However, the lake kept on going down.
Boats couldn't get up the creek. So, since the canal was
being extended from South Bay, armed with a permit from
the War Department, Stowe dredged up an artificial island,
bulkheaded round about, in the open lake at the junction
of the channels leading to the Hillsboro and the Ft. Lauderdale
canals. This was about half a mile from Torry and
north of little Rabbit Island, not far from the present
Hurricane Gate. At this location, sometimes called Rabbit
Island or otherwise The Dump, he erected a story and a
half store building and moved his store and post office. On
a cold night in the fall of 1917 he celebrated by holding
a dance, complete with fiddler and jugs of "custard apple
dew". But the post office kept the name "Torry Island".
188
50
55
36
BELLE GLADE FROM SW AMP TO SUGAR BOWL
Lauderdale, yet it wasn't very popular. The locks were six
miles from town, and since the water below was too shoal
persuaded him to try his luck at share cro
er Island. Moving his family by wagon t
by barge across the lake, he farmed on K
BEAN PICKERS NEVER SLEEP 189 50 172 BE
THE CHOSEN PLACE 51
must be picked when they reach a certain stage. One day
too early or too late affects the price. Although vines were
usually picked over twice, yet when prices were high, they
might be picked four, even five times. These last were of
sorry quality, "dogs" the farmers called them, but there
was a saying that the biggest money came from the sorriest
beans.
In the early days, pickers were paid 15 cents or 25
cents a hamper, but for a long time the price was 60 to 70
cents. A picker could average twelve to fourteen hampers
a day, though a woman with a couple of young'uns could
double that, and take home $15 to $20, a heap of money
then. The Everglades News in March of 1929 says, "Negro
women picking beans are making as much money as a
union brick layer in a big city, $8 to $12 for less than
eight hours." During the war years, when labor was scarce
and independent, the Home of J.
rate jumped to $1 and $1.10, yet even
R. Leatherman at Chosen, 1927.
that didn't prevent the sorry jigaboos from throwing in
leaves until he and was vines, appointed and refusing to tend to the fill locks. the hampers. Here he It cleared
was
estimated elders from that lake during bottom that and war the 16,000 bed of workers Democrat were River
employed
where on they Glades had sprung farms, up of after which the three-fourths lake went down. were migrants,
head high here elders only were for the pulled harvesting. by hand This and burned caused a then whop­
Th
1
not
ping bothering increase to plow, in Belle he Glade's disced negro the land, population, using a
which Ford car
at
with tractor attachment until he bought a Fordson tractor
Hog huntin
one time outnumbered the whites here two or three to one.
Frank O'C
with The an negro Oliver population No. 3 plow. was He divided was one into of definite the first levels men
of on social the lake classes, to own of which a Caterpillar, the first which in importance marked him and as re­spect
were the physician, the lawyer, the undertaker, school
With his boys Hans (Hamp), Fritz and Emil (Tony)
particular ni
capitalist for sure.
would probab
principals, ministers and all big property owners. Next
would be nob
were and daughter teachers, Eleese, foremen, he had store plenty owners of help, or operators, but after and the opened the d
farmers. war he was Third one in of rank the first were to mechanics, use negroes tractor on his drivers farm. stomp and sh
or They other weren't skilled hired workers. hands. Lowest They on were the sharecroppers, social scale were and got away fr
the that migrant was a good laborers, deal and for both of course, parties. the The "fast white buck" farmer
boys
ditch or two
and furnished girls, land, the bootleggers mule, seed and and gamblers equipment who and helped then took
the
laborers half of the get crop shut of - their if any. earnings. Now to be sure, those lake Sometime
farmers at first didn't own their land. They squatted Jackson, fro
where they pleased, clearing a few acres here and there brought dow
wherever it might suit their fancy. So now you're saying right pleasur
they had not right to rent the land to negroes, but pardnr,
So now I'd like to take you to the bean fields of twenty
or thirty years ago. Let's watch those bean pickers at work.
But first I want to emphasize, and please don't forget,
GLADE CREST
down with a machete, unless you were
get the cussed grass to burn. Then, with