Yesteryear: Our New Home and Store

My maternal grandmother, Iris McFann Woodard, was a gifted historian and storyteller. Part of her legacy was her stories, both written and oral. They were created from her memories, recollections, and snippets of years past. Many of her stories were about simple country life in the Lesage, West Virginia area.

“Remember that our family’s history is not merely a narrative of bygone years, but an ongoing event in which you and your family are living participants. Should I fail to preserve what I know to you and yours, then generations to come along will be deprived of all of this … Time moves swiftly on! The names of the people with which you now associate may, in a few short years, be no more than vague names in the future. I toss the pen to you! Hold up your family traditions. Keep moving on! “
Iris McFann Woodard    March 23, 1984

Iris McFann Woodard collected family memorabilia and keepsakes, made several family albums, documented family historical data, and preserved the family unit that we now celebrate. Her life was a treasure chest filled with family mementos, and her ability to gather, preserve, and share family history enriched the lives of family, friends, and even strangers.

Here is one of her short recollections, writiten in 1985:

Our New Home and Store

Dad saved the money he earned while working for the Clarks. After my birth in 1905, he and Mother pooled their cash and they acquired land from the Cromleys who lived near the B&O Railroad depot as Lesage. Dad and Mother constructed a long building which was erected near a very large boulder. They lived in one end of the building and kept their store merchandise at the opposite end.

We used lamps for our lighting. The store had counters on 3 sides and we had wooden oiled floors. One long shelf was for medicines and tobacco. We used a tobacco cutter, as there were no cigars or cigarettes. Our canned goods and coffee were in another section. Coffee was sold as whole beans. Flour and meal on the floor under the counters. One section was for shoes, artics, socks, and dry goods.

There was also a ware room to store items such as flour, meal, or sugar. All of these were bagged in large cloth sacks. Brown sugar was cheaper and so it was more popular. Vinegar was stored in a 50 gallon wooden barrel. Other supplies kept in the store were kegs of nails, plow points, hoes, rakes, brooms, baskets, and rope. The store in this building was small, since living quarters were included.

The front room had a bed for Mom and Dad. There was a second bedroom, and a kitchen. A cretonne curtain on a wire was the dividing line. All in all, 3 rooms: store, front room, and a second bedroom and kitchen.

The First Year Was Hardest
Dad and Mom worked hard, but they were almost forced to close their doors that first year when the farmer’s crops failed and they couldn’t pay their bills. In fact, they made preparations to close on a Monday morning. Dad worried and worried. Then on Friday morning, around 2am, while Dad, in his worried state, was walking along a dirt road, he spotted a lantern.

“Good morning, is that you, Bill?”, he heard.

“Yes,” Dad responded.

A customer, Mr. Mitchell, said, “Will you unlock the store for me?” He gave Dad over $600 which he owned. Crop failure had forced him to go to the Logan, West Virginia area to the coal mines so he could work and pay off his debts.

Dad was jubilant. He awakened my Mother, then on Monday, they caught the B&O train and went to Huntington. He paid off four bills. Then he bought more supplies and filled his vacant shelves. In truth, he and Mother began all over again.

Dad made his purchases at these Huntington stores:
Hagan Ratcliff & Sehon, Stevenson …. groceries
Gwinn’s Mill …. flour and meal
Emmons Hawkins …. hardware
Jeff Newberry …. shoes and boots
Watts Ritter …. pants, shirts, linens
Henking Bovie in Gallipolis …. produce and livestock

His purchases were delivered by the B&O railways, or by an Ohio River packet boat that came to our landing.

Dad used a horse and sled to transport his purchases from the packet boat, across the field and up the bank to our store.

Accidents Happen
Living so close to a store as I did, there was always some sort of excitement. Sometimes, excitement was in the form of an accident.

Pepper was kept in a large bucket with a tin cover on it. Dad had me with him since Mom was getting sister Faye to sleep. I was walking, and my drawers came off. I sat on the bucket and the lid came off. The pepper burned the skin on my bottom-side. Dad grabbed me up out of the pepper bucket and then Mom had to doctor my burns from the pepper.

A few years later when I was still a youngster, I fell from the high store porch and broke my right arm.

My broken arm was set late at night. Our local doctor, Dr. Sanns had to wait for Dr. Williams from Huntington to come by horse to administer ether to me.

