Early Trucks

Until around 1900, men had to move cargo and other heavy items by animal or train power. Then............came the internal compustion engine that ran on gasoline. Man's world changed in a flash. Now you could haul logs, grain, farm produce, and just about anything else for short or long distances. The early engines were four, six, and eight cylinders......take your pick. There were pick-up trucks, log trucks, flatbed turcks..........trucks, trucks, trucks. WOW! The photo shows an oldie but goodie. Shes rusty now, but in her day, she was a dandy.

Sing It Man!!

Wrens are a long way from being the biggest bird in the flock. However, when it comes to belting out a song.........they can certainly do it. The one in the photo is certaily enjoying singing to the Lord. A wrens lung capacity can't be very big, but what a voice. They are friendly little critters. If you sit still long enough they will come right to you. They are very domestic and love to build their nests around houses, garages, patios, hanging flower baskets, etc. You find them everywhere. They eat a variety of foods. Just put out a bird feeder and you'll find them among the variety of birds that frequent the feeder.

The Last Kiss

As people age, they become less capable of taking care of themselves. As time passes, they cannot dress themselves, feed themselves, keep house, or do the personal things that healthy people do. When that time comes........they usually end up in a nursing home. The couple in the photo have been married 70 years. They had lived in the same nursing home for three years. Now, one of them is waiting to be taken to a "special needs" care home. This will split them up for the first time in their lives. They share one last kiss before this sad event takes place.

Huckelberries

What's that you say??? What's the difference in a huckelberry and a blue berry?? Well according to the dictionary, a huckelberry is: "any genus of the heath family bearing dark-blue berries......loosley a blueberry". So there you have it.......a huckelberry and a blue berry are one and the same. In Louisiana, the woods are filled with wild huckelberrys. They produce fruit like crazy and the birds, squirrels, and boys love them. In the fall the leaves turn a real pretty red and add so much to the beauty of the landscape. Yep, the huckelberry is a cherished memeber of our native forests.

Womens Handwork

Way back when, women took great pride in their "handwork". There was tatt'n, sewing, embrodery, quilting, needlepoint, etc. Some were extremely good at it, and some were, well........let's don't go there. They often used scripture verses as their subjects like the one in the photo. All of this good stuff made a womans home a place of pride, comfort, and beauty. Sometimes the work was given as gifts. Sometimes it was used for decoration. Sometimes it was used for some functional purpose. All in all, it was much appreciated by all who viewed it.

Christmas Decorations For The Old Cabin

Christmas was the time to acknowledge the birth of Jesus with special decorations for your home............a log cabin, a cottage, a lap-board house, or a mansion. This old home looks great with a simple wreath of pine and ribbon. It's the thought that God became a man and lived among us for a season. Now we remember this great event in special ways. As God decorates our lives, we decorate our homes and buildings.

Decorating The Big House For Christmas

Christmas was a BIG DEAL at the Big House. Everything was bigger and better for everyone. Crops had been gathered, so field work was done for the year. Christmas was a time for celebrating life with fun, food, and fellowship. Local evergreens were strung together to bring out the festive nature of the season. Red bows were put here and there, and special arrangements were found inside and outside the house. Food was prepared in great proportions. Everyone ate a "balanced diet"......they had a cookie in each hand.......hahahahaha..They celebrated the birth of Christ....the Savior of the world.

Bells

Throughout history BELLS have been used to alert people to life-changing events. Deaths, births, fires, invasions, victories, etc. The sound of the bell magnified people's emotions to the extreme - from agony to ecstacy. In early times churches had a bell in their belfry. It rang every Sunday morning to announce, "it's time to gather to worship". Wives rang the bell to summons field workers home for dinner. Plantation owners rang the bell to alert workers that it was "quitting time". No matter what the ocdasion.......when you heard a bell ring......you listened!!

Will This Be A Boy Or Girl ?

Today, expectant mothers can determine the gender of their child by super new technology. Wasn't so back in early times. However, there were women with "the gift" of telling the gender by one of two methods. Those methods were:

Method One: The gifted woman would rub her hand over the tummy of the pregnant woman for a few strokes. When prompted.....she would speak forth the gender of the child.

Method Two: The gifted woman would tread a needle in a piece of tread about two feet long. Then she would allow the needle to hang in front of the expectant mothers tummy. Withing seconds, the needle would begin swinging in a circle without the aid of the gifted woman. If the needle swung to the left the child was a boy. If it swung to the right, the child was a girl.

It has been said that both of these methods were 98 percent correct.

