Bo & Luke employment?

[firemanb]

Did Bo & Luke have a job or did they live off of Daisy's waitress job? Uncle Jesse had the farm but they didn't farm anything that I know of. I know they often got accused of running moonshine but that was not their profession. I know they got prize money from races, and they sometimes did car repairs, and sometimes they got rewards from their adventures, but it would be hard to live like that. Just wondering if they ever alluded to what they did for a living.

[Jamanda]

The Dukes were full time farmers. In "Route 7-11", Cooter tells Bo and Luke that he heard about a job and they say, "You know we can't leave the farm for steady work." Other episodes do show the whole family working on the farm, plowing and repairing a tractor and things like that.

Now as farmers don't make all that much, they used to run moonshine, which brings in a lot of money, but they don't any longer. For extra cash, Bo and Luke enter the races and Daisy works at the Boar's Nest.

[Eddiemunster]

I've sort of thought about this before. In "Repo Men", the used car salesman who Bo and Luke buy the wrecked Petty car from, mentions to them something like "Now, knowing you boys probably haven't made $700 in one year......."

[JESSI DUKE]

Bo and Luke also did odd jobs that they got paid for.

[Mrs. Luke Duke]

Being a farmer is hard work in addition to it being a self-employed job. Now you can see why Bo and Luke are always in such great shape, they showed off those muscles many times just chopping wood.

[Dixie Lee_01]

It *is* a full-time job, running/working a farm... they wouldn't have time to be otherwise employed really even if they wanted. And yes it is hard work too. But the entire family were proud of it. The farm is not only their home but also their heritage, a Duke family livelihood passed down for generations. As for *what* they farmed, I don't think it's ever said exactly. But I would guess that they probably grew some sort of grain, seeing as that would not only be sellable in itself but used for the family shine business, and also hay, cause you don't really see hay laying around loose like we have unless it's been grown there - places that got it shipped in would keep it baled for better storage until needed. Possibly something else, can't know.

It always really puzzles me when people asked what did they do for a living... cause it should be obvious... lol.

[Jamanda]

Also, the line in Repo-men is "Since you boys stopped making shine, you haven't made $700 in a year." So Ace is saying that he knows they don't have much money since they stopped selling whiskey and their only income is from the farm.

[DixieDavenport]

I always figured they grew Corn for the moonshine and animals. Also, hay for the animals.

Since they did have the land they could also have raised hogs and cows for others who didn't have the land and or sell the either before or after they were slaughtered. You always saw plenty of animals around.

In One Armed bandits Bo tells Jill "Jesse doesn't take kindly to any Gov. assistance he'd rather starve."

In Repo Man when Bo and Luke come in after taking the job repoing the Rolls Jesse is at the mail box and is taking a familiar yellow envelope out of the mail box like a Retirement (Gov) check used to come in (Before the days of direct deposit). With Jesse's age if he ran his farm as a business and paid into taxes --- would he be able to collect retirement Social Security??? This happens as he's complaining about the Christmas catolog coming any earlier. THey then go into the house by the fire place while they tell him about the job.

One show also mentions about the crops (or corn) you planted yesturday being ready today if not they would be eating beans AGAIN.

Farmers grow to sell but usually have big gardens to freeze and can for the winter. They also raise their own meat and hunt so all in all they are pretty self suffient.

Bo says in Deputy Dukes we're country boys we dont' need money we just barter (trade) our way through life.

DixieDavenport

[Eddiemunster]

I forget the episode, but Daisy mentioned something about the cotton being ready for picking.

[lost_sheep3]

I forget the episode, but Daisy mentioned something about the cotton being ready for picking.

I don't remember the episode either, but I think that this was tongue in cheek and was a signal to the rest of the group that her part of the plan was ready.

LS3

[inga]

Cotton is mentioned. I believe that in the episode in which Bo complains about eating beans AGAIN, Daisy specifically replies with "unless that cotton crop you planted yesterday...".

They never seem to show any crops, nor do they appear to have enough animals for a working farm--but I guess that's all supposed to be off-camera, somewhere.

We see the Dukes working with wood rather than with crops--they haul wood, chop wood, saw wood, stack wood....Where are the crops?

[Brian Coltrane]

I recall Uncle Jesse mentioning "seed corn" money in one ep. Somethin' about a choice where they could either buy the seed they needed for spring planting, or blow the money on an entry fee for a race.

They entered the race, of course. The Dukes always did have thier priorities straight. Heh heh.

Ya know, with that NASCAR stint the boys did, you'd think they woulda brought home a few bucks. I guess they gave it all to the orphanage.

Brian

[MaryAnne]

They could buy the seed corn or they could buy enough food to last them a few days. They only needed five bucks (I think) for the entry fee for the race. I think the prize money was $500.00. "Money to Burn." LOL

[Brian Coltrane]

Well, at least I was right about the corn. Though I think cotton is mentioned on some other episode.

I get the impression that the Dukes didn't have all that much land left, though, which could explain why the crop income didn't exactly make them high rollers. Which in turn explains why they were forced to wear the same shirts every day. Daisy's the only one that had a wardrobe to speak of, so I guess that's where her waitressing money went.

[Dixie Lee_01]

Actually, I would guess they have quite a bit of land - perhaps not all cultivated, but there. In "Follow that Still" for example, that RPC crashed through quite a little section of Duke-owned woodland before coming out on the road. And in "The Legacy" there was even an old mine that ran underneath property owned by them...

[Dale The Bold]

They raised chickens and goats, not to mention Maudine the mule. They also grew a lot of crops. You don't see them doing much field work, but who wants to see that? They do build fences and dig fence post holes, which I've always hated doing (I don't think anyone enjoys that). As a kid, I always assumed they had cows, but back then I assumed all farmers had cows just because we did. There is an episode where we see Uncle Jesse plowing the field, but not with a tractor, he was using Maudine.