Adding Foods Into The Pantry

When the economy worsened and our weather patterns affected our garden harvests, we made some homestead changes. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen so much financial chaos that we had to face the facts and redefine normalcy. We have seen home values plummet, gas prices rise, insurance costs increase, and the price of store-bought food increase by as much as 50% in a short period of time.  We have seen how the food industry has used short-sizing to keep prices constant while the unit price of food escalated.  Food is costing more to purchase and to make it all even worse, there have been predictions of food shortages on some of our commodities like wheat and corn. There was no doubt about it — a  food crisis was coming.

So we made some changes and we have accepted the fact that the life we had grown accustomed to had changed.  Some call this TEOTWAWKI, or The End Of The World As We Know It, and rather than moan about it or fear it, we are adapting to it. We have approached this by investing more in ourselves and in our homestead.  We have made some changes in how we garden, too.

We grow foods to eat fresh from the garden while it’s in season. We also preserve some of our garden harvest to eat at a later time. We are growing more food now and we are preserving more food now. Because of this, we have changed the way we preserve and store foods.

We also changed the way we stock our pantry.  Just in case. Rather than run low or deplete many of our home-canned foods during the Winter, we decided it would be smarter to never run low or run out of those home-canned foods.

By adding more foods into the pantry, we needed to be more attentive with our stored food. We have also learned how to budget our time so that we could meet our goals on a long-term basis. Instead of preserving foods to hold us over Winter, our goal has been to preserve more foods so that we will have an ample quantity of foods that we can use in the Spring. And even into Summer and Fall, if necessary.

To accomplish this, we increased our garden size and we installed a large rainwater tank for garden watering so that we could grow more food.  Just in case. We also decided that we would add in more foods by home canning more, dehydrating more, and freezing more.  Canning this and canning that, even a few jars at a time, adds up.

At that time, we also began to buy dry foods in bulk.  We are unable to grow our own rice, sugar, and wheat at this time so those are a few of the items that we buy. Now we buy them in bulk quantity. We learned how economical it was to buy certain foods in bulk and in time, we found that by reorganizing and decluttering we had enough space to store dry foods long term.

We also began to buy dry beans in bulk. We grow several varieties of beans to dry each year but we decided that we needed to purchase beans in bulk so that we could store them for the long term. Just in case.

As our economy has continued to disappoint most Americans and food inflation has affected everyone’s food budget, we realized it will only get worse. So we began to buy foods for tomorrow with today’s dollars. In brief, we see that a financial invest in foods has a better return than a financial investment in stocks or even in a money market account.

One year ago, on January 19, 2011, I wrote, “… are any of us getting more concerned? In 2009 and 2010, our household made some changes to our personal food supply.  We began making bulk purchases of dry goods, increasing our own future food supply while it was still “affordable.”  The decision was a good one and we not only saved money, we saved time because our food supply system became our own little grocery store. We purchased dried foods like grains, beans, sugar, and rice in 25 pound and 50 pound bags. As we used them, we bought more. We cycled our bulk foods much as we cycled our canned goods, using the oldest foods first. We grew our food storage system until we met the food storage goal of 1 year’s supply of food for our household.”

We met that goal, and then we increased our food storage for a longer term. Our outlook on the future is much different today than it was a decade ago. All of the exciting retirement plans have vanished. Our investment strategy has changed from having typical retirement plans to personal investment strategies. And given the uncertainty in global finance, the best investment we have found has been food. Well, okay….precious metals, too….

There are weeks when we might purchase a 50-pound bag of white rice or a 25-pound bag of wheat berries. There are also weeks when we may only purchase a 1-pound bag of dry beans. It all adds up and contributes to our food storage. Like money in the bank … but a glass jar of beans is prettier than a bank statement, now isn’t it? 

So we are storing dry foods like rice, wheat berries, and beans.  Beans are an excellent pantry item and they are very easy to store for a long time. We have dry beans in buckets, cans, glass jars, and large plastic containers. Besides, a small cupboard or shelf of colorful dry beans is like food art.

Dry beans are my favorite pantry food.  Packed with protein and inexpensive to purchase, dry beans offer great nutritional value without too much difficulty in storing them. Dry beans can be stored in a pantry for decades. Then they can be reconstituted and cooked or preserved by pressure-canning them.  Dry beans can be safely stored in 5-gallon food buckets if they are sealed in mylar bags. Dry beans can be safely stored in glass jars. Dry beans can also be stored in large plastic jars or vacuum-sealed bags. The estimated length of storage for dry beans that are sealed in mylar bags inside of sealed food-grade buckets is about 30 years. I have learned by experience that dry beans can be stored in well-sealed glass jars for 20+ years. Isn’t that incredible?

