ADAPTING TO A CIVILIZED WORLD. How the world has changed #32

There are many changes that has occurred in the nearly 70 years of living and this is just a few ways that I personally have had to adapt to a more civilized society.  Although this is a personal testimony, most folks that have lived a similar length of time have had to undergo change in varying degrees as well. 

After I was a teenager the electric company brought power to our neck of the woods. We had electricity installed with a single light hanging from the ceiling in each room and a few plugs. I remember the first time we turned on a bulb. It was so bright compared to our coal oil lamp and I thought it was a marvel!

Slowly we started getting small appliances to use the electric power and the first one I remember was a coffee pot. I thought they would simply plug the pot in and it would magically make coffee, but when I found out that you had to add the water and coffee and it just perked water through the grounds; my thoughts of magic was shattered.

It was not until I left home at 16 that I had inside plumbing and running water. Up to then we drew our water and walked a path to our outside toilet.  What an uncivilized bunch of folks we were! But you know what? I have always been thankful that I was raised up in that environment, because now I can appreciate what we have today!

I suppose the greatest change is the technology boom that has happened in the years since I have left the farm and family. We had really no technology, but now it has advanced to gigantic proportions. I have actually embraced and have learned to use much of the technology that is available today.

I consider myself to have adapted and am almost a civilized person in our society now. Just something to think about!

 

HOW WE SURVIVED THE INSECT WORLD. How the world has changed # 31

Today many insects ore still around, but our houses are built so that we can fairly well keep most insects out, however, because of our open door policy (huge cracks everywhere) insects of all kind inside the house were a part of our lives as I was growing up.  One of the things I woke up to many mornings was the sound of dirt-dabbers building their homes inside our walls. They would be flying around everywhere, but we knew they would not sting if we left them alone, so that’s what we did and as a result, we co-inhabited in peace.

Ants were abundant both inside and outside the house and although they were unwelcome guest inside, never the less they made themselves at home. In order to keep them from stealing our food on the table, we would keep jar lids under each table leg and as long as we kept them filled with water; it kept them off fairly well.

Although Yellow jackets and wasp were usually outside, we would occasionally pass too close to their hidden nest; someone would get stung and the war was on! Unlike the dirt-dabbers, they seem to always be spoiling for a fight and we were more than willing to accommodate them.

Flies were usually prolific and were definitely a nuisance and we had to keep everything covered with clean rags to keep them from sampling our food. While they were only a terrible nuisance, the cotton-picking mosquitoes, however, was a different story. We had to spank many of them, but we became blood donors to many more. We never found a way to control them, so we reluctantly had to find a way to live with them.

While these as well as fleas, which made us miserable both inside and out, there were many other flying and crawling insects that were usually just a part of our outside world. Just something to think about!

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? How the world has changed #30

Today it seems that if we get the sniffles that we go or take our kids to the doctor. It was not that way when I was growing up. If you went to the doctor, you must have been dying or they expected that you might die! There were several reasons for this. In the first place there were not that many doctors around then as there is today.

The second reason was that folks doctored themselves more then with home remedies, so mama was our doctor. Another reason was that money was very hard to come by and folks could not afford to go to the doctor for just any little thing that happened. When I wrote, “The ax and the scar” I had cut a gash about four inches long in my leg with an ax and they used kerosene just like they did when I nearly cut off my little toe.

It may sound barbaric, but my leg and toe healed and every sickness had a home remedy that was used with no thought of taking someone to the doctor. Don’t misunderstand me, I am thankful that doctors are readily available now and I would not want to go back to some of the home remedies that they used, but we probably don’t need to rely on doctors as much as we do.

One of the home remedies that I am really thankful that has changed is the way they treated burns. When you got burned when I was a boy, they put grease or lard on it, which probably did more harm than good. Mama thought that we needed a good cleaning out about once a year, so we were given Calomel tablets and you could taste it for years with every memory of it.

As much as I loved my mother, I am thankful that she is not my doctor any longer. Just something to think about!

THE HILL KEEPS GETTING FARTHER AWAY. How the world has changed # 29

   

I remember as a young man that I considered a person that was thirty years old to be over the hill, however the hill gets farther away the older I get. In fact, thirty seems very young now that I am a few times around the block past that! It is true that when a person was fifty or fifty-five, he was considered to be getting old even by adults, however with the new technology and medicines, life expectancy has increased significantly.

