Alder Slope

This picture was taken about 70 years ago and shows a typical haying operation on the Johnathan Haas ranch, now the Jay Langston place, on Alder Slope.  Bill Hays drove the derrick team, ran a rake and carried water for the crew which consisted of three pitchers in the field, three men on hayracks, two men in the hay mow and a derrick driver among others.  More than a dozen workers are shown here.
     Hays recalls that he worked from 6 am to 6 pm, or longer for 50 cents per day.  The men got from a dollar to a dollar and a quarter a day.  Hay sold for from $8 to $10 a ton.
     Running four wagons and with a full crew this outfit could put up about 35 to 40 tons of hay per day with horse drawn mowers, dump rakes, pitchforks, ray racks and a Jackson fork.