Depression gardens

Thanks to my grandma--mayhaw jelly is the only kind of jelly we will even eat. She even used to mail it to Montana to us when we were growing up. I got to agree about America needing to loose weight.
Debbie

I was born in 1932. As a child, I knew we were poor and scratching for a living but so was almost everyone else so it seemed normal to me. One yearly event stands out in my memory.

In my Dad's family there were 10 children, 9 boys and one girl. My paternal Grandmother was widowed about the time I was born but she and 4 of the boys still maintained the old 40 acre homestead. Family was very important and even though 5 of the boys were married and living within about a 30 to 40 mile radius, assistance was given whenever it was needed.

I don't think anyone had a telephone but each autumn, about the time of the first cool weather spell, my Dad would announce, "They are a'gonna be killing hogs at Momma's this weekend." And the whole family, plus others known as "shirttail cousins" would gather for the hog killing. Work started about 4:00 AM and was in full swing when the sun came up. It was a bloody weekend. Granny and the boys kept a herd of hogs and many of them were slaughtered that weekend. They would be herded into a hog proof corral. One uncle, sort of the leader of the clan, would stand on the top rail of the corral fence and point out the hog(s) to be killed. Other uncles and older cousins would do the shooting from the top of the corral. It was a mark of pride for some of my older cousins when they were deemed accurate enough to do some of the shooting. There was every kind of rifle imaginable being used, from saddle carbines to long rifles. One uncle inside the corral had a large caliber pistol to finish off the hogs if necessary. Except for being shot to death, unnecessary suffering of the hogs was not tolerated. Others did the stabbing and throat cutting to bleed out the unfortunate hogs. It was a quick, bloody and messy operation.

Horses were harnessed to a sled and the hogs carcass's were hauled to the backyard of the farmhouse where there were large enough trees to hang them to for dressing out. There would be 3 or 4 campfires going to heat water in #3 washtubs and cast iron washtubs. That steaming hot water was poured into some large drums set at a 45 degree angle. The hogs carcass would be shoved into the slanted barrels of hot water to loosen the hair so it could be scraped off. I was proud when, as a 6 year old, I was big enough to be a campfire tender. It beat the heck out of scrapping hair off a dead hog which some of the slightly older kids were doing. Some of the women would be boiling pieces of heavily spiced hogs hide in freshly rendered hogs fat in a big cast iron wash pot. That was the cracklins and chitlins. All in all, it was a bloody day at Granny's house. And yes, some of the smaller intestines were turned inside out and cleaned to be used as the casing for sausage. Sausage grinders were clamped to the wash bench on Granny's back porch and were going at full crank. Not much of those hogs went to waste. My skinny little arms could get mighty tired turning those sausage grinders but kids were expected to work as hard as grown ups. The hogs heads were boiled and some of the women and older girls would scrape off the meat (called mincing) to use for making mince meat pies and souse cheese.

A large roll of that old white butchers paper was mounted on the back wall there on the porch and the dressed out hog meat was carefully wrapped and labeled and placed in various piles all along the long L shaped porch. One pile for each participating family of the slaughter plus some for what Granny called the "less fortunate amongst us" to be delivered later. And of course the smoke house was puffing smoke and being loaded with hams and big huge slabs of bacon. Huge amounts of salt and spices were used to cure some of the meat and prevent it from spoiling. Granny and Uncle Brodie took great pride in the seasonings of their own concoction used to flavor the meat.

The sled and team was used to haul off the many tubs of intestines and unusable parts. And the pack of hunting dogs were finally turned loose to enjoy their own feast.

The part I liked best about hog killing at Granny's house was the home made ice cream we made at the grand finale. My skinny little butt would have to sit on top of the cold ice cream maker to hold it down while some older and stronger kid cranked the handle. When it got to where the handle almost couldn't be turned........it was ice cream eating time!

The various piles of meat would then be loaded into automobiles and everyone headed home after a long hard days work. The rear end of those old cars would be sagging low with the load. I dont re-call anyone that had a refrigerator at that time. We rented a cold storage locker in Athens, Texas where we kept our meat. The locker was long and deep but only about 18X18 inches square and ours was a top locker. I always had the job of standing on this short ladder and crawling far enough back into the locker to stack the packaged meat in there.