Today folks that are seventy, eighty or even ninety are not unusual and even folks living to the century mark is getting more common, but folks living sixty-five or seventy was rare when I was young. So you see, “The good ole days,” are not always “The good ole days.” This is definitely one change that we can live with,”pun intended!”

One of the ways that has and is extending our life expectancy is early detection of health problems that can be treated and or a suggested live-style change that can prevent strokes, heart attacks and other problems as well. We also have a grasp of better diet and exercise habits that help extend life, or at least wart off problems of which past generations may have been unaware.

Just imagine what may be in store for the future generations. Life expectancy may be even greater for our grand and great grand children. Going over the hill is surely there for all of us, but in our present generation and the next generations the hill may be moving farther away all the time.

Just a note of interest; according to the present 2010 statistics, 49 countries have a life expectancy that is greater than the United States, which is 78.24years. Even in this enlightened age, the different societal structures have life expectancy that ranges from 89.78 years, to 38.48 years. Simply Amazing and definitely something to think about!

LOWERING THE QUILTING FRAME. How the world has changed #28

One of the things that were in nearly every home when I was growing up, was a quilting frame that usually hung by ropes on each corner above the parent’s bed so that it could be lowered when needed then pulled up out of the way. Making quilts was a job that was an act of love, usually by the mother, daughters, grandmother or other relatives.

This was many times a group effort where different folks made the quilting tops and then would meet at someone’s home to lower the quilting frames and finish the quilts. The backing was the first thing to put on the frame, then the batting, or a thin layer of cotton, then the quilting top. They would then, using a needle and thread, loosely weave the thread into the quilt.

One of the last things that they would do is cut and tie the threads so that it held all three parts of the quilt together, usually about an inch and a half apart. As a boy I remember helping to cut and tie these threads and then would boast that I helped make the quilts. The last thing that needed to be done was to sew on a “Bias” or to sew the top, batting and back together all around the edges and then the quilt was finished.

During one of these group efforts they complete several of these in one day. As a result of several times a year of lowering the quilting frames, the families would have enough covers to keep warm during the winter. This was a very important job that normally only the ladies did.

This is one craft that is not a lost art or that has disappeared through the years, although it may be done now out of the joy of the craft, but in the old day it was a joy also, but it was also done out of necessity. Just something to think about!

MY DAYS BEHIND THE MULE. How the world has changed #27

 

This will probably come as a culture shock, but before the invention of the modern tractors, people farmed with mules, horses or even oxen. In our case we used a mule to plow our fields and work our crops.  Mules were also used on Saturdays to pull our wagon to take us to town to get our much-needed supplies.

Most of the plowing behind our mule was done either by papa or one of my older brothers. I would ask occasionally when I would be able to plow, but they would usually say that I was too young, or at least too small.  One-day papa said that I couldn’t handle the turning plow, but I could try the middle buster.

When they turned it over to me, it was already quite late and the mule was tired and ready go home to eat, drink and to rest! He seemed to know that I was “new-meat” and not big enough for the job; as a result, he had no respect for me. When I was plowing away from the house, it was all I could do to get him to make it to the end of the rows. Then as we turned, the mule would put it in high gear and I nearly had to run to keep up with him?

After only a short time I was getting tired and frustrated and I am sure my family was watching and probably laughing at my dilemma. After a short time I was ready to concede that I was not ready for the plow and the stubborn mule, so we went home! So my days behind the mule were short-lived.

The more I think about it, I believe they set me up knowing what the mule would do that late in the day, so that I would understand that I, indeed, was too young and too small for the job. It was definitely a humbling experience and something to think about!

COME HOME IT’S SUPPER TIME. How the world as changed # 26

 

One of the ways our families dining experience has changed is that breakfast, dinner (if not a school day) and supper, for the most part at least, the families eat around the family table. At our home, papa and mama would sit on each end and everyone else sat on the benches on each side. I know that in our more etiquette correct society, the correct terms would be, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It may come as a surprise to you, but we did not spend much time studying the rules of etiquette in deep East Texas.

In the morning we would have to wait until our chores were done before we could eat breakfast. For supper especially, we would either hear the dinner bell that was on a pole outside, or mama would call and tell us that it was time to eat.

Wherever we were we would make our way home, because there was not a better sound in the world than that supper was on the table, because we were always ready to eat.