So much for modern technology, huh?

Twelve Inch Wide Pine Board Flooring

The use of wood as flooring in homes and stores seems to come and go. However, back in old times, the use of wood as flooring was the accepted thing. The wider the board, the fewer you needed to finish the job. Boards 12 inches wide were common back then because logs were hugh. Virgin pine was used in most cases because it was a very tough, durable, and attractive. One it was down..............it would last a lifetime. What few wood floors you see today are oak and very narrow strips. Usually about 3 inches wide or less. To see old 12 inch pine floors you best go to an old historic home, building, or country store.

Apple Boxes

Back in the 1940's and 50's apples came in wooden boxes like the ones you see in the photo. After the apples were removed, the boxes could be used for all sorts of useful things like: a table to put your checkers game on, sawn up to use for building bird houses, Bible school projects, and lots of other stuff. The wood was usually cottonwood because it was colorless, odorless, and tastless. It was easy to saw and easy to drill. The apples were placed in blue cardboard like slots. Why blue???? If you know, tell me......Maybe the purpose of the cartons was to keep the apples from touching each other and spoiling, maybe not. Anyhow, that the way it was back then.

Froe

The tool that you see in the picture is a froe. It had several uses but was utilized mostly for making wood shingles for roofing homes and other farm related buildings. People made shingles out most any type of wood that would split readily. In the South, pine was used most of the time. Other woods that split well were oak and cedar. It took a bunch of shingles to have enough to roof a house. A person splitting wood for shingles also needed a wooden mallet to strike the frow and drive it thourgh the wood. When the froe was about one-third through the wood piece, the shingle usually split from the wood block and fell to the ground........man, only a million to go!

Ole Country Stores

The country store was much more than a place to buy goods. It was often a feed store, drug store, clothing store, shoe store, gasoline station, post office, grocery story, notions and fabric store, and lots more. If they didn't have it.......you probably didn't need it. It was also the place for men to gather and play checkers, cards, and dominoes. They also swapped stories (lies) about all the squirrels, ducks, doves, quail, deer, coons, possums, turkeys, and geese that they had killed recently. Gossip was spewed forth about as often solid truth. It was also the "politicing" place. New of who had a new baby, who was court'n who, who was sick, and who had an accident was spread at this CNN of the local area.

Console Television

Television came to America as a product of World War II technology. By 1960 just about everybody had some sort of television in their home. Some had a 12 black and white portable one with rabbit ears for an antenna. Others had a "big" t.v. with a 16 inch screen. Then come along color t.v. where the set was put in a console to make it look more like a piece of furniture. Man that was really "up town". There was even an outside antenna. Some of the shows back then included: I Love Lucy, Ford Theatre, Loretta Young Theatre, Ed Sullivan's Variety Show, and Bonanza. WOW!!

Pump Organ

This unusual and unique instrument was the forerunner of todays modern organs. These pump organs were in vogue back in the 1800's and on into the mid-1900's. The organ was operated by one person who used their hands and feet to get the desired sounds out of this sometimes tempermental instrument. Back in the Wagon Train day to California, it is said that you could find a pump organ about every mile of the way after you left Nebraska. People kept trying to lighten the load on their draft animals so they could travel lighter and faster. Tools and food were considered essentials..............entertainment stuff was expendable.

Grand Entry To The Dining Room

If you got invited to dine in the Big House, just the grand entry itself was enough to knock your socks off. Millwork, spacious double doors, the size of the room, the elegant furniture, the fine china, the rare silverware, my oh my.............it's what they called "putt'n on the dog". The table would be decorated with flowers and evergreens, candles at night, and food too good to describe. Yes sir, it was something special.

Forerunner Of The Lazy Boy Chair

The chair in the picture was made for people whe were getting over an illness or injury, or a person who was too feeble to sit in a conventional chair. They were kind of a novelty back in early years because very, very, few people had one. In fact most of them were hand made on the place for a family member. The chair would lean back and help you adjust your feet. Just like an early prototype of todays Lazy Boy recliner. Who says recliners are a new idea...........hahahaha!

Overnight Pot

The idea of indoor plumbing was just a pipe dream back in yesteryear. During the day people used the "outhouse" for personal disposal, at night they used the overnight pot (see photo). Most overnight pots were not as fancy as the one in the picture, but most anything would serve the purpose. It saved you from visiting the outhouse at night. This luxury was appreciated even more when the weather was rainy, cold, windy, or in icy conditions.

When morning came, it usually fell the job of one of the kids to "carry out the pot". It was a nasty, thankless, debasing job........uck!!!

