Interviews with older folks

        Transcribed by Joe Stout
 

I am 63 years of age.  My grandfather, Simeon D. McUmber, was born in New York State, and settled in Michigan.

My father, Casius (Cash) McCumber, was born in New York State, and settled in Michigan.  He married Mary Reder.

I was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, moved from there to Yankton,  South Dakota  and came to Tennessee in 1890.

Q: How many McUmbers came to this state?

A: My father came to Tennessee and brought me, together with the rest of his family in 1890. My brothers and sisters are:

                Robert T. McUmber, who married Susie Bishop, and lives in Greenfield.
                Dr. H. H. McUmber, Dentist, lives in Toledo, Ohio.
                Roy C. McUmber, lives in Glendale, California.
                Carrie, married Jim Beers, and lives in Eagle Rock, California.
               Mae, married Roy Schwendiner, and lives in Glendale, California.

I married Ruby Shannon, daughter of Dr. J. E. Shannon and Sallie Shannon, of Greenfield, Tenn. My wife is 62 years old.

I have only one child, Mary E. McUmber, age 23, single, living with me in Greenfield, Tenn.

I lived with my dad until I was 25 years old and then I bought my first piece of ground right here where I live. I started out without a thing in the world. I bought 13 acres of land at $20.00 and acre, and an old mare, and started with nothing.

I first started in the small truck business. I did this for about 3 or 4 years and then went into my sweet potato and blackberry business, and then went on with sweet potatoes.  I had 16 acres of blackberries that gave me my start.  That was the first big money I mad.  I received about $3.50 per case for blackberries, clearing around $2.00 a case on them.

Q: The general public is usually more interested in gross figures, and if you could give some gross figures as to what your output  has been in your biggest years, could you give us some figures along that line?

A: I had rather give nets instead of gross.  If I give gross, people think it is all profit, and that I am getting rich.  The net is only a third of the gross, and I had rather give you the amounts that I spend for expenses.

The maximum acres that I have farmed for the last ten or fifteen years is about 565 acres, 450 acres that was tenable, and this with hired help.  I never had renters.

The various crops that I have raised recently are around 25 to 30 acres of strawberries a year; sweet potatoes around 50 to 60 acres.  The orchard 15 years ago, there was 60 acres of that - 30 acres of apples and 30 acres of peaches.

I used to raise 5 to 10 acres of Irish Potatoes but not any more.  I also raise strawberry plants.  I have sold as high as 6 million plants in one year.

I raise 50 to 80 acres of corn and from 50 to 120 acres of soy beans. Up until this year I raised 35 acres of cotton, but none this year, and don't know that I will ever raise any more.

The rest of my ground is about 50 acres of seresa lespedeza, 6 acres in Alfalfa.  I have gotten 20 tons of Alfalfa hay off the six acres and it is on a hill side too.  I have 40 or 50 acres in Jap Clover and meadow and some pasture; also a few acres, around 100, in timber.

Rather than giving you some of my past years maximum production I had rather tell you what my expenses have been.  My labor bill has run from $10,000 to $25,000 per year for the last 10 years.  My package bill alone was $13,000 last year.  I use hired labor and have never had renters.

I have never had under 10 employees.  I have 13 houses, and have 10 men living in them now.  I have from 10 to 200 employees when picking berries. We work by the hour.  Sometimes we run until 10 o'clock at night.  Of course, they get paid for whatever time they put in.  I find that more satisfactory.

The way I manage my tenant houses is that I have 2 that I rent for money, but they don't work for me.  The others get free rent, and they do the feeding and extra work in payment of their rent.  The secret of this is that I get good help.  These are good houses, and have water and lights.  Some of my help have been with me 20 years.  If they ever leave me, they want to come back.  We are like one big family.  You don't make anything by paying more than somebody else.  I don't pay fancy wages.  I had a family living with me, and they left to go to Lansing, Michigan.  He moved back before plow time.  I had rather keep my help satisfied, and keep them with me - then I don't have to watch them.  They know what to do, and it saves having to break in new help.

I took over four large farms in the rough - cheap land - now every gully has been filled and terraced.  I remove the cause that caused the land to be poor.

I keep in touch with the county agent, R. E. Ellis and follow nearly everything he has offered.  We have gone to many a farm meeting together, and he has spent many a night with me going over the best methods of farming.  I give the County Agent of West Tennessee a great deal of credit for what I am doing.  I made a farm out of the Barton Place, and it was not producing anything when I took it over.

In order to fill in eroded land I used dump scrapers, plows and a push billy (home made V-shaped scrape).  I have used the hard kind of methods, a great deal without modern machinery.

The first thing I do to redeem the soil is when I get a farm I clean it up - clear up all the undergrowth, and fill up the gullies.  Then I start manuring, then lime phosphate and legumes.  I can take an awful poor field and in three to five years have it producing.  Soy beans in the summer, mow a crop and save the seed - vetch in the fall, mow one crop and save the seed, turning the rest under for soil improvement.  The trouble is not lack of knowledge - all this information as to how to improve land is available to everybody - but they won't work.  I sleep every chance I get - sometimes I only get five hours.

