SEGMENT: RECOLLECTIONS, FARMHOUSE, & FOOD & MEALS
Bert Aikman>UIS Collection A's>UIS Collection, Segment 7
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- RECOLLECTIONS
- Recalls "witcher" coming to "witch" for water. Describes making of witching stick & witching for water. Bert has "no faith in this whatsoever." Some witchers would even tell you how deep. Recalls fellow he went to school with when they lived on Gerlach place having device to find buried treasure. Describes treasure-hunting device. Fellow was vague about whether or not he had actually found anything. In those days railroad men paid in gold. Bert (who was a telegraph operator & had gold) tested this fellow's device with $60 in gold coins he had in jar. Device did not find gold. Tells of preachers believing in "witchers".
- FARMHOUSE
- Log cabin lit with coal-oil lamps. Describes coal-oil lamp. Did not use candles because they were messy.
- FAMILY
- Did not have Christmas tree in house. There was no room for a Christmas tree. Had candy, nuts, popcorn, popcorn balls.
- FARM EQUIPMENT
- Discusses making of sorghum & machine used to squeeze out sorghum juice. Machine was powered by horse. Then raw juice cooked in pans that was collected to make "barrel of molasses". Fellow with machine got about a third of the molasses from sorghum cane the farmer brought to him.
- FOOD & MEALS
- Sorghum was part of school lunch. Used for cookies & backwoods preserves which was sorghum mixed with fruit. Nell thinks backwoods preserves known & brought from KY.
- WILD PLANTS
- Discusses berries collected & canned.
- FAMILY
- Bert was responsible for getting siblings to do the chores his dad assigned. Bert got them to do things because he "could whip 'em." Nell states his siblings grew up well & think a lot of him.
