Camel Cigarettes

I remember harvest times on the farm were good times. Harvesting was hard work and I mostly watched because I was too little to be of much help. There are two primary times for "putting up" hay. One in late spring and one in late summer. Once the hay is cut, it has to lay for a few hours, and then be baled before the evening dew sets in. So, depending on how large the field is, it can run into late night before you are done hauling in the hay and getting it in the barn.

I remember on one occasion dad had several men come over to the farm and help him put up the hay. They came to our house around noon and immediately went to work doing whatever it was that they did. I remember being down in the hay field with them and dad called to me to come over to where he was. He told me to go to the house and get him a pack of cigarettes. He smoked Camels and I thought the camel on the front of the pack was pretty cool. I went to the house and told mom that dad needed a pack of cigarettes, so she gave me a pack to take to him. I took them to him and gave them to him.

Then I got a bright idea !

I thought that I'd like a cigarette for me to smoke. I couldn't go to dad and ask for one because, of course, he wouldn't give me one. So I went back to the house in a little while and told mom that dad needed another pack of cigarettes. She questioned me rather thoroughly but finally gave me another pack. So now I was set.

Well, I didn't have anything to light the cigarettes with so I just pretended to smoke them. It was pretty cool smoking (or at least pretending to smoke) like all the other big men on the hay crew.

After the hay was cut and left to dry for awhile in the field, all the men went to the house for a meal before they began to bale and haul in the hay. Before we sat down at the table mom asked dad why he needed another pack of cigarettes since she had already sent one to him via me. He asked her what did she mean? And she told him about me coming to the house for a second pack. He said he didn't send me for a second pack. Well, I was in trouble.

My punishment for lying and making up such a story was that I didn't get to set at the dinner table with all of the big tough hay haulers. I had to sit in the corner of the kitchen and look at the wall and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They all had roast beef.

As I remember, that was my first time trying to smoke.