Have you got a spare glass jar and lid? Do you have an empty, lidded plastic jar?

Fill it up with a pound of dry beans and add it to your pantry.

There’s no time like the present to add some extra food into your food pantry.

Solving The Funky, Multi-Lobed Tomato Mystery

Last year, we had ourselves a real garden mystery! Two of our tomato seedlings grew to produce mysterious tomatoes. The size and shape of these tomatoes were baffling to me.  The tomatoes didn’t come from any of the tomato seeds I owned!  I was stumped. I went back over my seed list, my seed orders, and the online photos of tomatoes that I purchased seed for. I couldn’t figure it out — the tomatoes were a mystery. And I grew up reading Nancy Drew so I know about solving a mystery….

I tried in earnest to match the tomatoes up with our tomato seed source for the seeds I purchased to trial for 2011, but I was unsuccessful. I figured one of two things occurred since I had no tomato seed to match those funky, multi-lobed tomatoes. I decided that I must have grown the tomato seedlings using some unknown seed I didn’t think I owned, or the seed company marked the seed packet incorrectly.

I took it on the chin, just like a gardener would do. And I ate those funky, multi-lobed tomatoes without complaint.

The seeds that I ordered were for the Plate De Haiti tomato and the tomato seedlings I grew were labeled that way.  When I transplanted them into the garden, the labels were hole-punched and attached to the big wire cages….there is no chance the labels can blow off using this method. So what was up with those tomato seedlings? I grew the seedlings….I knew them when they were just seeds….. and the seeds were ordered from Amishland Seeds. But they weren’t Plate De Haiti cluster tomatoes. And they sure weren’t small, smooth tomatoes, either.

In the above photo, do you see the multi-lobed tomatoes in the rectangular harvest basket on the left? We had quite a few of those tomatoes — they just weren’t Plate De Haiti tomatoes.

But that didn’t stop us from eating them….

In August last year, in a blog post, Mike even asked, “Such a beautiful selection of tomatoes, what variety might those funky looking multi-lobed ones be?”

At that point, all that I could do was answer honestly: “Mike, I really wish that I could tell you what those tomatoes were but I’m stumped! My records say one thing, those tomatoes tell me differently! I have been to the website where I ordered the seed and I’m still stumped because nothing matches well. I have decided to save seeds, though.”

This morning, I was looking over some of the new seed listings at Amishland Seeds and I read this:

BACK FOR 2012! PLATE DE HAITI TOMATO aka HISPANIOLA TOMATO – (Lycopersicon esculentum) SUPER RARE- Only 1 of 2 USA Seed Sources- PLEASE NOTE: Last year’s seeds (2010) that were sold until August 2011 were incorrect. I was given the wrong original seeds from my usually reputable seed source. If you grew them last year from the 2010 seeds,and they didnt look like this photo, please contact me with proof of purchase so I can make it right. I am truly sorry. This has never happened to me before. I guarantee the new for 2012 seeds are absolutely the correct “Plate du Haiti ” tomato.

The mystery is now solved! And hats off to owner Lisa Von Saunder for her dedication and honesty. If you’ve never ordered from Amishland Seeds let me say that the seed offerings are exciting and unique. (Especially when you wind up with a mystery tomato.) The seed packets are small — intentionally small. With 5-10 seeds per packet, there are enough seeds to have a nice sampling of unusual heirloom seeds without going broke.

And yeah, I’m a happy customer, mystery and all.

Giving Old Quilts New Life

I have been a quilter for more than 30 years and have also collected antique and vintage era quilts and quilt tops for about 20 years. Some of the quilts in my collection date back to the early 1800s. Other quilts in my collection are from the 1940s-1950s. I have collected quilts that show wear and have learned to repair them. I have also collected quilt blocks and completed quilt tops, some of which have been quilted by me.

In my past, I took a number of classes on textile history and quilt restoration and learned some of the techniques to repair and restore old quilts. I have even made repairs and restorations to quilts for others and have worked with historic quilt collections.  I love antique quilts and antique cotton fabrics and enjoy having the ability to work with these old beauties from another place and time. Quilt repair and restoration isn’t about recycling — it’s more like rebirth or rejuvenation. Giving old quilts new life is a passion that connects me to the yesteryear.

Before an old quilt is repaired and restored, I like to determine the date that the quilt was made. I study the quilt extensively, checking the sections of the quilt that need repair.  Before an antique quilt is repaired and restored, it is important to know which quilts should be repaired or restored and which quilts should be preserved as-is. This quilt, a Strippy Stars quilt from Virginia, circa 1860, is of more historical value conserved (preserved as-is) than repaired.