Hog killing day at Granny's house wasn't just a family affair. Some folks didn't have an old home place and a herd of hogs. My uncle Brodie, sort of the leader of our clan, would just happen to pass by various peoples house and mention off-hand that they sure could use some help come hog killing time. Folks would show up ready for work and they would just happen to bring all kinds of canned goods and other items that they thought Granny and the boys might could use. Those folks shared in all the work and took home the same amount of meat. Things even out in the long run, as long as everyone is doing the best they can do and sharing what they have to share. People back then did the best they could do with what they had.........and it was good enough for a get by.

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This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 5:16 AM

This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 5:28 AM

Jay-
Thank you for taking the time to write your wonderful memories, and glimse into the past.

I enjoyed every word :0)

My mother used to make mincemeat pie. I didn't like it, but I remember it :0) We also made homemade ice cream once...I repeat once. It sure wore your arms out!

She also had a mounted meat grinder, and an old aluminum lined 'ice box' cabinet.

But many of those things were for antique nostalgia, not necessity.

It sure seems like families were much bigger and life was much harder, but it also seems there were more good people back then. With all of our modern day conveniences, we seem to have missed something.

It doesn't seem like back then there was much time for 'eating the bread of idleness'...which others called 'the devil's workshop' ;0)

I love to hear how people helped each other so much back then.

I have a dear friend who is 73, and her husband is 75. They still run a working ranch of 40 acres. They are extremely hard working, wonderful people. I love to go visit, and listen to their trips down memory lane. They rarely take time to even sit, so it is a real treat when they do :0)

Was searching for something else and came across this thread. As my username implies I am from Oklahoma. My family is all still there. Both of my parents grew up dirt poor. I can remember the stories my parents telling me of going frogging and hunting for meat. --My mom told me she once accidently broke her dads froggin' gig and she ran and hid.

Spam was the only occasional store bought meat. (my parents still love fried spam sandwiches) Also she told me about them picking poke and making poke salad. They still do that sometimes too. Mom told me once they used to try to smoke home made grape vine cigarettes. My grandfather was a coal miner but died of a heart attack and black lung at the entrance to the mine when my mom was only 14. That left my grandmother with 6 kids on her own. She didn't even know how to drive a car.

But this was the woman who had had a baby by 16 and still managed to finish highschool. I have a photo of her in her cap and gown, one of the few photos of her when she was young. That was a big deal back then to actually finish highschool!

By the time I was born Grandma was Go Go Granny. She had a little green datsun pick up truck and drove that thing all over. She was very independent. She always told me not to depend on a man, that you had to learn to do it yourself. -And I have. : )

Grandma lived through the dustbowl days. I asked her about it once but she didn't have much to say about it. She passed away about 8 years ago.

Jay.... I am not as old as you, but due to going summers to a Stepfather's place in Alexandria,LA, I got to experience the hog slaughtering one year. What you said about it was just about everything that happened there. Neighbors, family and friends all came; doing their part and sharing the bounty. I don't remember helping out, but I remember seeing the goings on. I may have been about 4 or 5 at the most. I can remember the smell of the smoke house and wondering how that meat didn't go bad. I lived in the city you see and we had refrigerators. LOL!
I wouldn't take for my country experiences there or in Atlanta TX where my Aunt lived. I got to stay one place or the other on summer vacations every year. ( Momma needed a vacation) LOL!
In Atlanta my Great Grandpaw had a store with a counter and a couple of tables. If I have that picture I will show it. Anyway...he would run tabs for a lot of the town people during those times Momma said. Unlike today, back then as soon as people could pay on their bills they did. Good credit was something everyone took pride in, and a handshake was as good as a signature. People would bring eggs or produce in and trade them for things they needed. Pappaw would then resell them.
They served things like soup, stew, & chili. One story that was told to us was that a man used to come in almost everyday to the counter and order a bowl chili which came with a few crackers and cost 10 cents. He would crumble all of his crackers in his chili and then ask for a bit more chili because it was a "little dry". Then when that was "given" to him...he would request a few more crackers to eat it with. At least he wasn't stealing from them, and I suppose he had too much pride to ask for a free meal.

Wow...........wow..............look how far we've come in less than 100 years. Amazing.

