1 50 1 https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/15f7bbd6555970c47e1e8411aa4c5e0f.pdf 0f3617028c726c1f8c007f110b8c0e51 PDF Text Text ��This page intentionally left blank �The Good Life Almanac BEING THE CHOICEST MORSELS WISDOM FOR READERS INTERESTED LIVING, WRITTEN WITH RATHER BY TIES SOME TO THAN IN EXISTING. COUNTRY NATURE, OF MAN, FOLK AND GOD'S OWN WORLD . . . APPALACHIAN CONSORTIUM PRESS BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA 28607 �The Appalachian Consortium was a non-profit educational organization composed of institutions and agencies located in Southern Appalachia. From 1973 to 2004, its members published pioneering works in Appalachian studies documenting the history and cultural heritage of the region. The Appalachian Consortium Press was the first publisher devoted solely to the region and many of the works it published remain seminal in the field to this day. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Humanities Open Book Program, Appalachian State University has published new paperback and open access digital editions of works from the Appalachian Consortium Press. www.collections.library.appstate.edu/appconsortiumbooks This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. Original copyright © 1975 by the Appalachian Consortium Press. ISBN (pbk.: alk. Paper): 978-1-4696-3840-9 ISBN (ebook): 978-1-4696-3842-3 Distributed by the University of North Carolina Press www.uncpress.org �EDITOR Ruth Smalley ASSISTANT EDITOR Margaret Griess THE COMMITTEE Lucy Bell Jap Hardin Betty McDowell Corinne Palko Wilma Rau COVER PHOTO Al Palko TEXT ART Ann Hall, Ruth Prince . . . AND G A T H E R E D UP IN SOLWAY, TENNESSEE, A COMMUNITY OF APPALACHIANS AND FURRINERS, IMMIGRANTS AND NATIVES, WHITES AND BLACKS, FARMERS AND SCIENTISTS-IN SHORT, PEOPLE MUCH LIKE Y O U �THE G O LIFE ALMANAC O D If we suggest a solution to a problem we guarantee it works—at least for us—because we've tried it. This is an almanac of practical hints and common sense. Once in awhile we'll pass on some folk lore, but we'll label it and tell you if we haven't proven it ourselves. A n easy-to-grow southern crop is okra. We eat it fried or stewed. But have you tried PICKLED OKRA Garlic (1 clove for each jar) Hot pepper (1 for each jar) Okra, young, tender pods Dill seed (1 tsp. for each jar) Make yourself an honest man and then you may be sure that there is one rascal less i n the world. . . . . Thomas Carlyle 1 qt. vinegar 2 cups water h cup salt x Place garlic and pepper in the bottom of clean, hot, pint jars. Butterflies count not months, but moments, and yet have time enough. Pack firmly with clean okra pods from which only part of the stem has been removed. A d d dill seed. Bring vinegar, water, and salt to a a boil. Simmer about five minutes and pour, boiling hot, over okra. Seal at once. Makes about 6 pints. The chewers among us claim that wet tobacco applied to a bee sting will prevent swelling and ease the pain. �The railway depot was the social center in Solway as it was in other communities across the land in the days before automobiles. Families came to see the train come in and the passengers get off. In the horse and buggy days, people would get up at midnight to go the 20 miles to Knoxville. Groups went together in horse-drawn hacks or wagons, shop­ ped and then returned home after dark the next evening. After the trains started, a train called the "short dog" left Solway at 10 a.m. and returned at 5 p.m., a miraculous time saver! Edibles from the flower garden in­ clude violets, whose blossoms and tender leaves are rich in vitamin C and look beautiful in a green salad, or day lilies (dip buds or just—faded blossoms in fritter batter and fry). And have you tried rose-petal jelly? Lord, give me this day my daily opinion, and forgive me the one I had yesterday. According to a county agent in his report in 1914, farmers here never raised many sheep because of the roving bands of dogs, who considered mutton a tasty dish. When your best days are yester, the rest are twice as dear. A new twist on the "shell game" is the use of eggshells as seed starters. Remove the top 1/3 of eggshells and save them in the cartons. Fill with a mixture of soil and vermiculite, plant seeds and dampen the soil. Cover with plastic till germinated and thin to one seedling per shell. Let this plant grow until it has two true leaves before transplanting in the garden. Then crush the bottom of the shell and plant, shell and all. The shell even adds a little calcium to fertilize your soil. �The story of the first public hanging in our area is more suspenseful than many fiction tales. Loness Guinn's great-grandparents, in Union County, were murdered while their grandson was visiting. He ran out the back' door, thus escaping the robbers whom he recognized. They lived i n this area and the home place was closely watch­ ed by the law. However, they man­ aged to come back and were hiding in the cistern on a platform part way down. The family fed them by drop­ ping a water bucket full of food down. Who would consider that sus­ picious? A l l was at a standstill until a reward of $25 was offered. This was too much for the father of one of the rob­ bers. Perhaps he considered his son was no good, anyhow. A t least he wasn't worth $25. So justice had its day and the hanging was a public event, presumably nudging many a young rascal toward the straight and narrow. One of the most useful, and widely available wild food plants is the com­ mon cattail. The green bloom spikes and new shoots can be eaten raw, in salads, or as a cooked vegetable. The yellow pollen can be added to flour. The roots may be used as a vegetable or dried and ground for flour for pan­ cakes, etc. The stems can be sliced lengthwise and used for making baskets. Rub salt on your moistened hands to erase onion or garlic odor. Blackberry juice, scraped raw apple, or liquid jello are very effective for diarrhea—and especially tasty to babies. The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be. Peace is not needing to know what will happen next. �WHAT IS P O K E ? A poke can be a jab, or a paper bag, or a versatile, plentiful food. Though many people refer to it as pokeweed, we call it poke sallat or salad. Let us tell you about this marvel. There's fried poke: Gather and wash young poke shoots. Peel and chop the stems. Dip pieces in beat­ en egg batter and fry in deep fat un­ til golden brown. BATTER 1 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, V4 tsp salt. Beat together h c. milk and 2 eggs. Stir into flour mixture with a few fast strokes. x Poke for breakfast: Stir-fry boiled poke in margarine or bacon grease, add beaten eggs and scramble all together. Or fry boiled poke with onions for another taste treat. Phytolacca Americana (Poke) First: poke greens, the peeled stems and leaves, are the edible part of the wild plant and are safe and de­ licious to eat as long as the plant is not in bloom. The berries are con­ sidered poisonous, as are roots and old stems. There's boiled poke: Gather and wash young pokeweed shoots. Boil Poke can be frozen: After the young sprouts and greens have been boiled for 10 minutes, drain them and freeze for winter use. A n d there are even poke picklesl Using tender poke shoots, remove leaves. Boil about 2 dozen poke stems about 2V4" long in salted for 20 or 30 minutes. Drain the first water until tender. Drain and place water off and add to other greens to in sterilized jars. Boil together 1 tbsp. cook, or reheat in fresh water, drain, salt, h c. water, and h c. vinegar and serve buttered or creamed. and pour over stems. Seal jars. x l �I'd enjoy the day more i f it started later. Edith Cobb House, where Solway Hardware now stands In 1899 there were six homes in the Solway area—Ferry House (an old log house later owned by the Cobb fam­ ily), J i m Cagley's, Archibald Cobb's, the Joe Caniel log house, and the Crudgington place (later Caverns of the Ridge and now called Cherokee Caverns). Other early family names were Chandler, Moneymaker, Lee, and Guinn. If you don't like the idea of spray­ ing your foodstuff with poisons, try mixing your own spray with some of the natural bug repellents such as hot pepper, garlic, onions, mint, and even molasses. R u n your formula through the blender, strain, and add a little dishwasher detergent to help it stick. Y o u are apt to come up with a win­ ner and look at the money you will save on sprays! PUZZLE * M y first is in cold, but not in hot; M y second in slow, but not in fleet; M y third is i n broad, but not in slim; M y fourth in stiff, but not in prim; My fifth is in scratch, but not in rub; M y sixth is in cane, but not in club; My seventh i n grip, but not in clinch; M y whole is said to be good at a pinch. *from St. Nicholas Magazine, 1887. Give up? �P U Z Z L E A N S W E R : Lobster Coughing like a hound dog on a cold trail. When we don't want something any We were horrified to read about the "scientists" who thought they could learn to eliminate lightning. Our country people had a saying when the thunder sounded and the lightning flashed: "The corn wagon is rolling." Instinctively they knew the value of the storm, for plant life could not exist without lightning. A n d without plants, we also would cease to be. Since 80% of the atmosphere is nit­ rogen, about 22 million tons of this essential plant food float over each square mile of earth. When lightning splits the air, nitrogen particles are made hot with temperatures up to 30,000 degrees centigrade. In this heat, nitrogen combines with oxygen to form water-soluble nitrogen oxides. These are carried down to earth, where they react with minerals to form nitrates to nourish plant life. Imagine—all that fertilizer, and all for free! more, we get shet of it. For relief from poison ivy, rub the juice from jewel weed or touch-menot flower stems on the blisters. Make your vegetable garden more attractive and help keep away some insect pests by planting a border of marigolds. The marigolds can do double duty if you add a sprinkle of petals to your summer salad or vegetable soup for flavoring. �Oss Fox, our local entrepreneur in the early 1900's, might have been a Rockefeller or a Gould had he lived in New York instead of Solway. He made the most of his opportunities here, though. It was said he would trade for anything! He owned the first grocery store in Solway. In addition, one of his projects was a park and trading post where he pro­ posed to hold an annual festival. To this end he built a dam to hold a spring-fed pool for swimming and erected three cabins nearby. Horses were traded here and he brought cattle across the river for an annual roundup. During the festivals there were contests of all kinds: sack races, dance contests with cakes for prizes, even chicken catchin' where chickens were let loose and ran squawking in every direction; if you caught one, it was yours! The swimming pool and cabins are long gone, but the memory is pre­ served by the road leading to it and still called Fox Park Road." 44 He was called "Oss" F o x , but his name was really A . H . , which, by any­ body's logic, quickly became A h ' s . " A n d his mule, with a broken ear, was named " O l d Grey Kate." 44 A weed is a plant whose virtues we have not yet discovered. HOMEMADE COTTAGE CHEESE Let one gallon of whole milk go to clabber. Put this in a large pot and heat gently until stiff curds form. Do not stir and do not let it boil. Strain the whey off and salt to your taste. Y o u can make uncooked cottage cheese by just letting the clabber drain through a cloth bag until it is almost dry, then turn into a bowl and break the curds with a fork. This must be refrigerated and eaten right away. It is good sprinkled with sour cream, sugar, and nutmeg for a different dessert. �1928. . . Some of our 4-H girls participated in a spring market in Knoxville. They sold braided rugs, food items, embroi­ dery, quilts, and baskets made of honeysuckle, some of which they enameled. To bug-proof a food container, place each leg of the safe in a dish of water. Charlie Fox was once helping Oss haul a load to the railroad when they stop­ ped to rest the horses. N o w Charlie stuttered and when he stooped to place the scotch (or perhaps you call it a block) behind the wheel he got his finger caught. Desperate for help but unable to complete his sentence, he ended up singing his predicament— because, as anybody knows, you don't stutter