Comments on: Hop Picking Photographs

By: Marcia Howard

Marcia Howard — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 16:47:09 +0000

These are some of THE MOST WONDERFUL photographs I’ve seen, which have evoked many memories from my growing up years. It was a busy time when this post first appeared in my inbox, but with other emails coming after it, the post ‘got lost’ and have only just re-discovered it. Although I grew up in London, in 1959 when I was 11 yrs old we moved to the edge of Surrey, but with a mountaineering brother 10.5 yrs old than me, he sometimes took to take me to Harrison’s Rocks at weekends, to teach me how to climb. We used to get the train either to Groombridge or Eridge then walk across the hop fields up to the Rocks. I was fascinated by the whole hop industry, and was envious of girls from one family at my new senior school who never appeared at the beginning of the new autumn school term, until well into October. I always wished I could go hop picking too! Thank you for this lovely post.

By: Saba

Saba — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 20:57:04 +0000

I live in New York State near by Shawangunk Ridge. In the early twentieth century and, I think, all the way into the 1950s or even 1960s, people lived in shacks on the Ridge during the summer to harvest blueberries. They had camp songs, collected by Marc Fried, a local historian. A few of the shacks still stand in the Sam’s Point state park.

By: gkbowood

gkbowood — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 16:50:05 +0000

I enjoyed seeing the Brownlow and Milchard families as the years progressed. Everyone seems very happy in almost all of the photos you shared.

By: Saba

Saba — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 12:31:14 +0000

Picking crops is back-breaking hard work but these people look so happy.

By: Di Corry

Di Corry — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 07:20:39 +0000

Fabulous photographs that capture both the essence of those hop picking days and the spirit of those East Enders.
Happy days and times…..long gone .

By: Herry Lawford

Herry Lawford — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 06:37:01 +0000

These are all wonderful photographs. How sad it is that we have lost so many opportunities to work together and enjoy the cameradie that goes with it. Modern life separates us; the work of earlier times brought us together.