And I am soooooo appreciative of modern times and conveniences!!!!!!

And everyone said Amen!

My parents both grew up in SE Texas. Mother was a "sawmill girl," and moved around as those little sawmills popped up all over that area. They lived their days by the mill whistle. Men rode the train into town at 12:00, and back in again when it blew at 5:00. Daddy's family were farmers--9 children who worked on the farm. Daddy, who was the middle boy, was usually sent out early in the morning to kill a chicken so Mama Jo could make fried chicken and gravy to go with the buscuits for breakfast. All they had was what they grew or raised. Mother and Daddy married in 1931 when everyone was poor. They lived out in the "sticks" and didn't have anything. Many weeks would go by without having any money at all. They had a cow and a garden, and canned what they could. One Christmas Eve Mother was cleaning out a chest of drawers and found an old wallet of Daddy's with a dollar bill in it. Daddy rode the mule to town and bought 5 lbs. of flour, 5 lbs. of sugar, a bag of oranges and apples, a bag of nuts, dried fruit, and candy. She always said it was the best Christmas they ever had. We are poorer because we have so much.

Sounds like that was the makings of a fruit cake for the holidays and a lot more I am sure! We do forget where we came from and how fortunate we are that our parents knew how to do much with little. Nothing went to waste back then.

Jaywhacker, have you considered writing articles for DG? I loved your story. I am glad I didn't live in a time when we had to raise and slaughter our own hogs. But then again, sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't all be better off if we raised a lot of our own food and could skip the grocery stores.

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your story, and I'm sure that others would too.

Thanks for bumping this thread - sorry I did not see it sooner.

Great stories and memories.

I remember growing up in N. MN - 15 miles form the nearest town and further from Bemidji. I thought we were "rich". Always had plenty of fresh fish, rabbits, and other game, as well as chickens we raised, and about 2 acres of garden for lots of vegetables. A log ice house with lake ice kept food cold. A 100ft well provided good clean water (but that was a second year expense) we hauled water from a neighbor the first year in large milk containers.

Lighting was provided by kerosine lamps and one huge 4 mantle white-gas lamp. Heat was form a wood stove converted to burn oil - not only cooked our food, but heated the whole 3 room house.

Communication was a 32 party line, and phone numbers were a combination of long and short rings. In the phone book ours was listed as 51F12, which was 1 long and 2 shorts. My folks used the same pattern on the car horn to call me back from the woods whenever we were berry or mushroom picking.or just playing.

Our first washing machine (after the washboard) was a Matag. Had a long verticle handle to work the dasher, but also had a hand cranked wringer. Mom said it was too much work, so the next year, Dad bought another Maytag with a Briggs & Stratton motor with a step-starter. Took a lot of steps to actually start it, but worked great. Both had wooden tubs made like a half barrel, but with straight boards, not round.

Dad bought a surplus army tank turret generator, and wired the house with electric wires. Ran 6 volt bulbs. We were the only house for many miles with electric lights - REA came about 2 years later. They were quite impressed. All they had to do was swap sides of the house for the input fusebox, disconnect the generator feed, and change the light bulbs.

The generator was moved to the boat dock to charge the batteries for the Minkota troling motor.

More stories later - gotta get back to work.

Love the communication system!

I'm glad I read this thread. It's very good to be reminded of how things used to be. In may ways they were better then.

My Dad who was born in 1912 (passed away in 2000) was the second and last child in his family. His dad was a laborer who worked various jobs including lumberjack in east Tx and photographer later because he hurt his back when he was a lumberjack. The family traveled constantly and my Dad's earliest memory was of the family traveling from the Houston area up to somewhere on the Red River in a Model T (I think) when he was 6. Soon after they got there his parents and older brother all came down with the flu that was killing so many people then. At the age of 6 he had to take care of all 3 of them. They all survived. My Dad was a man of few words and the fact that he retold this story many times sent a message to everyone about the importance of taking care of your family. His dad died a few years later of pneumonia, but he and his mom and brother moved south to the Dallas area and started working in the cotton fields. He was very close to his mom and brother.

Times were very hard then, but because there was no TV or internet, people were not constantly reminded of what they couldn't buy and what they were missing out on. That was a good thing but also a double edged sword. There was also a lot less helpful information passed around.