when you sing! I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice. . . . . Camus If you want to save your own garden seed, pick some of the best you grow and spread the seeds out to dry for about a week, then store in a box with a few mothballs or a rag with a few drops of turpentine on it. This keeps the mice and bugs out. A potassium deficiency is indicated if tomato leaves develop a scorched look and tomatoes have hard green spots. Y o u can add wood ashes (10% potassi­ um) for a quick boost. Cottonseed meal or powdered granite give longterm aid. �Loness Guinn (on the right) and his family as the bridge begins, and Bridges span time as well as space— and 45 years is not long for the life of a bridge. The builders of Solway bridge had an eye for beauty, but progress does not. The charm of its shape can no longer compensate for a two-lane roadway only 20 feet in width and so we lose our landmark, described in the plans as: �Loness Guinn (on the right) and his family as the bridge ends its span. A concrete arch bridge with 20' roadway with 3' sidewalk on right Skew: Length: 90° 772' built by Knox County in the late 1920's and dedicated in 1930 during the term of Henry H . Horton, gover­ nor of Tennessee from 1927 to 1932. It will soon be torn down and re­ placed by a new four—lane bridge now under construction. �Most communities have their secret organizations; some have the Masons, some the Yacht Club, and some the K u K l u x Klan. Solway's fraternal group was the Junior Order Lodge. Their lodge hall, however, was used rather generally for community pur­ poses. Every Saturday night movies were shown to patrons who sat on movable benches. A dance followed, sometimes to the country music of Bonnie L o u and Scotty, who later be­ came radio personalities. In more recent years, the lodge hall became the Drag-On Inn, complete with ladies of questionable repute. The history of the lodge ended in a midnight fire. Making allowances for human imper­ fections, I do feel that in America the most valuable thing in life is pos­ sible, the development of the individ­ ual and his creative powers. . . . . Einstein In the latter half of the 19th century, the farmers in what is now our Solway area bought their groceries (what few supplies they could not provide for themselves) at Henry Viles' grocery store at Coward Mill Road. Mail for these people was addressed simply "Coward's," so that going to the mail­ box was a trip, usually on foot for the youngsters of the family, of some 4 or 5 miles. The corner supermarket was still some time off, but by 1900 we were able to get groceries at Nip Guinn's, on the corner of the present Oak Ridge High­ way and Emory Road, a mere 2 miles up the road. Peanuts will grow in our area. They're an interesting plant; first they blos­ som, then the yellow blooms send out long shoots that dig into the ground to form the peanuts. To increase the peanut yield, cover the shoots with more dirt. By 1906, Nip Guinn had moved his grocery store to the middle of Solway, which was fast becoming a busy com­ munity, so thriving, in fact, that it was able to support 2 groceriesNip's and Oss Fox's (which was al­ ready here). �Nothing that is wrong in principle can be right in practice. . . . . Carl Schurz THE COMPOST H E A P , or How to Spin Straw into Gold Our hard Tennessee clay needs all the help it can get to become dark, rich, loamy soil in which we can gar­ den with pleasure. Here, then, is how we can do something about the situation in as little as 14 days, using natural vege­ table wastes such as kitchen garbage, weeds, and grass clippings, and manure or a little civilized help such as cotton­ seed meal or prepared manure (to pro­ vide nitrogen) and a shredder or lawn mower to chop everything up to­ gether. Here is the recipe: 1 six-inch layer of grass clippings, weeds, or other green material 1 two-inch layer of manure or cottonseed meal, bone meal, or blood meal. Even sewage sludge (from sewage plant, not septic tank) may be added. 1 one-inch layer of soil with some ground limestone or phosphate rock mixed in. Repeat these layers, ending with soil on top, until the compost heap is about 5 feet high and 5 to 10 feet long, depressed slightly in the middle so it will hold water. When you have finished building, water the heap thoroughly. On the second day the compost heap should begin to heat up. Turn the pile with a pitchfork or shovel every three days to keep it aerated and add water if it begins to dry out. In 14 days it should begin to cool off and you'll have some great crumbly compost to plow into your hard Tennessee soil in the fall. Then, next spring, just plant your seeds and jump back fast! Both in the last century and this, the general way of seeding corn and other grain was to broadcast it by hand and cover the seed with a harrow. Flattery, like cologne, should be inhal­ ed and enjoyed, but never swallowed. �Remember that eggplants are largely carbohydrates while spinach, carrots, cabbage, and tomatoes are a store­ house of valuable vitamins and minerals. Nantes carrots have more vitamin A than others and also grow well here. In general, the deeper the color the higher the vitamin content of vegetables. Transportation was of major concern to settlers everywhere and here in Solway we were dependent first on the waterways and then the railroad. These forms of locomotion slowed the building of roads, but another factor entered in: the hilly, wooded country and the many non-fordable rivers made road building very expensive. Since there was little public money for this purpose, what roads there were were the community under­ takings of those who used them. Another solution was then p r o ­ posed—the toll road. Thus came into being the pikes of song and story. Remember the bootlegger who sped to his death down our Kingston Pike in the ballad, "Thunder Road"? SLICING C H E E S E Let three gallons of milk clabber overnight. Strain the clabber through a cloth to remove most of the whey. Put the curd in a large pan and heat and stir gently. A d d a little butter and one cup of sour cream and some salt to taste. Cook till it becomes like a thick gravy. Pour into a bowl and add one teaspoon of soda. Stir this while it cools. Let it sit in a cool place for a few days. It makes a firm cheese that you can slice. In the middle 1800's, private com­ panies were licensed to build toll pikes, along which a toll could be charged every five miles. Private investors formed the companies and could pay for their share in either cash or labor. The spring house used to be the re­ frigerator. This is where the milk, eggs, and butter were kept cool during the hot summer months. �The seed packet may say plant rows 18" apart, but that was designed for mechanical cultivation. Why leave space unused? Nature won't. Avoid the weeds by filling in with plants and by smothering bare spots and paths with a heavy mulch. Presto! No more work. Just pick your vege­ tables. When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble. Melton Hill Lake is now one of the T V A ' s chain of lakes, calm and beau­ tiful, but it was once a lively little river called the Clinch. It bounded one side of Solway, with only a rail­ road bridge across it. Those who wanted to get to the other side took the ferry at the end of Ferry Pike Road. 1919... For the first time, the importance of screening their houses was empha­ sized to our people by the farm and home agents. "Swat the F l y " pro­ grams became popular. In planning your garden, consider your family's health as well as taste buds. Plant the most nutritious vari­ eties of vegetables in the space you have. Romaine lettuce has twice the vitamin C and vitamin A found in ice­ berg lettuce. It grows well here, too. The first tax levy in our county, in 1793, was a land and poll tax. In 1796, taxes were levied on land, polls, and slaves. By 1798 the tax base had broadened still more, and the county tax was levied as follows: 100 acres 25 cents poll tax 25 cents one slave 25 cents one town lot. . . 25 cents each stud horse . 25 cents one billiard table . . . .$25.00! �A bird will also eat tender new plant leaves. Outwit him. Criss-cross string above the plants from sticks on either side of the patch. Looks like a trap and a bird won't go near. 'Humus" is the Latin word for soil. We heard that a pan of beer in the gar­ den overnight enticed snails to a euphoric death-but all we got were tipsy dogs. Lest you think of the 1920's and '30's in our farm area as a time of only day­ light-to-dark work (which it was), we would remind you of the high spir­ its and good times when young people got together. There's Ruth Cobb Wood, for instance: her medals and cash prizes for being the best dancer, when the Charleston was the rage, were the envy of even those city folks over in Knoxville. Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the atomic city, is now the center of much East Ten­ nessee activity. It was not always so. A t the turn of the century, our Solway was a bustling community, and across the Clinch River, where Oak Ridge would someday nestle, there were only a couple of small general stores and a mill in the area called Scarboro. Still, the Solway ferry enjoyed the benefits of steady traffic between the two areas. There would seem to be little to attract Solwayites to cross the river since they not only had a general store of their own, but also the railway station, but commerce was the enticing reason. A main crop was broom corn and the store had a broom-tying machine; thus, many farmers took their crops to be processed, paying with a portion of the brooms. What man's mind can create, man's character can control. . . . . Edison Looking for a good return on your investment? If you picked lettuce from your garden for dinner, you saved the price of the entire packet of seed in one meal. The next 60 serv­ ings are dividends. �Did we have better prophets in yesteryears, or do we just no longer listen? A t any rate, at least two Solwayites saw the future plainly. William Fitzgerald predicted there would be such things as electric lights and plowing the fields at night. He also foresaw a big town in Anderson County which would make good times for Knox County and Solway. Oss Fox also predicted the coming of Oak Ridge, albeit in vague terms. "Somethin' big is gonna happen around here." And over in a private field in Oak Ridge is the grave of Jim Hendrix, a man who at the turn of the century when he was fifty years old, is reported to have predicted in this fashion to many people: " A n d I tell you that Bear Creek Valley some day will be filled with great buildings and factories, and they will help toward winning the greatest war that ever will be. Then there will be a city on Black Oak Ridge, the center of everything to be a spot which is middle way between Sevier Tadlock's farm and Joe Pyatt's place (the present site of the Oak Ridge federal building). "Railroad tracks will run between Robertsville and Scarboro. Thousands of people will be running to and fro. They will be building things and there will be a great noise and confusion and the earth will shake." In the new American Museum of Atomic Energy there is a special exhibit about J i m Hendrix and his predictions of the atomic age, long before it happened. �The typical farm home o f the 1870's in Knox County was described as "a double log cabin covered with clap­ boards, with chimneys of sticks, mortar-lined on the inside . . . rarely two stories, but invariably a loft, reached by a ladder or open anrrow steps. The house is surrounded by a rail fence, enclosing a small garden and yard. The outbuildings, if any, are built of logs or poles and rarely consist of anything beyond a corn crib and stable." Small wonder that farm youths at this time began leaving home to work in the coal mines of Anderson County or the growing industries of Knoxville, or migrating to the "prom­ ised land" of the West. Y o u can color unfinished wood with a solution made from green walnut hulls boiled in water. Mulching your strawberries with moldy hay or sawdust will help keep them free of disease, since mold kills nematodes that often attack the berry roots. If you insist on a modern aid for burns, crack open a Vitamin £ capsule and apply. It speeds healing. A bird is a super-efficient bug con­ troller. Encourage him with bushes for shelter and seeds in the winter. J . C . Lyons, Solway's school principal today, tells of riding a mule from Knoxville to Solway, seated in front of his grandpa. It was a long day, and especially so because grandpa never, coming or going, said one word. The verb "admitted" should be banned from every news reporter's vocabulary. When he quotes a speaker as having "admitted," he implies fault, condemn­ ing before presenting the facts. Let him tell us it was said, stated, remark­ ed, retorted, but let us decide for ourselves whether it was "admitted." �BALANCE ... a word that describes nature at its best. Nothing predominates, neither weeds nor man. This is a har­ mony that warms the soul and soothes the mind. The greatest threat posed by pesticides is not any single effect, not the poison in your drinking water, for instance, but the unforeseen conse­ quences of upsetting nature's balance. K i l l a wicked potato beetle, yes, but how protect the nearby honey bee? Destroy a noxious weed; how save the earthworm beneath? The best garden is not a p a r k it's a land in balance! No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency. . . . . T. Roosevelt If you like to work, we recommend weeding. If you're lazy, like us, then mulch the soil. A six-inch layer of hay or straw between the rows of plants will smother weeds, hold in moisture, enrich the soil, and otherwise shower you with gifts from nature. Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. . . . . Plato Just as balance is important in nature, so it is in civilization. Justice, untem­ pered by mercy, is degraded to re­ venge. Thus are statesmen separated from politicians. Pole beans! They bear longer, taste better, and take less space. It often shows a fine command of the language to say nothing. A rabbit loves tender green shoots, es­ pecially those of beans and peas. To discourage him, lightly sprinkle blood meal (which you can buy at a slaughter­ house or at some garden centers) over the plants. Being a virtuous vegetarian, the rabbit spurns the unexpected animal odor. This is an especially effective remedy. �Don't throw that plant away! Thin carrots, beets, and turnips by pulling some when they are barely large enough to eat. Repeat at intervals, and you will have wasted never a seed. A greasy car windshield is a hazard in the rain. We offer some solutions: a sack of smoking tobacco rubbed (sack and all) over the damp window helps a lot, as will coca cola poured over the window. Really busy? We say, "Busier than a bee in a tarbucket." The first school in Solway was a oneroom log cabin, where all 8 grades were taught. The well was down the hill from the school and thirsty students brought their own cups to carry down when they needed a drink of water. What a funny fing a frog are! When he run he j u m p When he stand he sit On he little tail What he ain't got Almost hardly. SWEET PEPPER R E L I S H 12 red bell peppers 12 green bell peppers 12 medium onions 1 pt. cider vinegar 2 c. sugar 3 tsp. salt Run peppers and onion through blender or food chopper. Heat vinegar, sugar, and salt to boiling and add chopped peppers. Boil 5 minutes, Ladle into hot jars and seal. It did not follow that a small, some­ what isolated community would have a limited social life. Our area buzzed with activity, lighthearted and inclu­ sive. Box suppers were a favorite form of fund raising. A n d woe betide the young fellow who was known to want a certain girl's box. Spirited bidding by all the men forced him to pay dearly— to everyone's delight. �When a feller spends more to get elect­ ed than his salary for four years in office, we begin to wonder. Attending a meeting of the city council, county court, or whoever spends your tax money might be very illuminating. Maybe healthy for the politicians, too. When's the last time you attended such a meeting? Okay, when's the first time? In our county, three county commissioners hold a great deal of power. Who's going to keep 'em honest if we don't? As the teacher used to tell us in class, " P A Y A T T E N T I O N . " It's very nice to be important, but It's more important to be very nice. . . . . Mary Frances Fox In our region, Better Boy tomatoes will keep producing tasty fruits after other kinds have withered and died. If at first you don't succeed— Y o u ' l l get a lot of advice. Did you know that different types of stones are required for grinding wheat and corn? We had two local m i l l s Couch Mill, a grist mill for grinding corn by water power, and Hendrix* Hardin Valley Mill where they could grind both corn and wheat. For heavier fruit crops, fertilize in late summer or fall with ground rock phosphate. Sprinkle lime under trees to cut down on fungus carryover. A good fish bait all year round is whole kernel canned corn. If you have a catalpa tree, and i f it has worms, you have lovely bait. How is it that the same people who are so indignant about political corruption at the national level are so complaisant Have you tried taking ballpoint ink out of clothes with hair spray? Just spray it on. about it at the local level? �Not only the coal-oil wagon and the traveling store used to make the rounds of the countryside, but the ice truck and the "coke" wagon regu­ larly came by. The ice truck, out from Knoxville, responded to the card placed in your window—25 lbs., 50 lbs., or whatever, chipping off the amount needed. A n d the coke wagon, a summer highlight, sold coke and orange drinks—35 cents for a 24-bottle case. It was drawn by horses some 50 years ago. Boxers of the Boxer Rebellion were so named because they were members of a secret Chinese society called Society for the Harmonious Fists. Bind a sprain or bruise with brown paper soaked in strong apple vinegar— we've been assured this really works to reduce swelling and pain. Warm water with ammonia and just a touch of vinegar is still the best way to wash windows—especially if you rub them dry with newspaper. No man is the whole of himself. His friends are the rest of him. SOFT M O L A S S E S COOKIES Vi c. margarine /i c. sugar 1 tsp. ginger A tsp. ground cloves 1/8 tsp. nutmeg h tsp. cinnamon A tsp. salt 3 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda Vi c. molasses Vi c. sour milk x l x l Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you i n . . . . . Robert Frost M i x all ingredients to make a soft dough. Drop or roll out and cut. Bake 5 to 8 min. at 375°. �Blossom-end rot on tomatoes can be caused by a calcium deficiency, sometimes brought on by great changes in the moisture conditions for the plants. To correct it immediately, apply a little calcium nitrate around each plant and water it well. For long-term prevention, add ground limestone to your vegetable garden when plowing each fall. Nothing is so strong as gentleness; Nothing so gentle as real strength. I reckon you'd look in the right direc­ tion if we suggested you should look at 'at 'air hill over yonder. I'd rather have cobwebs i n my house than in my mind. Indian artifacts found throughout our area remind us that we are not really the natives. Nor is our wisdom neces­ sarily of universal use. Speaking of the white man's schools in the 1700's, Indian leaders said: "We have had some experience of it: several of our young people . . . . were instructed in all your sciences, but when they came back to us, they were bad runners; ignorant of every means of living in the woods; unable to bear either cold or hunger; knew neither how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy; spoke our lan­ guage imperfectly . . . . they were to­ tally good for nothing." 1928. . . Home demonstration agents taught 4-H girls to sew. They made dresses and underclothes for school. The cost? $1.85 to $2.75 for the entire outfit. �The first tender handful of peas or butterbeans can be stretched to feed the family by adding dumplings to the juice when the vegetables are almost done. Hit don't make no never mind. DUMPLINGS Make up some biscuit dough with flour and milk and not quite as much shortening as for biscuits. Roll this out as thin as piecrust and let sit while you bring the juice to a good boil. Cut the dumplings into short strips and drop one at a time into the juice while it boils. Do not stir and cook just un­ til they are done. Y o u can add two eggs to this dough and make rich drop dumplings by dropping a slight teaspoonful at a time into the boiling juice. Wild onions (allium) were a sea­ soning mainstay of the American Indians. Parboiled first i n water which you discard, and then braised in butter, they still make a tasy dish. There's the school of thought that says a few drops of ice water in the ear will relieve the ache until you reach the doctor. Use your herbs from the garden to treat your face to a herbal sauna facial, and tie some herbs in a bit of cheesecloth to add to your bath water for a refreshing beauty soak. The "life's like that" department: Always a day late and a dollar short. Y o u ain't slept t i l you've slept on a shuck tick. But that's what a lot of local people had for mattresses, corn being so plentiful. Alternatives were straw ticks and for real winter coziness, those made of goosedown. �During depression days, the home de­ monstration agents changed our style of sleeping by teaching the women how to make cotton mattresses. They held classes on the porch of the local store, even providing the cotton and the ticking for a cover. Cash money was raised in ingenious ways in days gone by. "Musseling" was one of the more profitable ones. Mussel shells were gathered and sold for buttons. Many people brought in tow sacks full. Though the gatherers cleaned out the shells (occasionally finding a fresh-water pearl), the odor was still overpowering by the time enough were gathered at the depot to ship out by rail. Did you know that wild plants have been found to have a higher mineral content than most cultivated varieties? A d d a handful of dandelion or wild mustard greens and a bit of wild on­ ion to your salad bowl for a salad that's full of flavor, fresh and health­ ful. A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. . . . . Ogden Nash If the picnic's good enough, you don't mind walkin' through the brush to get there. The politician's temptation: Although musseling was done partly from flat-bottomed boats, Blind J i m (Jim Baker) was as successful as any­ one, because he, like many, found mussels in shallow muddy water with his feet. Blind J i m knew the Solway area so well that he walked wherever he wish­ ed, alone, with only a stick for aid. Everybody's money is nobody's money. When an onion gets soft or starts to sprout, don't throw it out—plant it. Soon you can harvest a bunch of green onions for salads. �Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. . . . . Robert F . Kennedy The Solway Ferry was powered by a hand-wound winch, but Black's Ferry, which preceded it, was paddled across with oars and poles. Luckily, the river, though deep, was not wide. It's the right string, baby, but the wrong yo-yo NOVEL ARITHMETIC* Example: What number becomes even by subtracting one? Answer: s-even Rub an emery board on spots on suede shoes to erase the shine. If your cucumbers were bitter last summer, it may have been because of poor weather. The bitterness can be caused either by long periods of wet weather or an extended dry spell. It will help to plant varieties that are recommended for this area. These, says UT's Agricultural Extension Ser­ vice, are Saticoy Hybrid, Poinsett, Burpee Hybrid, Ashley, Model, and Boston. Both Model and Boston are recommended for pickling. 1. What number, by adding one, be­ comes sound? 2. What number, by adding one, be­ comes isolated? 3. What number, by inserting one, be­ comes finely ground meal? 4. What number, by subtracting one, becomes a vegetable growth? 5. What number, by subtracting one, becomes a preposition? 6. What number, by subtracting one, becomes an exclamation of con­ tempt? 