The October holidays are in full swing and most kids today are spending time with pals and playing on games consoles.
But before the days of heavy machinery, thousands of children dug their way through the potato fields across Tayside, taking part in the potato harvest.
And despite heavy rain, icy cold mornings and muddy conditions, the picking teams would be out in the fields collecting up to 80 tonnes of tatties a day.
John Brown, the farmer at West Adamston Farm, Muirhead, said people of all ages used to come in their masses to pick their share.
He added: “Those two weeks were always full of laughs — every squad had their jokers.
“I was pretty spoiled, though, as I got the good job of driving the tractor, so I was rarely ever picking the tatties. That was the perks of being the farmer’s son.
“Folk from the local towns and villages would pile on to the back of a wagon and be taken to the farm.
“Then, after the tractor loosened the ground, everybody had their bit to dig with squads lining the fields, working from the early hours of the morning through to 4pm or 5pm.”
Lesley Barrie, from Kirriemuir, remembers the back-breaking work she carried out with her friends — but she loved every minute.
The 54-year-old said: “It was really hard work, your fingers were freezing and you were shattered by the end of the day, but it was absolutely brilliant.
“And on the cold mornings we would make fires and roast potatoes on the flames for our lunch.
There was a real sense of camaraderie.
“We would get the bus from Kirrie Square at 7am, get to the farm and work through to about 4pm. The money wasn’t too bad either.”
Lesley said if it was a good two weeks you would get about £140 for your work. She added: “It taught you the rewards you could get if you worked hard.”
The tatty weeks originated in the 1930s when parents strapped for cash would take their kids out of school to pick potatoes. The schools noticed this at the time and would allow children to go and help bring in some extra money for the family.
Patoto Harvesting
1949 could be argued as the passed tradition’s pinnacle, as 44,000 kids took to the fields across the country.
The money to be made boosted the popularity as well, as kids aged 12 to 17 realised the amount of money that could be made. However, the local education board and the farmers’ union would have to agree the going rate each year the two weeks came around.
As farming machinery developed through the years, however, the demand for helping hands on the farm diminished year on year, with the last of the tatty squads going out in the mid-80s.
John added: “The last squad we had coming out to give us a hand on our farm was in 1985.
“The machinery we started using was much more effective than loads of hands on deck. A good tatty picker could collect two tonnes of potatoes in a day.
“A whole squad could gather up to 80 tonnes. But the machines we use now — on a good day, after a good growing season — can collect up to 300 or 400 tonnes in a day.
“Most kids now can’t really comprehend the work people their age did back then to get a bit of extra money in their pockets.
“It was a great time for communities to get together and learn the values of putting in hard work.”