Today, August 6, would have been the 70th birthday of my dad, Mike Meeker. Its been 20 years since he passed away (May 26, 1994). The photo attached is of him and my mom, Darla Meeker. Im not sure when the picture was taken, probably the mid to late 1980s. They married in 1965. My Dad worked at Stokelys (which later became United Foods and then Pictsweet) for 31 years until the plant closed in 1990 or 1991. For most of these 31 years he was the foreman on the production side of the factory. At the end of each pack, peas, corn, carrots, and potatoes, he would write a poem. Since there are so many old Stokely rats in this group I decided to include one of my dads Corn Pack poems. This one was probably written in the late 1970s. Here it is..... THE RADIO COMES ON AT 5:43 THE NEXT THING I HEAR IS THE HORN. ......WILL REPORT TO WORK AS SCHEDULED WHERE DO THEY GET ALL THIS CORN? IVE ONLY BEEN WORKING FOR 17 MINUTES ALREADY THERES GREASE ON MY CLOTHES. THEYVE GOT A NEW CLEAN UP BOY ON THE HUSKERS HE SOAKS MY ASS DOWN WITH THE HOSE. ITS TWENTY EIGHT AFTER AND EVERYONES READY THE LADIES ARE ALL IN THEIR PLACE. I TURN ON THE HUSKERS, THE NEW KIDS STILL HOSING, HE NAILS ME RIGHT SQUARE IN THE FACE. ALL 20 HUSKERS ARE STARTED AND RUNNING ILL FOLLOW THE CORN CLEAR AROUND. THERE GOES THE SIREN, WE MUST HAVE TROUBLE, I SHUT THE HUSKERS BACK DOWN. THE SIRENS STILL BLOWING AND SOMEONE IS SCREAMING ITS A LITTLE TOO EARLY TO TELL, BUT EITHER THE RUSSIANS HAVE STARTED INVADING OR THE STACKER BELT JUST WENT TO HELL. ITS ALL BACK TOGETHER AT QUARTER PAST NINE AND RUNNING AS SMOOTH AS CAN BE. ONE OF THE TUNNELS IS PLUS TWENTY SIX THE OTHER ONES PLUS THIRTY THREE. I HAVE A RECIPE FOR CORN PACKS LIKE THIS WHEN NOTHING WILL EVER WORK RIGHT. ITS ROLAIDS AND ASPIRINS ALL THROUGH THE DAY AND JACK DANIELS HALF THROUGH THE NIGHT. HI TEMP AND PULLED KERNELS, INSECTS AND SMUT LONG HOURS AND HEAT AND BAD WEATHER; ARE JUST A FEW THINGS THAT WE FIGHT EVERY DAY BUT ITS FUN CAUSE WE FIGHT THEM TOGETHER. WHY DO WE DO IT IF ITS SO TOUGH? FOR ONE THING WERE FEEDING THE NATION. BESIDES AFTER HAVING A CORN PACK LIKE THIS IT MAKES CARROT PACK SEEM LIKE VACATION. Stokely humor might be hard for some people to understand but for those of us who were there its still funny and fun to remember.....and even at times miss. I miss you Dad! Happy Birthday! We all still miss you and love you!
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 23:15:15 +0000
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