7. What number, by subtracting one, becomes a costly substance? •Taken from the St. Nicholas Maga­ zine, 1887. �Most wild meats should be civilized before cooking by marinating in wine, vinegar, or lemon juice. This also helps tougher cuts of beef. Cook with moist, slow heat. A d d onion soup mix for a tasty and easy pot roast. O Lord, let my words be gracious and tender today for tomorrow I may have to eat them. Many farmers of this community still plant crops and plan other activi­ ties according to the "signs," meaning the zodiac signs or the area of the heavens in which the moon rises at that time of month. Most just follow the signs as given on a calendar mark­ ing signs most favorable for planting. A n easy rule to remember is to plant root crops in the dark of the moon, (that is: waning) and other vegetables in the light of the moon (when it is waxing, or growing toward a full moon). There's no such thing as a free lunch. Powdered sulphur will keep snakes out of the yard. Another money crop for local people in the 1920's and earlier was timber. Going north, they cut logs and floated them down the Clinch River during high water periods. They accompanied the logs by building a raft and floating themselves as well, stopping not at home but only when they reached Chattanooga. 1. ONE T 2. O N E L 3. F O U R L 4. T H R E E - H 5. F O U R - U 6. F I V E - V = TONE = LONE = FLOUR = TREE = FOR = FIE 7. F O U R - O = F U R �There is so much good in the worst of us, A n d so much bad in the best of us, That it hardly behooves any of us To talk about the rest of us. To see a world in a grain of sand, A n d heaven in a flowerTo hold infinity in the palm of your hand, A n eternity in an hour! Bay leaves left in cabinets will keep weevils out. It is said that a few drops of warm wine (placed in the ear, of course) will ease earache. Or you might try tobacco smoke blown into the ear. About 1902 there was a legal still in Solway. "Booze," as it was officially known, was made under government supervision in a small ravine (which is still visible where Sparks Road joins the Oak Ridge highway). The location was determined by a spring which flowed there, but the water became contaminated from floods and Solway never became the Jack Daniels of Tennessee. Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief. When I works, I works hard. When I sits, I sits loose; A n d when I thinks, I falls asleep. �Many activities were shared by the whole community. Molasses was made down by a big spring at the curve of Guinn Road where the water made it easy to clean up the mess. A big heavy grinding stone was powered by a cir­ cling horse. Sorghum cane stalks were squeezed of juice which then poured into a long vat over a fire and by the time it reached the end of the vat, thick molasses dripped into barrels. Bottom land, where, as everybody knows, silt from the spring floods is deposited, is best for growing things. Since corn was a big crop in the Sol­ way area, the corn fields were planted along the Clinch River. It was not un­ usual to see fields of corn not many rows wide but two miles long. There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children—one is roots, the other, wings. Give your dogwoods a dose of Epsom salts for bigger, more plentiful blos­ soms. If your space is limited, why not turn the tables and add vegetables to your flower borders? Leaf lettuce is attract­ ive as a border, and radishes will grow quickly and can be replaced with annuals. Try a tomato plant on a trellis or fence, and add some okra plants among your hollyhocks. �Mouth ulcers are a pesky, persistent nuisance. Try rinsing your mouth with lemon juice and salt to get rid of them. The best way to convince anyone he is wrong is to let him have his way. Pour your left-over coffee, coffee grounds, tea, and tea leaves around acid-loving plants. They will thrive on it. And here's another poke recipe. FRIED POKE S A L L A T Gather a sack full of young tender poke sprouts early in the spring. Wash and parboil them. Lift the poke out of the water and put into a hot skillet with a little oil. Cook until the juice dries out, then sprinkle with some cornbread crumbs or cornmeal and salt. Cook until good and dry. Break two eggs over the poke and stir for a couple of minutes, then take up and eat. H O L I N G UP V E G E T A B L E S F O R WINTER Dig a shallow hole in the garden or convenient spot and line it with about eight inches of hay or straw. Pull cab­ bages up by the roots and start around the outside of the circle, packing them with the roots sticking out. Build another stack on top of this, fitting the heads between the others. Continue going around, building up a mound. Cover all this with about eight inches of hay or straw and then cover it with dirt. Place boards or plastic sheet on top to keep the rain out. Tunnel into the side of the mound and pull a cab­ bage head out by the roots as you need one, but be sure to start at the bottom of the mound and to fill in the hole with lots of straw and dirt. Y o u can also keep sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, or apples in a mound like this. Our favorite local expression: Oh, la! �If you say you arc "for sure" about a fact, it's just a softer , southern way of saying you are positive. A census was taken in 1795, along with a vote on the question of statehood for Tennessee. A t that time the population of Knox County was 11,573. The majority of the vote was for statehood. A glass of warm water every morning is an easy, painless, dependable solution to constipation. A stronger remedy for emergencies: a small glass of sauerkraut juice. Housewives make too much work of sweet potatoes. Don't bother with the pineapple sauce, the brown sugar, or the apples. Just bake the potatoes w hole and serve with butter. Mmmmmm! Incidentally, they're one of the easiest crops to grow in our area. Just striking a match kills many odors. Everybody in town had a ride in an automobile when Nip Guinn brought the first car to Solway—a Maxwell! Truly vine-ripened tomatoes peel easily. Don't bother to scald them. The wooden shoring of the railway tunnel once caught on fire. The fire was so far inward that it could not be reached from either end, so workers bored a hole down through the hill from above in order to put out the fire. �Why take up space with cucumber plants spread all over the garden? They grow fine on fences. Speaking of recycling, nylon stockings are handy in the garden. Cut crosswise strips for strong, soft ties to use in staking tomatoes, hollyhocks, peonies, or whatever. Pour your insecticide powder (if you must use it) into a stocking for a fine, even dusting tool in the vegetable garden—and you don't have to bend your back as much either. Cut a run-free section of a stocking and knot it securely at the bottom for a good strainer for making jellies, etc. A nail stuck in the ground next to a tomato plant defeats the cutworm, who must wrap himself around the plant stem to do his guillotining. Cut off the top four inches or so of any plastic detergent, bleach, or ammonia bottle to have a convenient funnel. Caught camping without your tooth­ brush? Shred a pleasant-tasting tree branch (maybe sweet gum or sassafras) to use. As children, we love our parents. As students, we tolerate our parents. As adults, we forgive our parents. And as parents ourselves, finally we understand our parents. When you're ready to go off the edgeremember that the Lord in His infinite mercy made the world round. I have as much patience as the rest of you, I just don't have time to practice it. L o r d , when we are wrong, make us willing to change, A n d when we are right, make us easy to live with. . . . . Peter Marshall �Box suppers, ice-cream socials, quilting bees, Saturday night fiddlers—all these were part of an active social life for the Solway community when families and neighbors still supplied their own entertainment. But the highlight of the year was the annual fair—a four day event which drew people from as far as it was possible to come by horse and buggy. Horse racing was the biggest part of the fair, with everything from trotting horses to racers; there were two-wheeled cart contests (a social occasion), as well as the more conventional racing events, and even a pony show. The fairgrounds in and just east of what is now called Burchfield Heights (though it really was level enough to make a fine fair site), provided varied entertainment for everyone. The children concentrated on the ice-cream booth, where cones, large and luscious, were a nickel—or the popcorn stand, also offering bargains to hold the inner boy together. For those in need of more than a snack, Aunt Effie Miller provided meals at 25 cents per person—and found herself cooking from morning til night. A n d of course the picnic basket, full of pots of beans, ham, and cold biscuits, was a common sight. If you hadn't spent all your money on food, you might buy large gas-filled balloons. On one occasion, some enter­ prising young Lindberghs thought holding enough of them might even make them airborne, but somehow they never got off the ground. As the fair grew, barns were built and cattle exhibits featured, as well as the choicest examples of farm crops. Fun, pride, relaxation, neighboring—the fair was a fitting climax to the farmer's year of demanding work. �A n easy way to get distilled water for your house plants or the steam iron or the car battery is to use the water collected by your dehumidifier. Even i f you are on the right track, you'll get run over i f you just sit there. It's average to make a mistake. Dill weed is a useful plant to have in the garden—and the most useful part is that you just have to plant it once! It comes up year after year. Perhaps that's why it's called "weed." Cockfighting was a general sport in the county prior to 1890 and most farm flocks had the influence of game blood. The Knoxville cockpit where regular cock fights were held was on Church Street, where the Methodist Church was later built, and it may be presumed that Solway cocks won their share of battles there. Practicality joined with ingenuity dur­ ing the depression when small boys managed to obtain the family's winter supply of coal by soaping the railroad tracks. This caused the wheels to spin, temporarily stalling the train long enough for someone to leap on board and toss out a few shovelsful of coal. Are the neighbors tired of watering your house plants while you vacation in the sun? Let them water themselves by running a cotton wick from a large bucket of water to the bottom of each pot—or cover each plant with a clear plastic bag after watering well. Be sure to leave them well shaded. �Lighter fluid is handy to have around. It will take gum out of hair, take cray­ on marks off walls, and will painlessly kill an insect for preserving. Those who think they know it all up­ set those of us who do. And while we're in the business of handy little hints—we're also good at curing hiccups: by drinking sips of water, by scaring the victim, by making him angry, by eating a teaspoonful of sugar, or by breathing into a paper bag. Do you have an invalid, either young or old, for whom time hangs heavy? If you live in the country or a wooded area—or even if you have trees and bushes in your yard—you have the re­ sources for a fascinating hobby for your shut-in. Install a windowsill bird feeder where the patient can easily see it, or move the patient to a convenient window. Birds become friends, person­ alities. A n d their variety is astonishing. Or you might try nail polish remover. It, too, will take crayon marks off walls; it will remove a piece of plastic bag melted on, say, the side of the toaster. Invent other uses of your own. The coming of the railroad to Solway was an important event, though it did not have many of the aspects of a trans-continental joining. In fact, when the train brought work crews to the end of the line it returned to Knoxville by backing up. �When the railroad was being built through Solway, work progressed around the clock. A n d if it didn't pro­ gress, action was as prompt and decisive as one usually associates with stories of the Wild West. Ponder the case of the laborer who refused to work a double shift: his boss shot him dead. The old West shared another of its ways with the local railway builders who paid their crews i n silver dollars. �The young leaves and blossom petals as well as the fruit of the common wild strawberry can be eaten raw. The dry leaves can be steeped to make tea. In fact, during the Revolutionary War they were sold for that very purpose. "We had begged for life, and the white men thought we wanted theirs." . . . . Chief Red Cloud Is it so bad to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be mis­ understood. . . . . Emerson One very important ingredient of success is a good, wide-awake, persist­ ent, tireless enemy. A man there was They called him mad The more he gave The more he had. To clean a crystal vase or pitcher where you cannot reach the inside, add scrap­ ed raw potato and