Bertha Harvey, 1973
Item
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Title
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Bertha Harvey, 1973
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interviewee
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Bertha Harvey
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interviewer
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Richard Gnatowski
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Date
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1973
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Subject
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Hop pickers
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Agriculture
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Otsego County
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Springfield Center, NY
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Hop barn
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Description
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Excerpt of 1973 interview of Bertha Harvey by Richard Gnatowski. Clip created for Spring 2017 Cooperstown Graduate Program Exhibition "Hop City Pickers" at the Fenimore Art Museum Research Library.
Photo Credit:
Female Hop Pickers, 1893, attributed to Charles F. Zabriskie, photographic print, H: 6 x W: 8 in. Fenimore Art Museum Research Library, Cooperstown, New York, Florence P. Ward Local History Collection, PH1127.
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Transcription
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BH: And then about, well up until 1920 there was a lot of hops growing around this section of the country. And that was a lot of work.
RG: Did you grow hops on your farm?
BH: Yes. And the hops--they would have to plant the hop roots and then they would set poles, and then there was a job to tie hops. You'd have to start the vines around the poles and then tie them so that they would climb the poles. And we had to work in the hop yard. They had to be cultivated. And along about September was hop picking time. Then we'd have to hire people to pick the hops.
RG: Did you have a hop barn on your property?
BH: Yes. The hops were put in a kiln and in the lower part would be a furnace, and then overhead the hops would be spread out on a--well it was like a netting over frames where it would dry the hops. And they'd burn sulphur so that the hops would keep their original color. And then along about 1920 some disease got in the hops. It was called the blue mold. And they couldn't raise hops anymore.
RG: Now this was on your family's farm?
BH: Yes.
RG: Did your family ever make any home brew?
BH: No. No home brew. Maybe some people did, but we never did.
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Coverage
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Otsego County
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Creator
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Richard Gnatowski
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Publisher
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Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York-College at Oneonta
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Rights
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Cooperstown Graduate Association
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Format
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audio/mp3
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Language
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en-US
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Type
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Sound
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Identifier
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74-0066
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Original Format
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Cassette Tape
