Lately I have been thinking about how my parents brought the family through the depression and World War II years. I now realize it was due to a lot of hard work of each of them, the land we lived on and we were Blessed by the God we all worshipped. They were hard working Christian people, reared in Christian homes and passed on to their children the heritage of a Christian home And we children pass it on.
We never hungered, food was always on the table. God honored the Blessing dad said over each meal. Our parents, I am sure, worried many, many times but the worry was never shared with we children and God provided. May we all be so Blessed! By the Grace of God we survived. (I didn't know I was poor until I entered Malvern High School!)
The food we shared:
Apples: Dad raised apples on the farm, they were from the trees he had set out. He always warred with the insects over his trees. Some fruit were fresh wrapped in paper and stored in a wooden barrel in a dark place. Some were peeled (the hogs sure loved those peelings), cut up and dried on a bed sheet on a tin roof (we had to fight the birds off!). Some were eaten as plucked from the tree. Mom made fried pies and cobblers using the apples, both red and yellow varieties.
Blackberries. Some were picked in the neighborhood patches in the wild. Seems that when they were in season the snakes were also! Remember the ticks, they were also in season. Dad worked hard to raise special large berries in his field. They were really good after mom performed her "magic" on them!
Breads: Mom always had bread of some sort in the kitchen, boy you could smell those home made rolls a country mile! She made perfect cornbread almost every day. We, sometimes, even ate it for breakfast, hot with butter and molasses. She made big hot biscuits most every morning for breakfast, good with butter and jelly or jam, good with that brown gravy. How about a slab of country ham in one! They were good with meal (sawmill) gravy also.
Butter beans: They were a lot of work to raise, pick and shell. We always had them on mom's table when they were in season. Some she canned, some were sold to the grocery stores in Malvern. I still love those beans.
Chicken: When we wanted a Sunday dinner of chicken the work began on Saturday. First we had to catch a chicken and they would not co-operate! We would throw out corn then use a crooked wire to grab a leg. When we caught it we would take the chicken to the chopping block and chop off the head then throw it to the ground because it would run around squirting blood for a while. White legon chickens were the hardest to catch because they were scary and roosted in trees at night. Sometimes I would climb a tree at night, shine a light in their eyes then grab them, put them in a sack and drop to dad on the ground. I found an easier way to get the rascals, I would shoot them in the head during daytime while they were on the ground! Mom fixed them many ways; dumplings, fried, dressing, etc. The chicken was good any way she prepared it!
Cabbage: Cabbage was good food, it was easy to raise except the bugs liked it also! Mom would fix fresh cabbage along with other fresh vegetables and we would feast. She made kraut in a churn and it was good also. I liked to eat the cabbage heart raw.
Cantaloupe (mush melons): Boy were they good in season! We even had it for breakfast with flour gravy over it. They were good if you took a whole one to the front porch and had your own private feast.
Corn: Dad raised a lot of corn, we ate it and the livestock also liked it. We shocked the fodder in the shape of a teepee until it dried then we hauled it to the barn and it was fed to the cattle in winter. Mom made cornbread, it was good in buttermilk. We had corn meal gravy for breakfast. We ate it on the cob, cut off the cob, and canned both ways. They made hominy in an old churn. I have seen mom make thick cornbread, using water instead of milk, to feed the family dog.
Cucumbers: Dad raised them every year, even contract raised them for a cannery one year but it didn't work out for him. Mom made pickles several different ways and they were enjoyed all year. Some pickles were made in an old churn.
Eggs: We always had many chickens therefore eggs were plentiful. We ate them for breakfast fried, other meals we would have boiled eggs. Mom used them in cakes, etc. Also dad sold them for many years to the local grocery stores in Malvern.
Egg plant: These were pretty vegetables but I really didn't care for them. Mom would roll them in meal and fry them. I would eat some that way. Mostly they were raised to sell in Malvern.
Fish: We ate fish when they were available. Some I would catch in the creek in front of our house, others dad and I would catch in the river and bottoms backwater. Most were perch and catfish. Boy were they good. Seems when things don't come so easy then they taste better.
Frog legs: Sometimes we would have frog legs, but not very often as it was time consuming to go frog gigging. Also, I didn't like to kill a frog just to eat it's legs!
Grapes: Dad always had many grape vines but for some reason they never did real good. We enjoyed what we had, mom made jelly of them. Also the birds enjoyed the fruit of dad's labor.