water and let it stand for some time. Most aromatic herbs are virtually free from insects. Y o u can add to your culinary delights by including basil, rosemary, thyme, dill, and parsley in your vegetable garden, and at the same time repel pests. Mint is not recommended for the garden, however, as it needs a special bed to contain its rampant growth. Use it up, wear it out; Make it do, or do without. �Comfort is a want and not a need. Recycling may be new in many areas but people in small communities were always practical, and Solway was a fine example. When Oak Ridge became a reality during the second World War and thousands of people poured into the area, extra food was much in de­ mand. Where the present Hamilton National Bank stands was then the site of a hog pen where some 1700 head of hogs were raised—fed on garbage from Oak Ridge, which was hauled across the river by two old trucks. Plant your flower garden with masses of different types of plants rather than single plants scattered around inside a border. The effect is more natural and attractive. Curved rather than straight lines are also more pleasing to the eye. Tennessee has many blessings, but no place is without a few nuisances and one of ours is chiggers, invisible rascals who burrow into the skin causing an intense itching over several days. Nail polish applied to the spot satisfactorily smothers them, and salted fatback also helps stop the itching. There was also a good deal of truck farming in the area. Many of us can re­ member being paid 10 cents a bushel to pick beans. Y o u know, we hope, that the leaves from the aloe plant are good for burns. Just rub the fresh juice from a broken leaf on the burn—or sunburn, or even insect bite—for immediate relief. DRIED APPLES Peel the apples and slice thin, then spread slices out in the sun to dry. Cover them with cheese cloth to keep the flies off. Y o u can also dry them in the oven overnight at 100 degrees. �APPLE STACK C A K E For apple filling, soak two to three cups of dried apples for about an hour in one or one-and-a-half cups of water. Cook the apples on medium heat with sugar and spices to your taste. Mash up to make a nice thick filling. To hull black walnuts, put them in a cloth sack and run over them with the car. Life is like an onion; Y o u peel off one layer at a time, A n d sometimes you weep. Butternut squash, blemish-free, keeps well throughout the winter just laid out in rows in a cool room. For cake layers: 1/2 c. buttermilk 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 1 c. sugar 1 tsp. baking pinch of salt plain flour powder 1/2 tsp. soda 1/2 c. shortening butter is best Cream butter and sugar. A d d egg and beat well. A d d other ingredients. A d d flour enough to handle. Place a small amount of dough in a cake pan that has been greased and floured. Press the dough out in the pan. It should be no more than 1 / 4 " thick be­ fore baking in a 350°-400° oven until light brown. Butter while hot. Bake all layers. When layers have cooled, spread the dried fruit filling between the lay­ ers. The fruit should be at least half as thick as the cake layer. Leave the top layer plain. The cake is best i f covered tightly and refrigerated at least over­ night before serving. Be sure to keep it refrigerated if it lasts more than a day. Before the days of refrigeration, these cakes were stored in a lard stand (a metal can for lard with a tightfitting lid) and placed outside on a porch or in an unheated room. �Separation of church and state is all very well from an ideological point of view, but from the physical side our schools and churches were mutually entwined to the benefit—indeed, the survival—of both. Less than 100 feet from where the present Fairview grade school now stands, the Methodists built a log church in the late 1800's. This was the M . £. (Methodist-Episcopal) North, or original, Methodist group, from which the M . E . South (pro-slavery) group had split off before the Civil War. In a border state such as Tennessee, the issue of slavery was a keen one, so much so that as late as 1934, M . E . South members objected to marriages with members of M . E . North. It was not until 1939 that the two groups again merged. In 1893, a one-room frame building was put up for a school for all 8 grades. In those days, fire was a constant menance. Once under way it was almost im­ possible to put out, and the old wood and coal heaters were a hazardous method of heating. Sure enough, the school burned down, but Methodists to the rescueclasses were held in the log church. A new two-room school was built in the same area and in its turn provided help for the Baptist Church members who met there after their nearby church went up in flames. Meanwhile, the Methodist Church had dissolved and was reorganized about 1910. It was now known as the Fairview Methodist Church. The Reverend Mr. Cobble was the organizing minister, but since he was a circuit rider it was �possible to have but one preaching service a month, and that on Sunday after­ noon. Sunday School met each week, however, also in the afternoons. The Baptists, who had rebuilt, discontinued their services about this time and made their church available to the Methodists. People made great sacrifices to equip the church. A new piano, 30 new hymnals, pulpit furniture, and several smaller items were purchased and paid for at a time when money in this small rural community was almost unknown. They had scarcely finished furnishing it when it was destroyed by fire in 1919. Now the Methodists were forced to meet in the school; they began to plan a small white frame church, which was completed in the early twenties and called Solway Methodist. In 1936, the congregation was informed that the Walnut Grove Methodist Church, shortly to be covered by the waters of Norris Lake, from T V A ' s first dam, could be had if they were willing to tear it down and move the lumber. Thus, they enlarged the church and added Sunday School rooms. The school, meanwhile, had grown and was now housed in a three-room brick building. This, however, burned in 1939. Prospects for a new school were bleak in these depression times and for almost two years, school was possible only because the Methodist Church was again available for classrooms. However, with the aid of the WPA, a new brick school, the present Fairview School, was finally finished and was dedicated on Dec. 7, 1941—Pearl Harbor Day! In 1951 the Methodists, too, moved into a new building—their present church, complete with Sunday School rooms in the basement. One more time, shared facilities helped out, for while they were building the new church on the same spot as the old one, services were held in the new school, �When your child brings in a " w o r m " or caterpillar, don't be afraid to "raise" it and see what happens. Send the child back out to get some of the plant on which he found the caterpillar—or some twigs with leaves from the tree on which it was found. This is the food plant. Put the food plant in water in a container so the whole arrangement will fit into the pie-pan cage. Replenish the food supply when necessary. The cater­ pillar will usually turn into a chrys­ alis in the cage and in a couple of weeks emerge as a butterfly. Every family with children should have a cage in which to raise caterpillars. Watching the growth and metamor­ phosis of a caterpillar is also a simple and interesting way of entertaining an invalid, young or old. A simple cage can be made by using two tin pie pans. Punch holes around the bottom surface of one pan at 1W intervals. Buy enough screen wire to make a tube 18" high and the circum­ ference of the pie pan with a 2" over­ lap. Using a strand of wire, lace the tube together and lace it to the bottom of the pan. The other pan is the lid. If you were asked to crack the window, would you open it a bit as we would? Another ingenious way of trans­ porting corn to market was to provide it with legs to march to slaughter by feeding it to livestock. Don't sweat the small stuff. Corn was the major crop in our area which, inevitably perhaps, resulted in a plentiful number of stills. There were several very practical reasons for this: distilled liquor is easier to trans­ port than the bulky ears of corn; it is a dependable way of turning the crop into cash; the demand is fairly steady; and if one tires of eating corn on the cob, corn off the cob, or corn made into cornbread, it is always con­ soling to be able to drink it. �If it were raining soup, I'd be caught outside with a fork. If cucumber leaves turn yellowish and cucumbers grow slowly, with pointed blossom end, you need to add more nitrogen. Cottonseed meal, bone meal, or blood meal are good sources. It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. BLACKBERRY JELLY Pick good ripe berries; wash and cap them. Cook in a large pot with just a little water to start them boiling. As soon as they boil, remove from heat and strain through a cloth bag. Measure the juice and add 1 cup of sugar for each cup of juice. Cook until it sheets off the spoon. Remember we told you about all the scraps from the cafeterias in Oak Ridge being brought to Solway to fat­ ten hogs to become food for the cafe­ terias? Well, there was a dividend. Y o u know how cafeterias operate. Sure enough, everybody in Solway had a complete set of silverware which had once seen service on the other side of the river. 1919 . . . "The tractor had gained rapidly in favor; I believe it is here to stay. . . . . County Agent's report In 1816 true bills were returned against Henry Lonas, Jr. for "assaulting and abusing a man slave. Henry, the property of William Whitsman," and against Pumroy Carmichael for "beating and killing sundry hogs, the property of George F . Reynolds." �Either orange juice or grapefruit juice will give two-and-a-half times as much Vitamin C as the same amount of tomato juice. I'm the kind of person who always hits the nail on the thumb. Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must ex­ plore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your mind. . . . . Emerson Harvest sweet potatoes after the vines have been frost-bitten. A turtle only moves ahead by sticking out his neck. County roads in the early days were maintained by the men who lived along these roads, with each man re­ quired to work his fair share in keep­ ing them in good repair. The county assisted only by reimbursing overseers for money spent on equipment (crow­ bars, sledges, blasting powder, etc.) and by appropriating money for the construction of a few bridges. If mice eat your tulip bulbs every year, try planting daffodils instead. Mice don't like the flavor of daffodils, narcissi, or grape hyacinths. Spills smoking in the oven? Sprinkle cinnamon over—then at least the smoke smells good! If you see someone without a smile, Give him one of yours. When you go on vacation and leave your pet at a kennel, his fleas, i f he has them, will be homeless and hungry with* out him. Leave a flea-killing substance in each room so that you will not be attacked when you return. �FRIED OKRA I Trim okra, parboil in salted water for five minutes. Drain. Dip in beaten egg, cornmeal, and then fry in bacon grease until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. F R I E D O K R A II Wash and trim okra, slice crosswise into /4-inch slices into bowl. M i x in one egg, V2 to 3/4 c. cornmeal, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. Stir up and put whole batch into skillet in hot grease and stir—fry until golden brown. COUNTRY CHOW-CHOW Wash two cabbage heads and chop fine. Peel and chop two firm ripe or green tomatoes. Chop up four unpeeled apples and two red and two green bell peppers. Slice a couple of carrots very thin and add to this. Sprinkle with about 1 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt. A d d two cups of vinegar and sprinkle with black pepper. Put on the stove and heat almost to a boil. Pack it into hot jars and seal. While you're pondering, we're thinkin' on it. Good land attracted farmers no matter what the hazards. Consider the island upstream from the present Solway bridge. Yearly it was planted to corn. A team of horses or mules would be forded over and left in sheds overnight during planting and harvesting seasons. Once a sudden rain raised the river and caught Mr. Walker. Neighbors rowed through swift waters to rescue him. Not so fortunate was a team of mules earlier caught and drowned in a