Travel Trunks

People didn't travel very far back in early times. Couldn't afford it........didn't like it because it was slow and uncomfortable......and it was dangerous. Guess that made sense. A few people however, did travel for business far and wide, just like today. Luggage back then was mostly the "travel trunk" (see photo). Built like a Sherman tank, it could take a knock'n and keep on rock'n. Why not....it was made of metal and built to last a lifetime. Heavy......man you don't know what heavy is!!!
You could put nine years worth of clothing in it, or a half a bale of cotton. It had some room and then some.

Unique Bedside Lamp

Yep! That's a unique bedside lamp alright. Actually, it was first a coaloil lamp that was lite with a match like any other coaloil lamp. It's just that this one is a very fancy one. People liked to read in bed back then just as we do today. They also needed some light for doing various things in the bedroom before and after they went to bed. When electricity came along, this lamp was converted to an electricity lamp. Still mighty fancy. Don't see many like this one around anymore.

Bedside Baby Bed

Babies need so much attention. Early time people helped solve a bit of the problem by crafting a bedside baby bed. That got the baby out of the main bed, but as close by as possible. The beds were simple to make from a few pieces of wood and string or wire. They lasted for years, so it was a hand-me-down item as new children were born into the family. Back then, the nanny slept underneath the Big House in a private quarter just for her. If she was needed during the night, a stomp on the floor by the mother or dad gave the signal that the nanny was wanted in the bedroom to take care of the baby. Up she came and she knew what to do. Babies soon learned to rely on the nanny as much as the mother because they spent so much time with them.

What A Beauty

This type of pitcher and bowl (see photo) was as common as chicken pox back in early times. Everybody had one or more. However, this pitcher and bowl are expensive ones imported from Europe. Mighty pretty. Makes you afraid to use 'em because you might drop one and what a mess that would be. They were fashionable but had a funtional use to. The pitcher held water to be poured into the bowl to was you hands, clean up messes that occured in the bedroom like baby.......well you know what that means. You can still find these babies in antique stores, museums, and historic sites.

Call Me Sometime

The telephone was a big step for mankind. You could talk to someone close or far away by simply picking up the receiver and making the call. Many of the first phones were set up in groups called a "party line". That meant that several families were on a line together. Each family had a signal as to which calls were for them or others on the party line. For instance, if your family phone rang two long rings and two short rings, that call was for you. If any other combination of rings came on the phone, the call was for someone else. To place a call, you called the operator and gave her the number that you wished to call, and she placed the call for you. The swithcboard operator "knew a lot of stuff" since she had to handle all the calls. There were not local secrets from her.

Combination King Size Fly Shooer and Ceiling Fan

Back in the "the good old days" advanced technology came slowly. One noteable exception was the contraction that was a combination king size fly shooer and ceiling fan(see picture). The tool was placed strategically over the dinning room table for obvious reasons. A rope was attached to the device and a servant would pull the rope back and forth making the thing swing back and forth while the family was dining. It kept house flies at bay and stirred the air to keep everyone cool. There was no electricity back then, so making the thing work was cheap. As you can see, it was decorated with a nice design to give it fashion and function. Not a bad idea.

What Time Is It?

Time has been on peoples minds since the beginning ot time. God created "time" when He created day and night. There have been some super ideas for measuring time over the years, and a lot of words and phrases have been coined that refer to time. How about these: in a minute, just give me a little time, be back in a minute, have it done in a flash, just in time, time out, time to go..........just to name a few.

Some of the best time keepers in plantation days were the mantle clocks. In most cases they were treasured pieces of furniture that was usually displayed on the fireplace mantel. They usually had a swinging pendulum (some did not) and would usually chime on the hour. Some of them would chime on the quarter hour, and count the number of hours with a "bongging" sound. The number of bongs told people in the room(s what time it was. At night, people in bed could hear the bongging sound and know when to take medicine, when to get up, etc.

Anyone For Music ?

Music has always been in the hearts of mankind. Singing, playing, making joyful noises.........everybody likes some kind of music. When mankind began to record music.....wow......what a technological break-through that was! You could hear your favorite song played by your favorite band over and over and over. The encore didn't end until you said so!

The small containers in the photo held "canned" music that you played in a special machine. The machine was invented by non other than Mr. Edison. Believe it or not.....this particular machine still works. People of that day were surely wondering, "What'll they think of next?"

