Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Acton, Part 5, The Pea Pickers
Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir, In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
The Pea Pickers
Not only did we six to eight siblings—two arriving after I’d already left for college—harvest produce from our own truck farm in the valley swale, where we grew corn, beans, peas, and berries with me as the designated berry picker (thanks to an allergy that kept me from sneaking bites), but we were also “farmed out” to the big truck farm at the top of the hill. It was a lot of work, and the pay was measly—three cents a pound for beans, five cents a pound for peas—but we were kids, and the money was ours to spend as we pleased. And there was plenty we were pleased to spend it on.
Every morning, after finishing our own farm chores, we would hop up on the tailgate of Farmer Hobbs’ truck, legs dangling, hair blowing in the wind, singing and chattering the short way to the top of the hill—half a mile, maybe a little more. When we reached the driveway, we’d each be given a basket and shown where to pick. We would pick all morning, take a break for lunch under the trees—Maine farms never lack for pines, spruce, firs, or birch—and then finish up in the afternoon.
Throughout the day, as we filled our buckets and pails, we’d bring them back to the driveway where Farmer Hobbs weighed each load and poured the peas or beans into the flats laid out on the back of his big truck. That truck would head off to market later. We always looked forward to the end of the day—not just because the work was done, though that was good too—but because Farmer Hobbs would tally up our pickings and pay us our cash earnings. It felt good to have quarters, dimes, and nickels in our pockets. We took them home and fed our piggy banks.
One day none of us has ever forgotten, a car with out-of-state plates stopped beside the driveway. A man and a woman, dressed in city-slicker clothes, sat in the front seat and peered out the window. "Hey, Harvey," the lady said. "Let’s get a picture of the pea pickers." "Okay," he agreed, "You go ask the farmer."
I suppose we did look country-quaint in our coveralls, dirt smudged on our hands and faces. The lady went to speak to Farmer Hobbs while the man pulled out a really big camera. (Years later I learned from my photographer husband that it was a 2¼—a very good camera back in those days. He used one too.)
Farmer Hobbs came over to us with a wink. "Okay, pea pickers," he said, "Let’s gather 'round for a picture for the tourists. Seems we’re a tourist destination today." And so, like a big family, we all surrounded Farmer Hobbs while the tourists snapped a photo of "the pea pickers."
A decade later, when I found myself in the midst of the Hippie Generation, I wasn’t one of the starry-eyed ones who longed to "go back to the land." I knew the land. I knew how much effort and energy it took to tame it—if it could be tamed at all. Sometimes it felt more like the land was taming you. I had other dreams. After all, I was born on a Thursday, and as the old ditty says, "Thursday’s child has far to go."
Book Description:
From the barefoot freedom of rural Maine to the diplomatic halls of Central Asia, from rescuing a dying child in Siberia to training astronauts in Houston and Star City, In with the East Wind traces an extraordinary life lived in service, not strategy.
Unlike those who chase opportunity, the author responded to it—boarding planes, crossing borders, and stepping into urgent roles she never sought but never declined. Over 75 years and 26 countries, she worked as a teacher, soldier, linguist, professor, diplomat, and cultural ambassador. Whether guiding Turkmen diplomats, mentoring Russian scholars, or founding academic programs in unlikely places, her journey unfolded through a steady stream of voices asking: Can you come help us?
Told through an alphabetical journey across places that shaped her—from Acton, Maine to Uzbekistan—this memoir is rich with insight, adventure, and deep humanity. At its heart lies the quiet power of answering the call to serve, wherever it may lead.
Like Mary Poppins, she drifted in with the East Wind—bringing what was needed, staying just long enough, and leaving behind transformation. Then she returned home, until the next wind called.
From the forthcoming book:
In with the East Wind...A Mary Poppins Kind of Life
Volume 1: ABC Lands
by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
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For more posts by and about Betty Lou Leaver, click HERE.
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