whilpool at the upper end of the island. Though this island was farmed for nearly a century, it was not until very recently, shortly before it sank perman­ ently beneath Melton Hill Lake, that farmers discovered they had, these many years, been growing their corn above an Indian burial ground. �When you plant a cherry tree, plant a mulberry tree nearby. Y o u may not like mulberries, but the birds do, and they will be more apt to leave the cherries for you. Only some of us learn by other people's mistakes; The rest of us have to be the other people. Bloom where you are planted. It's easy to forget, though perhaps the energy crunch may remind us, but there was no electricity available to the residents of the Solway community until the mid-1930V. In 1800, in addition to making cash tax payments, each landowner was required to deliver six squirrel scalps or in lieu thereof to pay six cents. A green walnut hull will run off ants. Nor will they cross a sprinkling of black pepper. Powdered sulphur sprinkled in their path or along door and window sills will also keep ants out. Use an ordinary garden sprayer to spray your Christmas tree with water-based floor wax. Y o u ' l l be surprised at the benefits. It conserves moisture so the tree stays green and retains its leaves, and reduces the chance of aller­ gic reaction to the Christmas tree. Fatback, molasses, and the turnip patch got many an early farm family through the winter. �In 1789 Congress organized what is now Tennessee and Kentucky as the Terri­ tory South of the River Ohio, and President Washington appointed William Blount of North Carolina as the first governor. In 1791 the gover­ nor met with a large delegation of Cherokee Indians at the site of presentday Knoxville and negotiated the Treaty of Holston, setting the bound­ ary of Indian territory following the Clinch River to its mouth and from there to run eastward to the North Carolina boundary. Thus, the Solway community was at the very border of Indian territory. Dose your corn ears with mineral oil to control corn-ear worms. Just a few drops on the tip of each ear after the silks begin to turn brown at the tips will do the trick. Y o u know that family vacations are out­ dated when the children complain that there's nothing to do when all you want to do is nothing. Root cellars used to be important in preserving garden produce for winter— and the same principles still work well. Beds of sand were prepared for carrots, beets, turnips, and rutabagas. The sand was kept damp to keep the vegetables from drying out until used. Potatoes were layered with straw in bins. Onions were braided and hung up to dry. Hot peppers were also hung to dry. Green beans were strung with needle and thread and hung. A n osage orange placed under the kit­ chen sink will discourage cockroaches. Hot tea can be made by pouring boiling water over the leaves of spearmint or peppermint, and over the flowers of the elderberry. . . . in much of talking, thinking is half murdered. . . . . Kahfil Gibran �During the depression, the WPA pro­ vided jobs for many, even having murals painted in post offices. In our area, the needs were perhaps more mundane, but certainly most practical. WPA built out-houses, and with, perhaps, a touch of the artistic even here, painted them maroon. SHUCK BEANS Pick green beans when they are good and full. Remove strings and ends as if you were cooking them but do not snap. Use a large needle and quilting thread and thread them onto the string through the middle, not too close to­ gether. Hang the strings up on the wall to dry. When you're ready to cook them, just snap into pieces and soak in water for an hour or overnight. Cook at a slow simmer with salt and a ham hock to season. People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. When you think you're killing time, time is killing you. The louder he talked of his honor, The faster we counted our spoons. , . , . Emerson Cooking cabbage? Place an Irish po­ tato or a slice of bread just under the lid. There will be no odor. Nobody loves a dandelion—unless he has tasted the young leaves in a spring salad, or had them cooked as greens. A n d by baking the root until brown and then powdering it, you can make a coffee substitute. �Farmers are made, not born, just as much as engineers or dentists. One great source of help was the county agricultural agent programs. In our Knox County, the agents, with the help of the University of Tennessee, began teaching the latest farming methods as far back as 1914. The agent's hardest job was to change accepted methods. If he could get a farmer to use his place as a dem­ onstration farm, where the new tech­ niques were tried, the evidence was much more convincing to the rest. In 1919, for instance, farmers were urged to apply lime to the lo­ cally acid fields for better production. "I've wore out more land than you'll ever own," was a truism that oldtimers might have been proud of, but their finite boundaries led them toward acceptance of the new ideas. To thine own self be true A n d it must follow As the night the day Thou canst not then be false To any man. . . . . Shakespeare The pepperv leaves and buds of nas­ turtiums are a nice addition to soup, stew, or salad. The iris is the Tennessee state flower and it grows very well here. Cut the foliage back and divide your clumps about every 3 years. Plant in full sun­ shine, on a well-drained spot with the rhizomes barely under ground. A d d a little bonemeal, limestone, or wood ashes to make the soil alkaline. Burning dried lemon or orange peel will kill even skunk odors. �The local county agent's office is a gold mine of information on any gar­ dening subject. Here are some of the varieties of fruit trees they recommend for this area: Peaches Early Mid Late Dixired Red Haven Redskin or Elberta Apples Early Mid Late Cortland Jonathan Golden Delicious Stay man Winesap Plums Bruce of Santa Rosa There are lots of folk ways to stop a cut from bleeding: bind it up with spider's web, put soot on the cut, bathe the cut with alum water, or place scorched cotton or cloth on the wound. A dish of vinegar will take a smoky smell out of the house. Look in the phone book under your county's name for County and Home Agent." 44 Parents don't know all the things their kids are doing, but they find out just enough to keep them on edge. A friend is a gift you give yourself. When it clouds up in Tennessee, we'll l o w as how hit's a-fixin' to rain. There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the con­ viction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion. . . . . Emerson �Amaze your friends with your green thumb by rooting some cuttings this easy way. Place cuttings (half-hard cuttings, i.e., this year's growth but not too young, are usually best for roses and shrubs) in a pot of vermiculite or vermiculite and sand mixed. Water well and let pot drain. Then put pot and all into a plastic bag and seal. Punch a small hole for venti­ lation and put on a windowsill to root. Rooting time varies but check when you see new leaves sprouting. If you support the bags inside with stakes you can even leave them in a shady spot outdoors. One of the small pleasures of life is a sharp axe. Solway's "supermarket" not too many years ago was a rolling store—an old converted bus that carried a surprising assortment. About twice a week it came driving through, to the intense excitement of the children, who could barter an egg from mama's henhouse for candy. One egg was worth 3 or 4 pieces! Everybody has heard "mad as a wet hen," but our people feel more strongly about it; they sometimes get as mad as a wet settin' hen"! 44 Some of the rich bottom land along the Clinch River long ago was too swampy to farm—but we found a so­ lution: to make it usable it was drained and tiled throughout! A furrow was plowed every so often and drain tiles buried as in any drain field. In other places, pine poles were laid in the fur­ rows and covered up, thus providing drainage holes. �Nearly every country has a national recipe which features a combination of rice and beans. Here, again, folk wis­ dom has its instinctive common sense. Both rice and beans are incomplete proteins, providing some but not all of the necessary body-building ingred­ ients. But combined, they become a complete protein food, about 43% more nutritious than when eaten separately. Our southern version of a rice and bean dish is : HOPPIN' J O H N Cook 6 slices of bacon until crisp. Remove from pan. A d d 2 cups of cooked black-eyed peas and 1 cup uncooked rice, plus 1 dried hot red pepper. Cook until rice is tender, adding more liquid i f needed. Crumble bacon, add, and serve. Nice garnished with parsley. If you have a fluorescent light under one of your kitchen cabinets you are all set to begin an indoor herb garden. The cabinet above the light provides a dark place with gentle bottom heat that is ideal for seed germination, and after the seedlings are large enough to transplant into pots, you can put them on a shelf or on the back of the count­ er under the light where they will provide a culinary delight for every meal. Be sure to get a fluorescent bulb designed for growing plants. Young people have developed a warm greeting: "Have a good day." We wonder if they borrowed it from our local folk, who for years have been asking, " Y ' a l l right today?" The best way to get something done is to begin. Minds are like parachutes, They function only when open. When Flossie Cox taught the first three grades in 1928, she had 54 children in her room. Plain sulphur in one's shoes is said to keep off chiggers. �1919 . . . Stereoptican slides were used by county agents at community meetings to illustrate phases of the new farm pro­ grams. The Delco Farm Lighting Co., sellers of gasoline generators and bat­ teries, provided light for many an even­ Okra seeds will come up with a better ing meeting. stand i f you plant radishes along with them. The radishes come up first and The civilized man has built a coach break the ground for the okra. Y o u but has lost the use of his feet. . . . can soon harvest the radish crop and His notebooks impair his memory; his your okra will be off to a good start. libraries overload his wit; the insurance office increases the number of accidents; and it may be a question whether we have not lost by refinement some energy, by a Christianity entrenched in establishments and forms, some vigor of wild virtue. For every stoic SOUSE OR H O G H E A D C H E E S E was a Stoic; but in Christendom, where Clean scalded hog's head thoroughly is the Christian? by scraping and scrubbing. Split head . . . . Emerson open, remove brains. (Save brains to cook with scrambled eggs.) Put head (and feet if desired) into On July 6, 1813, the Grand Inquest large pressure cooker or pot. Cook (an early county Grand Jury) returned until meat falls off bones. (45 min­ an indictment against Peggy McMahon utes in pressure cooker.) for being a public scold. Let cool. Pour off most of the liquid. Grind up meat, skin, cartilage from head and feet. Add 1 c. vinegar to 3 c. meat. A d d Get the food too salty? A d d a raw sage, salt, and pepper to taste. potato to soups, stews and pot roasts Pour into cloth bag. Set on rack which have been over-salted. in cool place (refrigerator will do) overnight. Mixture will jell. Slice and serve cold as meat dish. �60 years ago, alfalfa was an important crop here, no doubt to provide feed for the large herds of dairy cattle (mostly Jerseys) and beeves, and the many horses which were used both for transportation and cultivation. Percherons were favored locally for the heavy field work. Today these same farms lean heav­ ily on pigs for livestock, and have given up alfalfa, which is beset by a weevil. Corn, however, is still the mainstay it was then. A friend is someone who knows all about you and still likes you. Y o u can keep fleas away from your dog by using cedar shavings for bedding, or sprinkling cedar oil over the bedding. Keeps the "doggie odor" away, too. Symptoms are distressing but not dangerous. Before the days of the truck and agri­ business, it was the farmer's responsi­ bility to get his grain to the mill to be ground. Commonly, the sacks, hauled by mule, were hung equally on both sides to balance the load. The miller took 1/8 as his share for his labor— and because he weighed it sack and all, it was known as "miller's weight." Rhododendron leaves are a pretty good outdoor thermometer. If they point straight down you can be sure the temperature is near freezing. As it warms up the leaves spread out and on warm days they actually reach upward a little. 