Goose berries: This is one of the foods that never made it to the table, we ate them as we picked them in the wild. They grew low near the ground in cool, moist, shady places.
Hickory nuts: They were plentiful but it was much work to retrieve the meat from them. They were cracked by putting them on a rock and hitting it with a hammer, then the goodies were picked out with a special tool.
Huckleberries: They grew in the wild, we knew where the bushes were and picked some each year. We had to watch for snakes, they were always around. Huckleberry pies were real good.
Irish Potatoes: Dad raised many, they were a staple of the Taylor household. They were stored under the house and covered with lime to retard spoilage. We would usually have some there when the new crop came in. Boy were those little new potatoes good! After digging the potatoes we would go to the fields after a rain and find many more. Mom fixed them fried, mashed, boiled, creamed, and stewed.
Jams and jellies: These were plentiful in the pantry. Mom made them and "put them up" in season, just one more of her many chores on the farm.
Lettuce: It was good but then I didn't care for "rabbit food" except sometimes I would eat the tender center of a head. Mom always had it on the table in season.
Milk: We always had several cows therefore we had plenty of milk. I didn't like sweet milk and still don't but I did eat buttermilk with cornbread. The milk was churned and we had plenty of butter. One of dad's favorite snacks was buttermilk and cornbread. Sometimes I would drink clabbered milk.
Mulberries: I knew most of the locations of the trees in the local pastures near Butterfield. They were very good in season. It was good to eat them as they were picked from the tree. Me and the jay-birds and squirrels had a race to get them.
Muscadines: I knew most of the locations of the vines in the neighborhood. They were very good and sweet in season. It was good to eat them as they were pulled off of the vine.
Okra: Mom would use small young okra, boil it and put it in with fresh peas. It was very good. Larger pieces were cut, battered and fried. Much was sold to the stores.
Onions: They were eaten whole, blades and all, when small and fresh. Grown ones were sliced and put on the table. They were harvested and hung in bags to dry.
Peaches: Boy they were delicious in season. They were picked from the tree, peeled and dried like the apples. Some were eaten as picked. Mom made fried pies and cobblers using them.
Peas: Dad raised purple hull and whippoorwill peas. The family liked them, so did the livestock! Many bushels were sold in Malvern.
Peppers: Several types were raised, something for everyone's taste. I well remember one encounter with peppers; dad had me stringing them with a needle and thread so they could be hung to dry. I didn't know that I shouldn't rub my eyes and boy did it burn! Dried peppers were used in sausage making.
Persimmons: We had trees on the farm and I also knew where others were. If ripened, they were real sweet to eat. Also the birds and possums liked them.
Poke salad: I never liked the stuff but it was there for others. As I recall, mom had to cook it and "pour it off" several times before it was table ready. Every farm had a growth of this.
Popcorn: We grew regular red and the white rat-tail type. I never understood why dad raised the white, it was too small, maybe it was for show.
Pork: We killed two or three hogs each fall. This was a very long day of work for the whole family. Water had to be heated in the wash pot then put in the barrel, the pig was killed, it's throat cut to bleed then it was put in the hot water to loosen the hair, the hair had to be pulled, the pig was cut up with an axe and each piece was handled in a certain way. Some parts such as liver, pork chops, etc were eaten fresh. The meat was smoked in the smokehouse several days, also the meat box with salt was in there. Ham, sausage, souse, pork chops, liver, bacon; all from our own pigs. Mom canned sausage; she put the fried patties in jars, poured in melted fat, stored upside down to seal.
Possum: I visited a friend once and he talked me in to trying this dish one time. It was a very fat possum and was served with sweet potatoes. Once is enough to last a lifetime!
Radishes: I have always loved radishes and dad grew many of them, for us and to sell. My favorite was, and still is, the white hot ones.
Rabbits: We would go rabbit hunting at night and in order to put meat on the table. In later years dad raised white rabbits for the table and sold many at the local grocery stores.
Snap beans: A lot of work involved her but the fresh tender beans were very good. When older the shelled ones were good. Mom canned many beans.
Squirrel: Dad loved them fried or with cooked in dumplings. When cooked in dumplings dad would crack the skull with a knife handle to get the brains. For that reason he taught me to shoot them in the spine, not head, so I would not destroy his good eating!
Strawberries: Something that took a lot of work but were very good. Dad's last patch was in season when the interstate highway came through and took the whole patch. He said the workers were given all they wanted.
