Observation

It is crazy this cooler weather.  I love fall!  I believe part of it has to do with harvest.  My parents have been out in the fields pretty much every night.  The farmers are all busy in the fields getting the crops in though it is early still they are all going at it like they are killing snakes.  I have never understood why it is such a rush to get the crops out it is not like they are going to walk away.  I think this is a good question to ask the farmers when I interview them.  I have noticed at the mill that they are all in such a hurry to get unloaded and get back out to the field.  I believe that once farming is over I will see a difference at the mill.  Right now the only time people hang around is when they wait in line.  They do not spend much time in the building talk to the worker.  The only thing they really say to her is who they are and what they want to do with their grain, sell, price later or store.  When you drive through Percy this time of year there is always a cloud of dust coming from the mill.  This is from the different semi’s bringing grain in and the different ones taking the grain to different elevators.  Along with the trucks and tractors bringing the grain in the mill is a crazy place right now.

My Wheels Are Turning

This past week I have been doing some thinking.  From reading the essay Ralph's Sports Bar, I started thinking if my subculture had different groups.  In Ralph's she places her group in three different groups.  For my subculture I am started to think if there are different grounds and if so what would those groups be called.  I have been out of town this past weekend, but for this coming week I plan on taking a day and spending time at the elevator.  I also will be going and dropping off my business letter at this time.  Though I have not been to the site I am still thinking of different things for the paper.  I am working on getting interview questions and writing down different things to keep an eye open for when I go visit this week. I know I said in my last blog that I would be taking my letter, but this week I really will be.  Once I have someone look over it I did not have time to get over there.  The end of my week got very busy.  I will for sure get it in there this coming week.  I will post soon and let you all know how my visit to the site goes. 

Friday Sept. 17th

Friday morning all I wanted to do was to sleep in.  Mom did not think that was a good idea.  She called me and asked me to come help her get the trucks emptied out for dad.  So I got out of bed and headed to the mill.  With doing my research of the mill now when I go to the mill I am paying more attention then when I was just ridding along with mom.  On my trip to the mill on Friday I noticed that the employees at the mill are really nice.  As I was unloading the worker that was unloading me came up and talked to me and we had a good little chat.  Then another waved at me.  I'm not sure if it had anything to do with they finally saw a young girl instead of older men, but still I was surprised to see how nice they were.  Within the next week I will be going and taking my permission letter to the main branch and the Percy one, but I want to have people look over it before I deliver it.  I'm excited to talk with the people when I take my letter in.  I hope they stay happy like they were Friday otherwise this project could turn out ugly. : /

Rough Draft of Paper One

Danielle Eggemeyer

Bradford P. Nadziejko

English 102

September 23, 2010

To the Mill To the Mill To the Mill We Go

            As the showers move out and the leaves begin to change the farmers know their work is about to begin.  Fall is a time when people know that they have to keep an eye out for the farming equipment on the roads, if they live anywhere near the country.  New trucks, trucks passed from generation to generation, and even semis; Percy elevator is a location in which those farmers maybe traveling to.  As a child I would travel with my mom to Percy elevator to sell our grain.  As we traveled down the road with the windows down and the wind blowing through our hair we would sing the famous “mill” song.  The “mill” song is nothing special, it goes: “to the mill to the mill to the mill we go” very simple, but special between my mom and me.  Percy Elevator is simply a building with grain bins, but the people that are associated with the mill give the building its character.

            The door is always swinging at Percy Elevator with different farmers coming in and out.  Some come to Percy Elevator for animal feed, fertilizer, and to sell their grain.  During the spring months the fertilizing business is more active.  As we go into the fall months, fertilizer is still a part of the business of the mill, but the selling of grain is rapid.  Their business of feed is year round.  For my fieldwork I am going to be looking at the people that keep the doors swinging along with the people that assist them with their needs.  I am even going to talk to people within the community and paint a picture for my reader of the town Percy to give the research a more personal feeling.  With being a farmer’s daughter I share similarities of the people that keep the door swinging at Percy Elevator, but I have my differences too.  I am nineteen and the only nineteen year old that travels to Percy Elevator.  My parents have worked hard the past forty years on the family farm, but I have only been a prospector of their work.  Throughout my childhood my mom sheltered my sister and me from the farm work.  This makes me different from the people at the mill, because they are all like my parents: farmers from many generations.  The farmers that come to Percy are all different ages, but have farmed their whole life.  Experience is written all over their faces. 

