Sneed, Horace 1984-10-18

From SWC Oral History Collection
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Horace Sneed, early resident of the High Plains, reminisces about his life as a cotton and wheat grower, along with comparisons of irrigation with dry land farming.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Horace Sneed

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: October 18, 1984

Location: Stratford, Texas

Interviewer: Richard Mason

Length: 1 hour 25 minutes


Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Horace Sneed, Born: June 7, 1916, in Eastland County, Texas, Parents, Background, To Texas (1914), Cotton farmers, Farm activities, Team animals, Breaking and land, "riding" disk, Mechanization (1937), Two-row equipment, To Lubbock County (1937), Reasons, Location, Dry land farming, Crops, Cotton, Varieties, Cotton (again), Harvesting technique, Dairy operation, Eastland County (again), "Laying by" (meaning), Cotton (again), Picking vs. snapping, Labor, Cotton (again), Lubbock County (1937, again), Sneed (again), Returning to farming (1953), Financing of a section near Kress, Texas, To Stratford, Texas (1957), Farming (again), Equipment, Fuel source, Irrigation process, Open ditch, Row water, Turning the water, Crops, Cotton, Castor beans, Maize, Cotton (again), Harvest, Hand labor (braceros), Labor association, Labor, Housing, Migrant workers.

Tape 1, Side 2: Irrigation, Stratford, Sherman County, Comparison with Kress, Natural gas, Comparison with Kress (again), Underground systems, Government assistance, Reasons for, Crops, Milo, Hybrids, Market, Breeding, Water consumption, Wheat, Yields, Seed varieties, Fertilizer, Marketing, Grain elevators, When constructed, Cooperatives, Efficiency, Corn.

Tape 2, Side 1: Corn, Reasons for discontinuing (1966-1967), Water requirements, Advantages and disadvantages, Seed suppliers, Feedlot industry, Water District, Organization, Reasons, Major contributions, Salt water control, Oil companies, Water waste controls, Tailwater pits, Water levels in Sherman County, Texas, Prospect for switching to dry land farming, Production declines, Irrigation (again), Failure, Reasons, Impact on population, Producers Grain Corporation, Farming (again), Changes (again), Cost, Mechanical equipment (again), Repair cost, Harvest.

Tape 2, Side 2: Blank

Range Dates: 1916-1984

Bulk Dates: 1937-1984


Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:



Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.