1928 . . . "Planning meals is something most country women seldom do—it's the same old thing day after day through­ out a season." . . . . County Agent's report �Home demonstration agents taught the housewives to can meat after hog killing time. Many of the pieces had been given away or allowed to spoil, while the rest went into an unvarying diet as long as the meat was good. Mix a cupful of ground coffee with your carrot seeds when you plant them. This has a double benefit. It makes it easier to sow the tiny seeds, and the coffee "percolates" enough odor during the season to repel the fly whose larvae sometimes make worm trails through your best carrots. If at first you do succeed— Try hard to hide your Astonishment. "CREASEY GREENS" Wash watercress thoroughly to get out all the trash, especially after a heavy rain in the crick. (Watercress supposedly will not grow in a polluted stream). Fry several slices of bacon until crisp. Pour off all but 1 ts grease . Remove bacon strips. Put watercress into hot grease . Stir-fry until wilted. Crumble bacon over the top and serve with hot cornbread. Sliced hardboiled eggs and/or vin­ egar may be served with the "greens." A little explained, A little endured, A little forgiven, The quarrel is cured. Sliced raw summer squash and sliced raw zucchini add color, texture, and good taste to a summer salad. If you're broiling in the oven, pour a little water in the pan under the rack. There'll be no spitting or burning grease. Life is like a piano— What you get out of it depends on how you play it. �Meat tenderizer is great for wasp stings—and there's a scientific reason: wasp venom is protein which the tenderizer breaks down. (Obviously, this won't help much for a bee sting where the trouble is caused by the stinger being left in the wound.) If you need a faucet washer and don't have one available, cut one out of an old leather glove or shoe tongue. This will also work as packing around a piston. George Lee ran the Solway Ferry in the early 1900's. It was jointly own­ ed by Knox County and Anderson County—which made it somewhat inconvenient for Mr. Lee since he had to go to both Knoxville and Clinton, the county seats of the two counties, to collect his salary. There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. . . . . Goethe If you worry about the scarcity and high price of fertilizer, consider what nature provides for free. Every time lightning strikes the earth, large amounts of nitrogen are charged into the ground. Nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as clover, lupines, peas, and beans can add a great deal more to your soil and be plowed under as green fertilizer. Rain and snow wash down not only nitrogen but some phosphorous, sul­ phur, carbonic acid, and traces of minerals from dust in the air. The gradual erosion of rocks in the soil also replenishes the mineral content of the soil. A compost pile can help return to your soil all of the elements living plants have taken from it. 1928 . . . Many children did not carry enough or the proper kind of lunch to school. Before the days of orga­ nized hot lunches, our teachers and some of the women in the commun­ ity volunteered to serve meals to the students. Some of the food was do­ nated and some was bought by the county; it was cooked on a small coal oil stove in the cloak closet— and nearly 100 children were fed every day! �It is rumored that the juice from a green walnut rubbed on ringworm will cure it. Compassion is a bureaucrat's e m o t i o n duty aspiring to be love. Did you know there is a Solway in Scotland? So it was only natural that when the railroad crew used to like to go out sol's way at sunset, toward the colorful western sky, the daughter of the railroad agent, Mr. Morrison, should name the place Solway. After all, the Morrisons were Scottish. SAUERKRAUT Wash cabbage heads and chop into thin slices. Pack into a stone crock and mix in salt to taste. The salt will draw the juice from the cabbage. Continue adding kraut and salt until the crock is almost full. Last of all you can peel your cabbage stalks and lay on top. Sprinkle these with salt. Put an old plate upside down on top and weight it down with a large clean rock to keep the cabbage covered with juice. Cover with a clean cloth and let it ferment for about 6 days. Then heat the kraut to a boil and put it in hot jars and seal. Or you can leave it i n the crock and keep in a cool place through the winter. 1932 . . . Effie Miller, Mae Guinn, Georgia Thompson, Sephie Leath, Bertha Lockett, Sarah Cagley, Eddith Cobb, Middle age is when you've met so many Chastaine Norman, Frances Williams— people that every new person you meet These local women were our home reminds you of someone else. demonstration leaders, whose teaching . . . . Ogden Nash was more acceptable than that of an imported expert. There must be a lesson somewhere in that, too. It's not the time we take to do some­ thing; it's what we take the time to do. �Because of the type of small homestead farming done in Knox County, there was little need for slaves. Most slaves listed in the early census were domestic help in the city of Knoxville. Consequently, when the possibility of Civil War arose, the issue in this county was the issue of secession, not slavery. A n d , not surprisingly, the city folks were more in favor of secession and preserving slavery, while the county people were more interested in preserving the union. In June, 1861, the state of Tennessee voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Confederacy, although the vote in Knox County was 2,829 against secession and only 439 for it. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, ordered that all citizens of East Tennessee take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy or leave the country by October, 1861. Many took the oath with no intention of observing it, but many others left for Kentucky and northern states. In November, 1861, a number of bridges were burned across the state by Union sympathizers, including one near Knoxville at Strawberry Plains. The jails in Knoxville were soon so crowded with Unionists that an extra home was required to hold them all. As the war progressed, food and other commodities became very scarce and expensive. Oddly, one of the first "crises caused by the war emergency was a shortage of salt. The County Court appropriated money and sent an agent to Saltville, Virginia, to buy salt for the county. It was distributed to the citizens of each district as "the District commissioners in their Judgment might find just and equitable." Coffee rose from 14 cents to $1.00 a pound, when it was available. By April, 1862, the situation was so bad that transportation of flour, wheat, oats, bacon, etc., was forbidden. Occasionally a steamer would run the Union blockade of the lower Tennessee River to bring in a load of goods. In June, 1863, General W. P. Sanders, under orders from Major General �Ambrose Burn side, gained control of Knoxville for the Union Army after a battle where Fifth Avenue crosses Gay and Henley Streets. In the skirmish, 6 were killed and 9 wounded for the Confederate Army, and 4 killed in the Federal Army. By November of that year, the Confederate forces of L t . General James Longstreet came up from Chattanooga to besiege Knoxville. The first small battle took place on the Kingston Pike just west of Campbell's Station, with a victory for Union forces. The Union troops then withdrew into Knoxville, which had been heavily fortified in preparation for the siege. A pontoon bridge had also been built across the Holston River so they could receive supplies from county residents, who were mostly Union sympathizers. The Confederate attack was made from the northwest, which makes it likely that Longstreet's soldiers were camped throughout the Solway area. Nothing is recorded of battles in this area, and generally residents must have tried to stay out of the battle, though some remnants of shells have been found on the ridges in our community. There are also folk tales of horses, mules, pigs, and chickens confiscated from our farm homes by both Union and Confederate forces. A t any rate, Confederate losses in the battle were so heavy that they were extended a flag of truce to allow time to bury their dead. The Union army's successful defense of Knoxville resulted in the permanent establishment of Union forces at Chattanooga and Knoxville. After the siege ended, on about December 11, 1863, Burnside left Knoxville and was succeeded by John G . Foster, who established the general headquarters for the Union army throughout the remainder of the war in a house at the corner of Market Street and Cumber­ land. Longstreet retreated to the north and many Union supporters returned to Knoxville. �One of the most prominent was Parson Brownlow, publisher of a newspaper, "Brownlow's Knoxville Whig and Rebel Ventilator." He published long lists of Confederate sympathizers who were given notice to leave Knoxville and not to return until after the war. He was particularly rabid against the "most hateful and disgusting rebel women" and wholeheartedly supported military authorities in taking churches and hotels for hospitals, as evidenced in this editorial statement: "The Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist Churches here would be used for better purposes if turned into grog shops, selling mean corn whiskey for rebel money, than to be used to preach and pray such treason, blasphemy and blackguardism as have disgraced their walls and pulpits for the last three years." As the war drew to a close in the summer of 1864, conditions were bad, with much property destroyed and with smallpox rampant. Nevertheless, things were much worse in other areas, and trainloads of Union sympathizers began to flock back. Negroes celebrated their new freedom with a drum-beating parade down Gay Street. Many prominent Knoxvillians with Confederate sympathies left at this time for Memphis or elsewhere. The fanatic Parson Brownlow was elected governor of Tennessee in 1865 and some of his first acts were the exclusion of ex-Confederates from the ballot and conferring of suffrage upon Negroes. Unfortunately, these actions gave rise to the K u Klux Klan. The Klan never attained much following in Knox County. In general, Knox Countians were more concerned with rebuilding and re-establishing their businesses, schools, and farms. The conservative Knoxville "Press and Herald" expressed the hope of seeing "the blood thirst iness of Governor Brownlow checked at every point, and an era of reason and sobriety once more prevailing in the government of the state." �Every time you open your mouth you let people look at your mind. For a cough, home remedies include tea made from cockleburrs, snakeroot, ginger root, or mullein leaves. Youth is a gift of nature; Age is a work of art. 360 babies are born in the United State every hour, and between 2000 and 3500 puppies and kittens are also being born each hour! A pint jar of hominy was a staple in our school lunch boxes—though, as most everyone knew, it was such a satisfying snack that hardly any pupil had a bite left by noon. One of the problems occasioned by sudden growth is the housing as well as feeding of an influx of workers. This was certainly the case during World War II when Oak Ridge was started. Solway, of course, was equal to the challenge. Besides providing a great deal of food for the Oak Ridge cafe­ terias, families opened their homes, providing room and board to the men who built the highway connecting the secret installation tot he outside world. A liar should have a good memory. There are some things that just are not worth doodley-squat! In 1936, farm laborers were paid 50£ a day around here. This, plus a garden, chickens, a cow, and some pigs, pro­ vided sustenance for most of us. By 1945, farm work was worth $1 a day. But going to work for Monsanto (the government contractor at that time) in Oak Ridge provided the fabulous rate of 86^ an hour, or $6.88 a day! �A leader is best When people barely know he exists. Mount Hood is a creamy-white daffo­ dil that multiplies rapidly. Show me a man who never lies—and I'll show you a man with no friends. Not so good When people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him. But