Back Porch Essentials

The back porch was "the" place to be for family business. Here, you shelled peas, shucked corn, snapped beans, washed potatoes, peeled pears, cracked pecans, washed your hands before meals, and a million other manual tasks. The porch provide protection from rain, wind, sun, and mud while you performed your assigned duties.
The photo shows some of the essiential tools and accesseries necessary to assist in job performance. Many a yarn was told, the truth often got stretched, and local news got enhanced on the old back porch. This is where whispers ran wild, and tales that shouldn't be told..........got told!

Wash Pot

The photo features a "wash pot". It should not to be confused with a "wash tub". The wash pot usually had a fire built under it for cooking or cleaning. The wash pot was made of iron, while the wash tub was made of steel coated with zinc......or sometimes they were made of tin. They could not hold up under a hot fire.

Here are examples of wash pot uses: making apple sauce, washing clothes, making lye soap, boiling water for dipping dead chickens in before picking off feathers, frying certain foods for large gatherings, etc. They were useful tools and just about everyone had one or more.

Wash Tubs

Wash tubs should not be confused with wash pots. Wash tubs held liquids, but never had fires built under them. The wash pot had fires built under them for cleaning and/or cooking purposes. The wash tub was usually pressed into service for cleaning and/or short-term storage. They was also used for "wash tubs" for people. On Saturday nights in the summer, all the kids got a bath need it or not. After 3 kids baths, the water was changed and the next three got their "turn". A straight back chair was placed in front of the tub with a big towel placed over it to give the girls of the family privacy. After all the kids had their bath.........it was time for a bath for Mom.........then Dad got the "grave yard" shift. Not a bad sustem...just took some time and lots of drawn water.

Early Door Hinges

In early days, things around the house and farm were handmade if at all possible. That went for door hinges to. If you look hard enough you will find that some were made of leather, some of metal, some of "whatever would work". The one in the pictured is a typical one used back in the early 1800's. It was probably made by a local blacksmith or a person with blacksmith skills on the farm. It did the trick and look good to.

Musical Instruments From Africa

When slaves were brought to the United States, they brought their music and musical instruments with them. Some of them were quite similar to those that were already in America. Others were very much different in sound and appearance. The instrument in the photo is a ?????? Maybe it was meant to be played as a single instrument or maybe it was meant to be played in concert with other instruments. That doesn't matter in the grand view of things...........what does matter is that even though those people were viewed as broken in life-style, they certainly were not broken in their culture and spirit.

Roofs Made Of Tin

Early rural Americans usually started out living in log cabins. Later, there was enough milled lumber to build dog-trot houses. Most of them had pine - shake shingles for roofs. Then came the modified dog-trot (no open central hallway). Those were the first homes with sheets of tin for roofing. It was a big leap forward. Tin was affordable, lasted a reasonable length of time, and was a snap to put up. As the tin aged, it would begin to rust (see photo). At some point, there would be rust holes sufficient to warrent a new tin roof. Tin roofs were a welcomed improvement in the home improvement world and served their purpose well.

Cisterns

Before electricity came to rural areas, people relied on cisterns for water for cooking, bathing, etc. One reliable source of water was the cistern. They were containers made of wood, brick, or other materials for the sole purpose of storing water. Water from rain ran into house gutters, then into a catch gutter that sent the water to the cistern (see photo). If the cistern didn't have a top on it, there was usually some type of screen made of wire or cloth to filter out sticks, flowers, pollen, and other undesireable matter. Without the screen, all would go into the cistern. Another problem with a cistern was "wiggletails". That's what people called mosquito larve. Sometimes they would be there in hugh numbers.

It was a happy day when electricty came to the area and pumps brougt water from the earth, clean, clear, and cold........YEA!!!

Old Steel Bridges

They are mostly a relic of a by-gone era. However, a few of these treasures still grace the rural landscape. This one is near Natchitoches, Louisiana. A new bridge had been built along side this steel one. Why did they leave the old one in tact? Maybe they just didn't have the heart to tear it down. Once upon a time,these old steel structures were once as common as clouds in the sky. They were easy on the eyes, a monunent to the enginering ability of man, and just plain beautiful. Sorry to say, they are vanishing icons of a time gone by.

Black Drought

People of all ages have needed medications from the dawn of creation. Some people have had special complex health problems that required unique medications. Most people have just needed common medications on an "as needed" basis. One such medication was one for the relief of constipation. Everybody needed that kind of medication sooner or later. You needed to have some in your medicine cabinet at all times. One never knew when the need may arise! There were many brands of laxatives on the market from day one. The sign you see in the photo advertises one called BLACK DROUGHT. It was popular back in the early 1900's, and continued its popularity until the late 1980's or so. It captured a big market segment and was a "name brand" for curing your constipation ailments.