As we were eating our meal we would either tell or listen to what had been done or what had happened with the family members during the day. It was always a good family time where we could began to relax from a busy day and possibly discuss plans for the next day as well. 

Today families have changed as to where and how we eat our meals is concerned, including my own. As a whole, families no longer take the time to eat around the table as they once did; instead the food is often eaten in front of the TV while watching the news or a movie.

There is nothing good or bad about change, however, it does seem that the families are missing out on a very meaningful experience by not meeting and sharing their lives around the family table. Just something to think about!

HAULING HAY THE HOTTEST JOB EVER. How the world has changed # 25

You didn’t have to be crazy to haul hay on a hot summer day, but it helped. It was one of the hottest jobs that you could find and by far the itchiest. In a very short time, the dust and hay particles would get under your clothes and stick to you as you sweated and you would itch all day and you could not wait until the end of the day so you could go swimming in the creek or take a bath to get some much needed relief.

No part of hauling hay was easy unless you were lucky enough to drive the truck. As the truck eased along those on the ground would toss the bails of hay by the two wires holding it together, to the ones on top of the truck. They would stack the hay on the truck and once it was full, we would ride to the barn where we would unload and stack the hay in the barn and then go back to the field for more.

When all of the hay was in the barn or at the end of the day you looked forward to two things, getting paid, which normally was at the end of each day, and the other was jumping in the creek and getting clean clothes on so you could get some relief from the heat and itching. I am not sure that the latter was not the most important thing at the moment.

Getting hay from the field to where it can be accessed for the animals is now done mostly in big round bails, which does not require handling by hand. I do see some smaller square bales occasionally, but I don’t know if they are handled by hand or not, but however the hay is bailed the air is still filled with dust and hay particles.

The modern tractors, however, are now enclosed and air-conditioned, which makes the hay bailing process so much better than how I remember it. Just something to think about!

THE BORDERING SYSTEM. How the world has changed #24

One of the ways folks survived in the past was by using the “Bordering system,” or trading for things that they needed. The reason this system was so widely used and worked to everyone’s advantage, was two fold. First most folks were poor and did not have a lot of cash to purchase what they needed.

The second reason was that normally they raised more than they need so they had enough of some things that they could border, or trade for other things they needed.  So they did the best thing to get what they needed to survive; that is they traded with their neighbors and friends.

The way it worked was, if one farmer raised corn and their neighbor raised peas, then one would agree to trade a bushel of my corn for a bushel of your peas. Or I will help your build your barn if you will, in turn, help build mine. If one family had much needed quilts, then they would offer whatever they had for some quilts for winter.

I remember mama making and trading one of her quilts for some much needed medicine. So when it boiled right down to it, it was providing their talents and time, to obtain what they otherwise would have to do without.

We had a neighbor that was a professional trader. He would make his round and get to know all the folks in the community as to what they needed and or had to trade. Then he would make a deal with someone at a cheep price and then either sell or trade the things that folks had a need for.

Normally, however, it was not to make a profit, but bordering for what they had plenty of, for something they needed and it seem to help supply both parties with what it took to help them to survive. Just something to think about!

DISHES IN THE OATMEAL BOX. How the world has changed #23

Although we did not buy many things from the store except for what we could not grow or border for, an occasional box of oatmeal was the exception. Normally our breakfast was biscuits and gravy, or fried salt pork, however, once in a while there would be something different on the table waiting for us when we got up and we would eat whatever had been prepared for us. 

Oatmeal was one of those rare treats in the morning and there was always a surprise in the box when it was opened. As I remember it, we always wanted mama to wait to open the oatmeal, until we could see the surprise that came out of the box. There may be a cup and saucer, a bowl, or some other dish that was packed in the box with the oatmeal.

There was nothing protecting glass from getting in the oatmeal if it had been broken or chipped, but I never remember that happening. Could you imagine that being allowed in today’s “safety’” and “health concise” society? 

The oatmeal dishes kept us supplied with coffee cups or bowls to use, plus we all enjoyed an occasional bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I understand that other things such as different kinds of cereal also came with dishes or some other useful items packed in with the contents, oatmeal, however, is the only thing that I remember us getting.

Although oatmeal still is stacked on the store shelves, yet you no longer have the added benefit of finding dishes packed in with the contents. Remembering this link to the past gives us something to discuss and something to think about!