Maine Memory Network

Presque Isle: The Star City - Potato Harvest Memories - Page 3 of 5

"… Memories Click here to visit Richard Rand's Harvesting Potatoes. Potato Barrel Truck, Presque IslePresque Isle Historical Society"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 11 of 13

"Potato Barrel Truck, Presque IslePresque Isle Historical Society The truck on the right has a flat body. This truck has a hydraulic hoist."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 13 of 13

"Former farmer Larry Park talks about how a potato harvester works.  SOURCES Richard W. Judd” AROOSTOOK A Century of Logging in Northen Maine”…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 1 of 13

"… as late as the 1950s farmers hauled potatoes to starch factories. Former potato farmer Larry Park talks about starch factories in Presque Isle."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 6 of 13

"1950Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum Potato picker's tickets, ca. 1910Presque Isle Historical Society Up until the 1970s when farms…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 5 of 13

"It takes about four baskets of potatoes to fill a barrel. A full basket will weigh about 30 pounds. The basket pictured here is 16 inches (40 cm) in…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Potato Harvest Memories - Page 1 of 5

"At that age she would pick about a barrel of potatoes a day, but as she got older she picked more. One day, at lunchtime, she and her bothers decided…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 9 of 13

"Harvesting Potatoes A POTATO HARVESTING SCENE A Potato Harvesting Scene, Presque Isle, 1945Presque Isle Historical Society This painting by…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 8 of 13

"Most potato barrel trucks had a ticket box like this on the back. With a power hoist, a box over the wheels for wheel clearance is no longer…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Potato Harvest Memories - Page 2 of 5

"The men would take the full seed potato barrels, put them on the back of the potato truck, and bring them out to the field."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 3 of 13

"He is ready to dump them into a nearby barrel. The motorized digger on the right was entered in the June, 2007 Mapleton Days Parade."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Potato Harvest Memories - Page 4 of 5

"They would hide behind barrels and throw potatoes at each other. If they got caught they would get in trouble. Once one boy got hit in the eye."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 12 of 13

"Barrel grapples come in different styles. The grapples on the right will hold onto the barrel better than the grapple on the left."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 7 of 13

"Even as late as 1950 some farmers loaded barrels by hand. This picture on the right was taken on the Laurence Park farm in 1950."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 10 of 13

"Students such as these would pick 15 to 40 barrels of potatoes per day. See how Presque Isle Middle School student Isaac's grandmother occupied her…"

Presque Isle: The Star City - Fred Urquhart Farm, Presque Isle

"… of 8-16-20 fertilizer per acre, yielding 217 barrels of potatoes this field. Common fertilizers are rated as having certain variable percentages…"

Acadian Archives

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Farmington: Franklin County's Shiretown - Agriculture

"On the other side: cracker barrels, cheese wheels, beans, sugar, spices, slabs of salt fish, molasses barrels and the pot belly stove."

Cumberland & North Yarmouth - Our Shared History - Page 3 of 4

"Arno S. Chase greenhouse interior, Cumberland, 1930Prince Memorial Library In addition to growing food, area farmers were noted for their success…"

Maine's Swedish Colony, July 23, 1870 - Stockholm, Maine

"Potatoes were down from 45¢ to 15¢ a barrel. Timber was becoming scarce and many mills had to close down."