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Article: Once-Great Cotton Empire All but Wilted in Collin County, Texas.
- Article from:
- The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
- Article date:
- October 5, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Dallas Morning News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ieva M. Augstums
Oct. 5--FARMERSVILLE, Texas--It wasn't that long ago that King Cotton ruled Collin County.
The peak came 31 years ago this fall, when the county's dozens of cotton farmers harvested 33,000 compressed bales -- or enough to make more than 7 million pairs of jeans. More than a tenth of the county was planted in cotton that year.
"During the harvest season you could see people sleeping on top of the bales, in the streets and in their cars," said Bob Griffin, 72, a former gin manager of the Farmers Cooperative Gin Association in Frisco. "I know it's hard to imagine, but it was our life."
But that was in an era when ...