            As I prepare to observe at Percy Elevator I fear that their experience is going to come between us.  I am a young individual which they are not going to take the time to talk to, because they have corn or soybeans in their fields waiting to be harvest.  My concern is that they will not take the time to talk to me.  If this is the case I do have a plan.  Since my parents are farmers and have been traveling to Percy Elevator for years I feel that they will be able to provide me with the opportunity to talk to different farmers outside of the mill setting; this opportunity maybe going to the field and talking to the grain hauler while they wait for a load.  I will get the information that I need no matter what.

            Through my research I am searching to see how the Elevator affects the community of Percy, the history of the different farmers that keep the doors swinging at Percy, and the experience the employees have received while working at Percy Elevator.  When I say the effects of the mill on the community I mean what exactly the mill does for the town of Percy.  I want to find out why the farmers sell their grain to Percy and not the surrounding Elevators.  Through the employees I hope to hear about the different types of individuals that come through the mill each and every day and the impact these different people have on their lives.   

            I am eager to see the mill from the other side of the spectrum, not just as a driver driving through with a load of grain.  There is more to the mill than just hauling a load of grain, which I am interested to see what happens throughout the course of a day at the mill as well as what takes place within the walls of the facility itself.  Through doing this work I think I will get an understanding of the different moods and looks of the people I come in contact with when I take a load of grain to the mill.  If I understand the individuals that come to the mill I will know how to treat them. 

            As I start on this journey I look forward to learning more about the town of Percy more then knowing the fact that it is where the mill is located.

MORE TO COME…but I hit a dead end anyone know more I can add to it?

What I'm doing and what my plan is

I have not done too much research on the site yet, but I did take a trip to the mill with my mom and just sat back and watched the people. I’ve done some research on the computer and I have found sites that say that their employment is one to four and that is true when I went to the elevator with my mom there was only four employees. Through researching on the internet I found out that it is a branch off the main branch in Red Bud. I always knew that it was a part of Gateway FS, but I did not know that it was a branch. With it being in the little town of Percy I assumed that it was not a main branch, but something I did not know till I researched. My plan for this week is to take a few loads to the mill with my mom and just sit back and observe the workers and the people coming and going. I do not plan on going and spending time at the site till I give them my permission letter and see what they say. Even though they have given me verbal permission I want to wait till I approached this with a professional aspect. So for now I will be doing research on elevators and learning about them and taking a few trips to the mill.

Convertation with employee

On Wednesday I call over to Percy mill to ask if they minded me hanging around and observing the  people that come to the mill.  They did not have a problem with me being around, but asked that I did not hold farmers up or make them mad.  At first they seemed confused on what I was asking, but they said that they are willing to work with me.  When they said that they were willing to work with me I know that they are going to work with me to get the project done.  I also know some farmers in the area and I do not think they will have a problem with me calling them to ask questions or even meeting with them to ask different questions.  My plan for this week is to go to city hall in Percy and maybe the main branch and get some information from them.

Request Letter

     New trucks, trucks passed from generation to generation, and even semis; Percy elevator is a place where different styles of people come together with one common interest.  In the local region there are several elevators farmers can take their grain to; however, the local farmer chooses Percy.  The Percy elevator is one of many branches which branch off of the main facility in Red Bud.  
     Fellow classmates and Mr. Nadziejko I am asking your permission to complete my ethnographic study on the Percy elevator.  I feel that farmers who bring their grain to the elevators could be classified as a subculture.  I am eager to see the mill from the other side of the spectrum not just as a drive driving through with a load of grain.  There is more to the mill than just hauling a load of grain, which I am interested to see what happens throughout the course of a day at the mill as well as what takes place within the walls of the facility itself.  I am also going to visit people in the community of Percy to ask their feelings on the mill in Percy and what it has done for the community.
     The Elevator is open Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and during harvest they stay open later and even on some Sunday’s.   I think this site is going to be easy for me to access throughout the course of the semester.  To insure my conviction of accessibility I contacted the facility to make sure they did not have a problem with me observing, interviewing, and researching the elevator.  One request I was asked is that if the farmers acted as if I was bothering them to leave the farmers alone and move on to a different person who seemed willing to participate.  
     As far as my safety I will only be observing the people that come and go and I will be in a public facility so I feel no threat.  To find out the history of the elevator I will contact the city hall of Percy and I may even go to the main branch to see if they can give me information as to why they placed a branch in Percy Illinois.
     Growing up on the farm I have road a many of trips to the mill with my mom and just in the past couple of years I have started hauling to the mill for my parents.  There is a lot more to the mill than just hauling grain and I feel with the little knowledge I have there should be no reason why I cannot fulfill the requirements.