Sweet potatoes: A staple on the Taylor farm, we all ate them in every way they could be cooked. My favorites were baked or sliced then fried in butter. They were good raw also.
Sweets: Mom kept some sweets on hand at all times. She made pies, cakes, boiled custard, ice cream, banana pudding, coconut cake, hickory nut and walnut cakes, fried pies (including fried chocolate pies).
Squash: Never cared for this veggie, but it was there. Sometimes I would eat a few fried pieces.
Tomatoes: Many were grown each year for home use and to sell. Also mom canned many of them. The juice was good in winter. This remains one of my favorite fruits, especially the ones with a high acid level like dad's field tomatoes.
Turnips and greens: Good on the table and a good seller at the stores. I still love those turnips. Yep, and they are good for you.
Walnuts, black: I knew where the trees were across the road up on the hill. There was much work involved to gather, crack, retrieve the goodies but mom's cake made with them made it worth while. You could not wash the stains from your hands, it had to grow off!
Watermelons: Dad always grew many melons, they were good any time. He always grew some yellow meated ones but I preferred the regular red. On the farm nothing was wasted, mom made preserves from the left-over rinds and it was really good for breakfast.
Misc. Info:
Some staples such as flour, meal, dried pinto beans, corn flakes, sugar, salt, pepper, bananas were purchased or traded for at the grocery stores in Malvern.
All cooking was done on a wood stove, summer or winter. We had no electricity, gas, or running water.
Canning day was a long workday, ready or not. The harvested items would not wait. Mom would prepare the veggies, put them in jars, put jars in the pressure cooker, seal the large lid, put on the pressure regulating weight and let it set there and spew and cook the designated amount of time. She used two kinds of lids, vacuum seal metal and glass seal with a rubber gasket. Of course there was much preparation and clean-up due to this work. All done on a wood cook stove in the hot weather with no cooling of any kind. How on earth did she do it? Of course we four children helped, but was it really help?
We had no refrigerator or ice box. Dad made an ice box out of four inch wide tongue and groove pine lumber. He made it double walled with sawdust between the walls for insulation. Each week a Mr. Taylor (no relation) delivered ice to us, the amount according to how we hung the four-way sign in the window.
Mom kept her cakes and pies in a "safe". The ants liked the food as much as we did so she would put an upside-down jar lid under each leg of the safe. Then she poured coal oil in the lid. The little rascals would have had to swim that moat to reach her cakes!
Mom had a kitchen cabinet with a flour hopper in it. Under the hopper was a sifter, it's use was to sift the bugs, and any other solids, out of the flour. (We never thought about the bug's "residue" after they were sifted out.)
I carried my lunch in a tin syrup bucket to Cooper school. It would contain items such as ham biscuit, butter/sugar biscuit, fried pies, boiled eggs, etc that my dear mom had prepared.
Mom was a large woman and seemed not to eat much, actually she ate while she cooked, tasting all of those goodies. Dad was a small man but a big eater. He said he had to eat a lot because he worked so hard. And he did.
Mom always had three meals on the table in all the years I can recall. No one, including the hobos that came by our house because we were closest to the rail road tracks, went hungry at the Taylor house. Dad said that according to the Bible we never knew who we may be entertaining, one of the hobos could be an angel. Mom always let the hobo chop some wood in payment for his meal, helped him maintain his dignity.
For many, many years dad worked a regular job at the International Shoe Co textile mill in Malvern and worked a farm at the same time. He never owned a tractor but used a horse or mule. Hard work was all he ever knew.
The pastor at Cooper Assembly of God Church always got the first fresh vegetables even tho dad could have sold them at premium prices. He said this was as it should be. I never understood this until I became grown.
Our house and the farm was on the Old Military Road about five miles north of Malvern near the intersection with Butterfield road. I believe that was the rockiest hill in the county but on the backside of the farm there was better ground to work. (In later years the interstate highway cut dad's farm into two pieces. He then built a house on the Cooper Road portion and sold the old rocky hill portion.) Dad was a farmer all of his life. Some of his farming knowledge was from his older brother, Hilmon Taylor. Uncle Hilmon's farm was at the end of Malvern's East Sullenberger Street where now stands the hospital.
Mt:6:26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? May God Bless and keep our descendants as he has kept us and our ancestors! Amen.
By (6-30-2000)George Evans Taylor, Jr. (the youngest child)
209 Lakeshore Drive
Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35661-1029
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