The Legacy Ernest Father Left Him

Ernest looking at his muscadine bushes
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

Ernest Frazier, Sr.,  recalls the days he worked in the field with his father. He started out by  watching the smaller children under a tree, before he was called to work in the fields with everyone else at the age of about six. He has planted and harvesting every kind of produce you would want to eat. 

He walked around the garden with Eddie Ponds, the owner of the Drum Newspaper in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, talking about how hard the weather has been on his crops this year. With all the rain this summer, his crops didn't do as well as it normally would. Ernest planted strawberries, peanuts, sugarcane,  and sweet potatoes this year. He said the ground was to wet too work in the garden as usual.  His sweet potatoes are ready for harvest, but the ground was to wet to get in there with his tractor. He said this was one of the worst season he had seen in a long time due to the excessive amount of rain we have been getting everyday in Tangipahoa Parish. 

I had to ask Ernest if he went by the Farmer's Almanac? "His response was yes!" I tested it out one day, he said.  I planted two rolls, one according to the Farmer's Almanac, and the other roll the day before. The roll I planted according to the Farmer's Almanac did great. The roll I planted the day before didn't yield any produce. 

 Eddie Ponds with  The Drum Newspaper
and Ernest looking at the calendar

The original Farmer's Almanac founded in 1792. The Old Farmer's Almanac is a reference book that contains weather forecast, tide tables, planting charts, astronomical data, recipes and articles on a number of topics. 

I asked Ernest what did the early farmers do if they couldn't read the Almanac, he said they went by the moon. The moon told them when to plant, when to harvest, and when to preserve and store for longer shelf life. "They knew when to plant the seeds," said Ernest. The old people were wise, I can't tell it like they could. "I still go by my calendar," he said.

Ernest father had a smokehouse and packing house for his produce behind his home. He talked about the legacy of farming that his father passed down to him. He pointed out that there aren't that African American men who are still planting. I know several African American men who are still planting; Charles Holmes, Ernest Wheat, Sr., and a man I call Mr. Herman. 

His father Willie C. Frazier was known through out the community as Mr. W.C. Frazier.  Ernest mother was named Lizzie Coleman Frazier.  Ernest married Jo-Ann Lewis Frazier and they gave birth to two sons. They are the grandparents of four grandsons. Although none of his sons are following in his footsteps, he feel that it's important to pass the knowledge of agriculture to other who may want to plant and grow their own food. "There is nothing like the taste of fresh produce," said Ernest. Although he do purchase what he do not grow from some local farmers and the local supermarket for produce. 

Ernest standing in front of his father home

Ernest went inside of his pick-up truck and came back with a calendar and Farmer' Almanac to show us. He said he prefer the calendar over the Almanac. He find that it is easier to use. He went on to say that he think that we are in for some major changes with the  weather that will affect the produce, fishing and hunting of wildlife. He is the only one of his parents offsprings to carry the tradition of planting on. Ernest do not sale any of his produce, he shares it with his family and friends. Just like his father, sharing is part of that legacy that was taught to him by his father. 

The Legacy of Farming with Ernest Frazier of Amite, Louisiana.

“He was born to be a farmer. It was something that he was good at, something he knew well. He was a giver of life, an alchemist that worked in dirt, seed, and manure.” ― Tracy Winegar, Good Ground

Ernest Fazier

Like his father who was passionate about tilling the soil and making things grow.  Ernest Frazier is just like his father Mr. Willie Charles Frazier known to everyone in the Amite community as Mr. W.C. Just like his father, Ernest spend a great deal of time working and tilling the soil. What I have learned about men and women who are like Ernest and his father, they have a natural connection to the soil! It is in their blood and they look forward to planting  crops every year. They are masters of agriculture, some people went to school to get a degree to study agriculture. For Ernest and his father it came natural and was passed down from generations. Black farmers in America dreamed of owning their own land. They worked hard to make that dream come true.  Many black farmers in Tangipahoa and St. Helena Parishes wanted to operated independently from the white farmers or land owners. I heard many say that they wouldn't get the same price for their produce as white men and women in the community or markets.

Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr.

The Census of Agriculture is now conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture every 5 years. The Federal agricultural schedules were taken beginning in 1840. The schedules provide information like the owner's name, acres improved and unimproved, value of the farm, farming machinery, crop and livestock production, and "home manufactures." 

Black farmers in America faced discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture loans for decades. Women both black and white faced a discrimination as well. It is good to see men like Ernest carry the family tradition of farming on today. My maternal grandfather Jasper Harrell, Sr., and his mother Emma Mead Harrell were farmers.  Jasper's brother Palmer Harrell also farmed, I hold fond memories of farming with my great uncle Palmer. For the newly freed slaves, owning your own land meant freedom and a ticket to becoming independent and self-sufficient. One thing is for sure a farmer will never go hungry and they know what they are eating. Ernest enjoy watching the vegetable grow and certainly enjoy the fresh taste of squash, cucumbers, corn, beans, tomatoes, strawberries and sweet potatoes. He is the kind of man that shares with his neighbors just like his father did. After all the planting and picking, his wife Jo-Ann, cans the vegetables and make some of the best tasting homemade jams you want to taste.

She learned how to can from the women who came before her. I was very happy to hear that she held on to the tradition. It isn't that many women who are still canning. When I was little girl, I remember my mother and grandmother canning. Although I have never canned any fresh fruits or vegetables. I am willing to learn because there is nothing to compare to the taste. 

Thank to both Ernest and his wife Jo-Ann for holding on to those value lessons of farming and canning. It would be good to see them both co-author a book on farming and canning and how the tradition was passed on to them by their ancestors.