When examining an antique quilt in need of repair, I closely inspect borders, binding, and patchwork looking for tears and worn sections. Examining the quilt in its entirety helps to understand the amount of work involved. Often, there are areas of the quilt that are more worn than others. There may also be one particular fabric that has not performed well throughout the quilt.

Before I begin the task of giving an old quilt new life, the approximate date of the quilt needs to be determined.  Quilts can generally be dated by the fabrics, the fabric colors, the quilt design, and even the size of a quilt.  These factors all contribute in dating a quilt and once that approximate date is determined, I can start to select replacement period fabrics from my workbasket of antique cottons.

Jacob’s Ladder

One quilt that I purchased for my quilt collection was a Jacob’s Ladder quilt.  The quilt needed to be repaired, though. I loved the color play of the patchwork in this scrappy quilt and the quilt was cheerful to me. This Jacobs Ladder is dated circa 1945 and repairs to this quilt included a new binding and 12 new patches appliqued over the old, worn triangles. This twin size quilt was a pleasure to repair, and after giving this old quilt new life, I have added the quilt to my personal quilt collection.

Pinwheels

A very special quilt that I restored came from my husband’s grandmother. She made three matching scrap Pinwheel quilts for her grandchildren during the 1950s, and one needed to be repaired.

The task was a large one because the quilt needed to be disassembled to be repaired. The cotton batting used in the quilt had clumped from frequent washing and it needed to be completely removed. Since the quilt was hand-tied the job was not too difficult — but it was very messy!

Since the entire quilt had to be disassembled to its separate layers to remove the wadded-up cotton, new cotton batting was necessary. And a new quilt backing replaced the tattered, old blue cotton fabric, too. Care was taken to locate the same solid cornflower blue fabric and the old blue backing fabric became a keepsake. The old Pinwheel quilt received a new life with the repairs made and I was very happy to have “shared stitches” with their grandmother I didn’t know.

Monkey Wrench

This Monkey Wrench quilt was purchased about 20 years ago and it should be repaired because it is damaged.

The Monkey Wrench quilt has several blocks with badly worn cotton fabric. To make the repair to this block, new triangles would need to be appliqued over the old worn triangle patches. This will not only keep the quilt intact for durability, but will not disturb the original quilt’s fabric. Repairing patchwork with appliqued patchwork on top ensures integrity for the quilt being repaired.

I bought this Monkey Wrench quilt because the patchwork and design layout were simple and the overall colors are so autumnal. I especially loved how the quilter wasn’t afraid to use the double-pink (‘hot pink’) calicoes with the orange calico in this quilt.

When I began looking at the Monkey Wrench quilt to see how much repair work was involved, I discovered that there is another quilt inside this quilt. I am unsure what patchwork pattern was used in the interior quilt, but when looking into several of the block sections where fabric has worn out, it is very apparent that a double-pink geometric print has been used throughout the interior quilt. Before this quilt is repaired, a great deal of time will be spent trying to see what lies inside this quilt. Who would think that quilt repair could be filled with puzzles and mystery?

Working with antique quilts and the cottons of yesteryear are a real passion of mine. And the untold mysteries certainly add a bit of intrique. With the Monkey Wrench quilt, another quilter like me gave an old quilt new life. And how ironic it is that the Monkey Wrench quilt has earned itself a third life. Someday I will give that old quilt new life yet again.

Wintertime Harvest

There’s one garden product that is a sure-fire winner during the Wintertime. If you garden, you are guaranteed to harvest this in January and February…..

Yes, seed catalogs! Like other gardeners, I get quite the collection of seed catalogs. But by the time the catalogs have arrived, I’ve already bought new seed I want to try for the upcoming gardening year. I find it is a better arrangement to shop online before some of the more desirable or rare seed has been sold out. When the catalogs finally get here, I still look through the catalogs and get inspired. I think it’s a garden ritual. I know I’m not alone… I especially like to look through those catalogs with great reviews on heirloom varieties with antique illustrations from yesteryear.

My 2012 Seed List has been compiled and posted on my side bar. I find it’s very helpful to keep a seed list online and I surely appreciate when my blogger friends do this so I can review their lists, too.

The 2012 Seed List is also an inventory of the viable seeds we have (but not all flower seeds have been inventoried just yet).  Saving seed and keeping seed viable for the coming years is like money in the bank. Are you saving seeds?