The Hop Picker and His Life

The Hop Picker and His Life.
By Malcolm MacLean.
(Illustrated by photographs taken by the writer in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.)
From Hantke’s “Letters on Brewing” 1906

Many magazine articles have been written on the subject of the hop. Nearly everybody who reads the journals devoted to the brewing trade knows something of the manner in which the hop plant is cultivated, how it grows and the steps taken to prepare the blossom for the market. But for some reason or other the hop-picker, that individual on whom so much depends, has been neglected. Never-the-less, his life and the life of his associates forms an interesting chapter in the narrations of the industry.

Practically every grower has his own difficulties in securing reliable pickers. It is hard to engage them because the season is so short; generally lasting from ten days to two weeks, and most of the ranches are so far from the big cities. The large growers in the Sacramento valley and its immediate vicinity have a comparatively easy task as there are many people who make the most of the opportunity for spending a pleasant and, at the same time, profitable vacation. These persons generally come from either San Francisco or Sacramento.

In Oregon however it is a different proposition. The ranches, with but few exceptions, are small and there is but one city of any size to draw from, Portland. The pickers have to be recruited from the farms and little villages scattered throughout the Willamette valley; the district in Oregon devoted largely to the hop-raising industry. Small growers have the greatest difficulty owing to the few advantages which they have to offer in the way of amusements. Consequently, in these small yards, the life of the hop-picker does not offer anything out of the ordinary.

In the large ranches, those of several hundred acres planted out in hops, there is a different story. The managers have come to realize that the way to secure pickers is to offer something for nothing. So, dance halls have been erected for the use of the pickers, and an orchestra of three or four pieces is furnished, free of charge, by the management. And every night a big dance is in order at which young and old can trip the light fantastic to their heart’s content. Athletic sports have also been introduced in several of the yards and form an important part of the Sunday amusement. Suitable prizes are offered for the various events, generally in the form of cash or a watch.

Horse races between two or three rivals are also run off for the amusement of the crowds. At such ranches as these, of which there are several in Oregon, requests for registration come in as early as December and increase in number until August finds hundreds of applications on file. The names are generally placed in the order received and when the required number is secured the rest are notified that the books are closed.

The Oregon hop is ready to be picked about the first of September and the superintendent of the yard notifies his pickers when they are expected to appear at the ranch for work. Then, two or three days before picking commences, the people begin to arrive. Some come down the Willamette River on steamers, some journey over the mountains in large, covered wagons, called schooners on the coast, while the greater part come in ordinary farm wagons. Everybody brings their tents, stoves and necessaries of life with them. Some even lead the family cow behind the wagon. The ranch owners furnish free pasturage to their pickers. A camping ground is assigned to the arrivals and, in a short time, a village of tents springs up, with the ranch store generally in the middle. If the yard is especially large, two or even three camps are built up in order that the pickers may be near their work. Occasionally some lucky family finds a deserted log cabin and sets up its habitation there.

On the morning of starting work the field boss, who is superintendent of the pickers, selects his check-men, string-cutters and wire-tenders.

These last two officials are only employed in fields where the high wire trellis is used. The check-man, or “check-boss,” as he is styled in the vernacular of the yard, weighs the hops before they are sacked and issues checks for each 50 or 100 pounds picked. These checks are used as money on the ranch and surrounding country and are redeemed. at the end of the season by the yard.

Each check-boss is put over a section of from fifty to seventy-five pickers. When work commences, the wiremen let down the trellis within easy picking distance and two persons generally work clean each row. The hops are picked into large baskets which hold about 100 pounds of green hops. As soon as the first vine is cleared the pickers move on to the next in front and so on. The string cutters clear the wires from the vine and string as the pickers move forward. Work begins as a rule at 7 am and stops at 6 pm in the evening. A rapid picker can earn from $3 to $7 a day in the yards where trellis is used and about two-thirds as much when the vines are trained on poles. The evenings are spent in sitting around big fires in the open and telling stories, or perhaps someone can pick a guitar and then there is singing. Dancing amuses others and they wend their way to the hall where the musicians await them. In this manner the days slip by rapidly and, when the last basket has been weighed in, the pickers pack up their belongings with reluctance and leave for their respective homes.