A DAY IN LIFE
1946
The day starts at 4:00 A.M. as usual, roll
out of the worm feather bed on to the cold floor,
down stares to the living room and kitchen
to start fires in the stoves.
When the house worms up a little, the
lady of the house, Aunt Bee will start breakfast
of home made biscuits, southern fried
chicken and gravy, and fresh churned butter
and home made blackberry jam or molasses,
made by one of Adair County, best Uncle Luther with
Aunt Bee's biscuits.
While breakfast is being prepared the boys
will feed the stock and milk the cows and carry in the
wood and water. After breakfast is over
while the ladies and girls wash the dishes and make beds,
the men and boys will start the fire for
the scalding box. This is the day to slaughter hogs for the winter
supply of meat.
Uncle clams he can’t see like he once did,
but he is the one that can bring the hog down with only one shot without
a squeal. After the hog is killed and stuck. It is loaded in the box of
boiling water, In a few minutes it
is turned over so the hair can be scraped
off this is repeated until the whole hog is free of any hair.
Then hosted up to finish the cleaning
of the internals of each hog.
The cleaned hog will be taken to the back
screened porch and cut into versus parts, hams shoulders, side
meat, tenderloin, etc.
There will be sausage to grind with a
hand operated meat grinder, (no electricity in those days).
Then the sausage is cooked and caned or
packed in small tube type bags to cook when the ham is cooked
and smoked with Hickory bark.
The canned sausage will be turned over
to cool in the self sealing grease, before storing in the smoke house along
with the other meat, The fat and other parts will be rendered for cooking
lard.
(Look out for the crackling bread).
This day will not be long enough to finish
the two hogs. Some of the cooking, smoking and rendering will need wait
until tomorrow.
Because all the other chores and of course
a big meal must be prepared for the evening of fresh meat.
There would be a vote among all workers
as to what kind of meat should be served excluding the hams
and shoulders.
Since there is more children than adults
we most always had tenderloin.
Just "another day in life".
In Adair County Kentucky.
_Carlis B. Wilson