Such scenes were common in northern Aroostook County in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth. Expanding rail networks and the emergence of starch factories propelled potato farming and employed entire families. People of all ages would take part in the harvest. Mechanization gradually lessened the need for labor towards the end of the twentieth century. Some school districts continue to recognize the significance of the potato crop with an annual harvest break in early fall.

The card was published in Aroostook County by Scates and Company ("Druggists and Stationers"); it was part of Raphael Tuck and Sons' Post Card Series. Addressed to Susan M. Mann of Ashland, New Hampshire, the item bears postmarks from April 5 and 6, 1905.