Goats

Living in the country had its pleasures and problems back in yesteryear. One of the problems was the proliferation of grass and weeds in and outside the yard. There were a couple of animals that helped eliminate, or at least reduced this problem......chickens and goats. Goats were the best "machine" for the problem. If it could be eaten, it was. Weeds, grass, vines, brush, even paper and cardboard were on the menu for them. There was one small problem......goats didn't know the difference in a flower plant, a garden plant, a weed, or a field of young corn plants. Frankly, they just didn't care. Left alone they were simply a machine to remove green plants. In today's language they would be listed as "a non-selective" plant eradicator. Shucks.......guess everything has a down side.

Recycled Refrigerator

Back in time, people threw away very little if it had a secondary use. Cloth scraps were used to make quilts......bits of wire were bound together to make a longer piece.......bent nails were straightened to be used again......and flour sacks from the store were used for clothing.

Even broken down refrigerators were used for storage of goods. The space inside was dry and shady so you could store just about anything in there that did not need refrigeration. The stick you see in the photo was used to discourage critters from opening the door. Sometimes you might see several old refrigerators and/or freezers on a front porch, back porch or in the yard of a country home. Remember....they were still useful.

Sunday Hats

Back in yesterday, girls wanted to look dressed "fit to kill" on Sunday. A pretty dress, the proper shoes or boots, and to top it all off........a very nice hat.
Most of the hats back then were made of straw accented with ribbons, lace, and/or artificial (sometimes real) flowers. There was a type of "one-upmanship" contest when it came to Sunday dressing........but the hat had to be fabulous. If it was windy, a scarf or other type of tying device was used to hold the hat on a womans head. After all, you couldn't let the wind mess up your nice hair do!

Yep, hats were the thing and the more you had the better.

My Boys

There's a Bible verse that says: "A wise son, makes his parents happy". Parents always wanted to be proud of their kids. When boys got to be young men, they were often the pride of the family. When dressed in their Sunday best, they looked and felt like kings (see photo). Yessiree.........they turned the heads of girls and young women alike. Their smiles could melt hearts of stone. Their wise conversations could win over arguements, and their songs of love would capture all in listening distance. With vigor they attacked every challenge, with honesty they approached all transactions, with dignity they went off to war. God bless our boys.

Mamma Takes A Break

Folks, you are looking at a rare moment in time......Mamma taking a break. She seldom had time for herself. She gave sacrificially for her husband and children. It was a labor of love and she cherised her moments of solitude. If she wasn't cooking, she was washing. If she wasn't sewing, she was planting. If she wasn't praying, she was reading the Bible. If she wasn't nursing a sick child, she was feeding one. Her giving was great, her taking was miniscule. Her praises for others were many, her bragging on herself was non-existant. Yet for all this......she would not have traded places with anyone on this earth. For those fortunate people who had mothers like that, we remember them in honor and bless her name.

Eroded Land

During the Great Depression, eroded and eroding land was all too common in many places in the Nation. Not only did this situation render the land unproductive, the soil that was eroded often caused pollution and the filling of many creeks, rivers, and lakes. That had a very negative effect on fish populations. Thanks to cooperative efforts between private landowners, local, state, and federal agancies, most of the serious land erosion areas have been recovered to a productive state.

Old Style Oil Well Pump

Oil was discovered in many parts of America in the early 1900's. What a difference that product made in the lives of the people. One of the early style pumps was the one in the above photo. It was made of metal and designed to pump at a designated speed. Sometimes there would be several hundred of these pumps in a small geographic area. Although the noise from these pumps was deafening, it sounded a lot like money to those who heard them. You don't see many of these types working today. Photograph them while you can.

Tar Paper Siding

Back in the early 1900's people were transitioning from log houses to dog-trot houses,to variations of cottages. Boards that formed house walls had holes, splits, and cracks,here and there that let in a lot of heat and cold. In an attempt to cover those holes in a (somewhat attractive way) manufactuors came up with a product that was called tar paper. It came in various size rolls and colors. It was easy to install with special large headed tacks and could be cut with sissors or any sharp edge. It was an instant hit. Cheap, available, and a big saver on heat and
electric bills.....it was a winner.

Swim On Babe!

The Moon and The Steeple

Nice White House - Nice Fall Color

Mighty Pretty, Huh?

Church Steeple and Maple Leaves

Don't You Just Love Red Berries??

Rope Swings At The Old Swimming Hole