AROUND THE HOUSE
baby's rattle - Fruit jar rings tied together with a strip of cloth.
to keep baby in place - put gown edge under table leg
Band-Aid - strip of cloth tore at one end with which to tie
broom - weeds gathered and tied around a handle
canning jars - any container from the grocery store that a regulation cap and ring made for canning would fit.
clothes closet - bailing wire between two nails across a corner of the room. - nail on back of door.
clothes washing soap - lye soap
cotton swab - cotton around a match end
curtain rod - bailing wire between two nails
dish cloths and cup towels - torn up, worn out clothing (buttons and zippers saved for future use).
drinking glasses - canning jars (pints for the kids, quarts for the men)
electric blanket - a heated brick, fruit jar of hot water, hot water bottle
electric light candle, coal oil lamp, kerosene lamp, gas lights
guest room - pallets on the floor or on the porch in summer.
ink - laundry bluing
keep ants off of table - kerosene soaked rag around table legs
kill flies in the house (no screens) - fly paper or swatter
linen closet - quilt box (with the lid up, a big one could double as a bed when company came)
lunch pail - a lard bucket, later a paper sack which was kept and returned for reuse.
match to light smoking pipe - small stick in open fire
mop - rags in a mop handle (made for that purpose)
moth balls - cedar chips
pencil sharpener - a pocket knife
salad dressing - cream, sugar and vinegar
washing machine iron pot of boiling water, lye soap and rub board
word processor paper and quill; Big Chief tablet and pencil stub

TOILETRIES
baby powder or heat rash powder- corn starch
deodorant - baking soda
hand soap - lye soap
new double edge blade for razor for shaving - small jar in which to sharpen old blade
shampoo - lye soap - made at home from hog renderings and lye( caustic soda)
toilet paper - old catalogues, pages crumpled and rubbed till softened and pliable.
toothpaste - salt and soda
toothbrush - a sweet gum limb with the ends frayed fer a brushin.

MEDICINE
bug bite medicine: a plug of abc or King B (already been chewed) chewing tebaccy
chigger repellant during blackberry picking- kerosene on ankles and wrists
colds - burn pine tar in the room
cough medicine - 1 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of whiskey
dentistry - toothache medicine sold over the counter - tie a string around the tooth and have someone yank it hard
fresh fruit - daily castor oil or Black Draught
heartburn - soot
hives - catnip
mange medicine - crude oil or crank case oil - worked on both dogs and pigs.
prescriptions, colds or flu croup rag (kerosene rag); turpentine & sugar for sore throat
prescription blood thinner - tea from sassafras root
teething - bore a hole in a penny and tie it around the baby's neck - asphidity (spelling?) bag

WEARING APPAREL
new pair of socks - old pair of socks with toe and heel out, sometimes mended
new pair of shoes - old shoes with sole loose and flapping, or jest plain barefoot
store bought dress - home made dress from flour or feed sacks of the same pattern
underwear - made from flour sacks

OUTDOORS
back pack - tow sack, flour sack
cultivator, trencher, weed killer and snake killer - garden hoe
garbage disposal- pigs, dogs, & chickens.
electric dryer - clothesline or the "bob-war" fence
fastening devices - bailing wire worked for everything
rope swing in tree with seat - old tire swung from rope
sack to carry groceries - empty cardboard box
timepiece - check position of sun
rose fertilizer - dishwater
bug spray - smoke pot

WATER SHORTAGE
During a drought when the well's almost dry:
irrigation water - mop water
kids bath water - laundry rinse water
mop water - kids bath water
poarch and outhouse mop water - left over wash pot water

This here is a true story from cuzin, Sharon, who was a reared up in the backwoods of Red River County, Texas) Coon Prick Toothpick: A male raccoon's nether parts contain a long thin sharp pointed bone. It even has a little knob of bone on one end to serve as a tiny handle. I know this is true because I have skinned and cleaned and cooked a number of coons. In East Texas, it was pretty cool for a man to carry one in his shirt pocket and pull it out to pick his teeth. One has to remove the meat from around the bone and then boil the bone till the rest comes off. - Sharon

This page was created 17 October 1998. All rights reserved.

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