Q: I have been told by quite a few people that some of the Radio Companies have rated you the best farmer in the U.S., and that some of the rubber companies furnished you free tires, what about that?

A: The first time was in 1928, they were having a Master Farmer Contest, and I was chosen as one of them.  There were only ten in the state.  The State has been choosing about ten more each year until now there are several hundred.

In 1937, I was asked by our County Agent to come to Washington to sit in a conference prorating acreage on different products.  They offered to pay all expenses, but I could not attend.

The Firestone people, ten years ago chose ten farmers in the U.S. and called them Champion Farmers of America.  I was chosen as one of the ten, and they gave me a set of tires for my Farmall Tractor, and then each year since, they have invited us to get together in Chicago and one year we went to New York.

The year of the World's Fair, we went to New York and spent three days. They gave us the best of everything - the finest hotels - all expenses paid. We were entertained by the Firestone people , and, of course, had the best of everything.  It was an advertising scheme, we knew that, but it was a very fine thing for them to do for us.  The present membership would run into great numbers in the State Master Farmers organization.  They pick out ten additional men each year in the state.  I guess it would run into the thousands, as other states are doing the same thing.  There are only three in the State of Tennessee who go to the Firestone Meetings.  I am one of the three who are classed as Master Farmers, and attend those meetings.

I have worked many an hour for 10 cents an hour for my daddy, but I knew I could do more.  I cannot understand why others have not done more.  I know boys who inherited their farms, and I had to pay for mine.  Now theirs is gone.  They ate them up and  went through with them.  I don't want anybody to ever think that I am boasting of what I have accomplished, because what I have done anybody else could have done, if they had been willing to work for it.

Q: Do you hire a foreman to supervise your farm, or do you do it yourself?

A: I have a Superintendent for the orchard and a sub superintendent.  I talk things over with him, but hold him responsible.  He has 8 or 10 men under him.  He tells them when to spray the trees, and he has done a good job of it, and they are in fine shape.

I supervise all my other activities.  In the berry picking season, I have half a dozen field bosses, with 25 hands each, but I supervise the field bosses.  Sometimes I have to leave the field, and these field bosses know what is necessary, and see that it is done.  I get back as soon as I can and watch over the whole - the overall operation.  I also have a good shed boss. I have a field boss over the potato fields also, but I look after most of the other activities myself.

My wife and daughter also play an important part during the berry picking season.  My daughter keeps up with my payroll and handles all the paying off.  She also looks after all my income tax affairs.  My wife told me to be careful and not tell a lot of information about my business that would cause any misunderstanding as how much I am making.

The marketing of the strawberries belong to the Association when they are picked.  The Association takes them off my hands at the Depot platform. They pay me for them when delivered to the depot.  All peaches and sweet potatoes are picked up at my own packing house by customers.  They call in trucks and pay me when loaded on their truck.  I am putting in waxing and washing machine for sweet potatoes, that will help me to get the highest price for them as they will be of a choice grade and in condition to keep.We put the fruit in the customer's truck.

I have had only one loss since I have been in business.  I loaded a truck with potatoes and apples - there were two trucks - one of them I had been doing business with, and he told me that the other truck was bringing me the money for the truck that I had loaded.  I thought the man was all right. Later the load that I did not collect for called and said the potatoes had been rejected by the consignee.  I am still trying to collect my money, and
may get it yet.

I look at all my expense as an investment - I consider the wages that I pay my men the best investment I can make.  If you can make a profit on one man, why not put on ten, and consider it as an investment.  I fell like I have accomplished more than I started out to do.

Q: What are your plans for retirement?

A: I have already sold 117 acres.  When I feel like it is too much worry, I will sell some more. Will cut down to fit my own ability.

Q: What is the extent of your daughter's education?

A: She finishes at Peabody next year.  I pay her a salary.  I never went any higher in school than the 8th grade.

Very few people realize what my expenses are.  All they can see is what I am putting out, and they think it is all profit.  My telephone bill is $10 to $20 a month, I have 6 telephones, and my water and lights amount to $20 to $40 a month.

Q: How many tractors and live stock do you have?

A: I have three tractors and 12 to 15 head of mules.  I hire all my labor by the hour.  I don't want any tenants butchering up my farm.  When you are paying your labor by the hour, they are better satisfied, and they will do what you tell them.

Q: Now if there are any other things you think of that you would like to include - anything that I have not asked about - anything that I have not asked about - I know so little about farming, that I cannot ask intelligent questions - feel free to tell us in your own way.

A: I believe we have covered everything.  There will probably be a lot of this that you will not want to use.

See Photo of Ralph & photo of a FRUIT BASKET from his farm under Greenfield Photos #22