of a good leader Who talks little When his work is done His aim fulfilled They will say "We did it ourselves." Lao-Tse (565 BC) We can control only our inner environ­ ment. Now we use a nicotine spray on plants to kill bugs; we used to use snuff, and of course it works just as well. Maybe hermits A R E happier. We've heard the tale of Jesse McMillian who went to medical school, but chose to come back here and become the local hermit. Though he couldn't carry a tune, he whistled, so they say, all day long. The more wrinkled the seeds, the sweeter the garden peas! The Indians used sunflower seeds for bread or in thickening their soups. It is not surprising to run across a small graveyard near many farmhouses in rural areas, because in early days ceme­ teries were family-owned. As with other graveyards, Eliazer Cobb's, off Fox Park Road, was the burial spot for family slaves as well as family members. �I am me. I will always be a secondbest somebody else. I am the best M E there is. 1932... F R I E D PIES Cook the dried apples with water until they are completely tender (about 1 to \ h hours) at a low heat. When tender, be sure that the apples are cooked very dry—no excess water. Sweeten and spice to taste. Cinnamon and nutmeg, or apple pie spice are good. Cool apples thoroughly. Make very short biscuit dough or pastry and roll dough about 1/8" thick. Cut in desired size rounds. I use a large biscuit cut­ ter for party-size pies, but a fruit dish makes a good pattern for "everyday" size pies. Place an appropriate amount of the cooked apples on one side of the circle of dough. Fold circle in half and seal well with the tines of a fork. Be sure not to use too much filling. Fry in shallow salad oil or vege­ table shortening until golden brown on both sides. Stand on folded edge to brown it and ensure doneness of the dough. Stack pies on several thick­ nesses of paper towels on a plate with towels between the layers. x These will keep 2 or 3 days at room temperature; longer, if refriger­ ated, or i f you have no hungry children about the house. Home demonstration agents were most practical. The 4-H girls of solway were taught how to can produce they raised, how to care for poultry, even how to run a house. Papaws and persimmons are good wild fruits whose flavor is improved by the first frost. Don't walk behind me, I might not lead. Don't walk ahead of me, I might not follow. Just walk beside me And be my friend. �If you give a man a fish Y o u feed him for a day; If you teach a man to fish Y o u feed him for life. Write on your hearts that every day is the best day of the year. . . . . Emerson Ice water is probably the best treat­ ment for burns, but some of us have satisfactorily used a poultice of scraped raw potato or applesauce. To clean old tin: use wood ashes on a wet rag. Many of our plants are acid-loving. Rhododendrons, azaleas, blueberry plants: all benefit from an applica­ tion of wettable sulphur which forms acid sulphate. There's a lot to be said for the good old days—for instance, at the turn of the century, the merchant used to come to the customer. About every three weeks, a wagon drawn by large horses used to make the rounds selling oil for lamps and summer stoves. A barber's life is a hard one. What young man gets a haircut more than 3 or 4 times a year any more? A n d that's just how it used to be—only in those days anyone with a pair of scis­ sors was asked to do the job. A n d may­ be no one nearby had scissors, for some young men became so unsightly that Flossie Cox, the schoolteacher at Fairview in the 1920's, kept a pair of scis­ sors in her desk and wielded them furiously during recesses. �A n ounce of Mother is worth a pound of Police. It seems reasonable that slavery cannot be a good thing, since no man wants it for himself. . . . . Lincoln It's easier when you hear it spoken, but even in print, can't you tell that when we say "rat cheer," it's plainly "right here"? A "poke" is a bag and used to be used as a loose measure of quantity. If you must spray with insecticides, always try to spray late in the evening, to save as many of the honeybees as possible. They will not be active again until the next morning. On Monday, the 16th of July, 1792, the first Knox County Court was held by James White, Samuel Newell, David Craig, and Jeremiah Jack. James White was elected chairman. Little business was transacted at this time. Roads were ordered to be laid out from Knoxville to Col. Alexander Kelley's mill, to David Draig's on Nine Mile Creek, to the ford on the Clinch River, and to Campbell's Station. Cattle production increased rapidly following the Civil War as more land was turned into improved pastures. The stock was mostly scrub stock, however, with little effort made to upgrade by breeding. A Mr. C. W. Charlton purchased a purebred Jersey bull and heifer, and being disappointed with their looks, he drove them out to range. Since the whole county was open range at this time (and until the 1890's, the bull roamed the countryside for a number of years and brought about a marked improvement in the grade of milk cows on the common range. To accept a compliment gracefully is the mark of a civilized man. �It is not unusual to be able to trace your ancestry back to 1840, but not many people can say, " M y greatgreat-grandfather settled the land right on this spot." Yet Flossie Cox can show you the farm where Beaver Creek joins the Clinch River. Here her an­ cestor, Archibald Cobb, set up an iron forge when he came here from Scot­ land and operated it and his farm until he died in 1860. A teaspoon of soda or a pinch of pow­ dered ginger should degassify boiled beans. The man who makes no mistakes usually does not make anything. Now this is one we don't guarantee, but some of the old-timers swear that an onion tied to the wrist *til it turned dark would reduce fever; and others used sliced onion heated and applied as a poultice» The building of the railroad provided not only employment for local men, but husbands for many local girls. Many of the workers who came from other areas roomed and boarded with local families and courted local lasses. When the railroad tunnel caught fire, rebuilding was necessary, even though the fire was put out. Thus, in 1905 another influx of workers came, but this time disaster struck. A small­ pox epidemic hit visitor and resident alike. Effie Miller survived the disease, as did her fiance, a young man from Sweetwater, but he was shot dead just as he finished the job when he went to collect a debt he felt was owed him. Pretty as a speckled puppy under a red wagon. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little states­ men and philosophers and divines. . . . . Emerson �It is around a table that friends per­ ceive best the warmth of being together. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES Slice green tomatoes into halfinch slices. Dip in beaten egg and coat with cornmeal. Fry in hot bacon grease until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper. A piece of nylon stocking laid across the top of a cabbage plant will keep it free from cabbage worms. The sun can shine through, but the cabbage moth, which spirals down from above, will not fly up from underneath to lay its eggs. Oss Fox's brother once bet that he could out-pull Coon Guinn's ox. The ox was taken out of the yoke and Mr. Fox put his head in, but he lost the bet when the load wouldn't m o v e not even when Mr. Guinn applied a blacksnake whip as a helpful measure! Wood chips, well-rotted sawdust, oak leaves, and pine needles are good mulches for acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, or blue­ berries. A d d a handful of cotton­ seed meal around each plant before mulching to replace nitrogen which may be used up in the disintegration of the mulch material. A palatable cough remedy for children —or adults—is a spoonful of brown sugar. �This is not a book about East Tennessee, but a microcosm of the Appalachian region during a period of transition. We hoped by using stories which would be interesting for the sake of the tales themselves or typical of the times to point up the era's dependence on water transportation, the excitement of the coming of the railroad, the self-contained nature of community recreation—its buoyancy, inclusiveness and wholesomeness—the interdependence and independence of a small community and its involvement with the total of daily living. We hope, also, that you've enjoyed our regional recipes, our hints for living taken from both yesterday and tomorrow, and a few pithy comments on the human condition. Our deepest thanks to the people of the entire community for their help and enthusiasm! We've appreciated ourselves. We hope you have, too. Y'a II come back! �ABOUT THE AUTHOR R U T H S M A L L E Y was born i n C o l u m b i a County, Washington, on September 13, 1920. She received a B . A . degree i n English and graduated P h i Beta Kappa from Washington State University. Some of Smalley's major accomplishments include writing a weekly column in the Knoxville News Sentinel for nine years, publishing articles for travel magazines, and writing a series of books on A n d r e w Jackson, A n d r e w Johnson, and James K . Polk. Smalley also edited The Good Life Almanac, a project of the Solway community club, and contributed to memoirs by Samuel Sapirie and John Rice Irwin. R u t h Smalley passed away on January 19, 2009, i n Tulsa, Oklahoma. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Appalachian Consortium Press Publications Description An account of the resource This collection contains digitized monographs and collections from the Appalachian Consortium Press. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Appalachian Consortium Press Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Appalachian Consortium Press Date Issued Date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the resource. June 1, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource <a title="Digital Scholarship and Initiatives" href="http://library.appstate.edu/services/digital-scholarship-and-initiatives" target="_blank">Digital Scholarship and Initiatives</a> Publication Digital Publisher Digital Republication Appalachian State University Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Good Life Almanac Description An account of the resource <span>Published in 1975, this is an almanac of stories gathered from the Solway, Tennessee community as a microcosm of the Appalachian region during a period of transition. Written to showcase the stories and folklore passed on in the mountains, the tales chosen are typical of the nineteenth century. Stories talk about the dependence on water transportation, the excitement of the coming railroad, the self-contained nature of community recreation, and the interdependence and independence of small community’s daily life. In addition to stories, traditional regional recipes are included in order to demonstrate further what it was like to live in the mountains.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=17MPk8mMvds0uIQJo9dWDg0lTOd3mewsO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download EPub<br /><br /></a><a title="UNC Press Link" href="https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469638409/the-good-life-almanac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNC Press Print on Demand</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Smalley, Ruth Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Appalachian Consortium Press Subject The topic of the resource Almanacs, American--Tennessee Appalachian Mountains--Social life and customs Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF E-books Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed</a> Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. https://www.geonames.org/4658798/solway.html Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA 76 Appalachian Consortium records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> UA 76 Appalachian Consortium records </a> Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. <a title="Appalachian Consortium Press Publications" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/82" target="_blank"> Appalachian Consortium Press Publications</a> Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Solway (Tenn.) Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1970s Appalachian Folk Culture folklore food preservation foodways