My First Hay Hook

When I was nine, we moved to a piece of property northeast of Fort Gibson, OK. From the blacktop road it was 3 and 3/10th miles north. It was all dirt road and it was rough. Many times the transmission would pop out of gear due to the excessive vibration. Our hay truck was a 2-ton Dodge. Although I don't remember what year it was I do remember that it was old. The transmission was a '4-in-the-floor'. As Dad would drive up this road it was my job to hold the stickshift in gear. As if my Dad couldn't have. :)

Springtime came along, I turned 10 and shortly afterward we started hauling hay. Back in those days there weren't any round bales so everyone hauled square bales. When we started hauling hay as a family we were so poor we couldn't have bought a low cut dress for a humming bird, but somehow my Dad bought two hay hooks. One for me and one for my adopted brother who was 9 months older. When your that age and you get a gift like a hay hook, you look it over for every detail. My brother and I could tell the difference between those two hay hooks at 20 paces.

We started hauling that summer without a loader, so my Mom would drive, my Dad would take the first row of hay on either side of the truck and my brother and I would drag the second and third rows to the side of the truck so Dad could throw them on the bed. After a few bales were thrown onto the bed, Mom would stop the truck and Dad would climb up and start stacking. My brother and I would keep dragging.

The dragging is the part I remember most. When we first started that summer I would sling that hay hook at the bale with all my might. If you have ever used a hay hook you know that this part doesn't require that much strength...it's finesse that counts. Just the same I would sling it with everything I had only to have it bounce off. It didn't take too many bales to get it figured out. With the hay hook buried firmly into the end of the bale, I would turn around backward, grab the hook with both hands and start dragging. As a 10 year old there were plenty of times I would have to stop about half way to the truck to catch my breath.

It must have been the third year we were hauling hay that my brother and I were strong enough to throw the hay onto the bed of the truck. That's when Mom would stay home and Dad would drive the truck. Each load, my brother and I would switch off. He would stack a load while I dragged the hay, the next load I would stack and he would drag. The next year we were doing the same thing only this time I had a hay hook in each hand and I could drag two bales to the side of the truck and throw them up to my brother...one at a time of course.

The next year we got a pop-up loader. It was heaven on earth. It actually made hauling hay fun.

The next year my father's health was declining rapidly. We had to sell the truck just to make ends meet. I knew how to do one thing well. Haul hay. I contacted Ed, a local that hauled hay for a living. I hired on with him and we got busy. We would haul several thousand bales each summer. I did this until I graduated high school. Between that and hunting and fishing I contributed significantly to the family's dinner table.

So, what about that hay hook? I never lost it. I never broke it. I can't say I know where it is today but for several years after leaving home, when I would visit, I would see it in the barn.

The day my Dad handed it to me he said, "Now, Son, take care of this and don't lose it."

So, in my retrospective manner, what can I learn from this? First, my father. He was a wise man. He didn't give me all sorts of directions on how not to lose it. He simply told me to 'don't lose it.' I believe it was Teddy Roosevelt who said, "The best leader will pick the right man for the job then leave him along long enough for him to get it done." My Dad must have understood the principle of not micromanaging even though he probably never read anything about Roosevelt. Or, maybe my Dad just knew me.

I also recognize that a quality tool doesn't necessarily have to be fancy. (Of course, how fancy can you get with a hay hook.) The point is, just because the tool has some fancy gadgetry attached to it doesn't make it a good tool. To this day, I shoot a single-shot rifle with iron sights and I've taken my share of deer with it.

But, the most important lesson to be learned with that hay hook was simply, "don't lose it." In other words, accountability. Don't lose it and keep it in good working order. My personal vehicle is a 1991 Chevy pickup that I bought while in college. I have been accountable regarding that pickup. I've kept it in good working order. "Old Blue" has over 200,000 miles now and still runs great. My wife drives a mini-van that is nearly 10 years old. Why? Because it's still in good working order.

Accountability can be applied to any number of areas in our lives. We can allow a friend to hold us accountable for some 'weakness'. We can be accountable to the company we work for, promising to take good care of the equipment that our boss entrusts to us. The list could go on and on. In the end, accountability is a good thing. It helps to keep us in check. It helps keep us in good working order. We all need that.

Ya' know what....I'm still proud of that hay hook.