Snow Community News • By Shirley Taylor

We who live in the country have no idea how some city folks have no inkling of the various things we can put together. One of our neighbors had company over the holidays. Getting ready to go back home in the city said out loud How come everything tastes better at grandma’s house. The country cousin told the cousin from the city that everything tastes better here. He explained to his cousin; the beef came from his grandparents’ pasture; the hamburger buns were made by his grandmother early in the morning. The lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, all came out of their garden. If you want some French fries all you must do is dig up a tater or two. Slice them into long pieces of potatoes, all you have to do is fry them in a skillet. The city boy grew hungrier and asked his mom if they could stay one more night. They stopped packing and went to the garden to help. Most of the gathering was simple until the the pickles. Giving up, he went back inside to ask for help. He walked into the kitchen and smelled the best smell he had ever smelled, (the bread in the oven). He sat at the table where he saw the tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. He was at the point of just giving up when his cousin came in the house. The country boy looked at all the veggies his cousin had accumulated on the table. He asked about the pickles and was told one pickle. His cousin laughed and said that the long green thing over by the sink is a cucumber. He remarked That there is the beginning of a small jar of pickles. The city boy was amazed how smart his country boy had become since moving to the country. His grandmother had canned some pickles the other week, so this one cucumber would have to wait on the pickling process. What an amazing lunch was had by all. His grandmother mentioned washing some things before the light went down outside. The city boy started looking for a washing and dryer and nowhere to be seen. He enjoyed the hamburger adventure but was uncertain he wanted to be involved in a procedure for washing clothes. He didn’t want to even ask. He complimented his grandmother on a wonderful lunch and went out to work with his grandfather. Grandfather was splitting logs for the wood burning heater. His adventure to visit his city cousin was now a visit the country boy wanted from time to time. He wanted all the cucumber secrets he could put away in a secret place. To share with his children when that got older. Some of the best meals I have ever had was created in my grandmother s kitchen. Most women endured much adversity and hardship in carving out a life from the hardscrabble mountains; however, they were the center of home life and its - ture, and love.

These women were a hearty bunch and joyful—but they didn’t do a lot for themselves, they focused around chores and things that needed to be done,

Women did most of the care taking. They made the family’s clothing, cooked and swept the the garden. Many times, they were responsible for caring for the livestock.

Clothing was handmade, including spinning and dying wool and weaving it into cloth. Most women kept looms on the front porch of their homes because the looms were so large. Being able to buy cloth was a luxury country people with money had access to buying processed cloth, so when they could, they did.

Cooking often There was absolutely a lot of maintenance from cleaning and sweeping were a big deal. A lot of people have said it was very dangerous for women to be doing that work their long skirts. Food was a way to cultivate friendships inside and outside of their homes. Recipes that are still widely used today were created and passed from friend to friend, and those recipes was during family meals.

When the men dinner during the day and supper at night, everyone ate together. Food preparation is a notable part of the country’s life even today. To us, it’s about a special dish that’s been handed down. It’s bonding time, preparing that meal together. women made lasting friendships by helping each other with their workloads. While it may not seem like the things they did were a lot of ‘fun,’ women would get together to complete chores and it really was a social atmosphere, Quilting, breaking beans, boiling molasses, canning, and various other means of preservation all represented a chance to work together. It also was not uncommon to see women get together for hog killings, and shucking corn was an exceptional social event of shared labor. When a woman would get married, the community would come together to help make a wedding quilt. These women worked hard and prepared everything lovingly.

Mountain women tended their own houses and gardens; my kinswomen often had single women to help them cook and clean, and they had help cultivating and harvesting their gardens. woman quiet time to sit at her loom, sing, daydream, and enjoy watching the patterns of those beautiful and interesting coverlets take shape. It also was a chance to display one’s artistic side, though it wasn’t until after the Civil War that such items began to be made and sold for their artistic merits rather than simply utilitarian purposes.

The daily grind of life could have so easily worn mountain women down, but they were able to turn their tasks into opportunities for self-expression. To make and cherish their ‘pretties,’ - ers, or songs, How can we not celebrate these accomplishments? They enriched women’s lives in the past and continue to enrich our lives today. Women were very instrumental in religion; they were the spiritual leaders of the home, This was most likely to be a role model for the children. Children and adults often used church as a form of socialization, and many people met their spouses at church.

If the community did have a church pastor or a circuit preacher, it was considered a big deal to have the pastor over for lunch. Women would spend hours preparing Sunday meals and hold cottage prayer meetings, often in anticipation of revivals or other church-related events. The camp-meetings (large outdoor revival meetings that lasted several days) were one of the times families left their homes for extended periods of time.

Otherwise, people tended to stay home— women especially, since a primary duty was to tend to the children. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t see a woman out working a plow or men making cornbread.

Folk Medicine in the South. For example, putting sulfur in a sufferer’s shoes was used to - kee and other inhabitants believed in “sweating out” diseases; often times this would lead to death due to dehydration of the body.

Both men and women used home remedies, some plants introduced to them by Cherokee neighbors, Western North Carolina is the most diverse area in the country in terms of plant species other than the EvNorthwest.”

Granny women— an expression unique to the South that refers to a midwife—were essential women. The number one cause of death for women at the time was in childbirth, Granny women were usually elder women in the community and were often the only healthcare practitioners. Many times, a granny woman played the role of obstetrician, pharmacist, psychologist, and birthing coach. She most likely learned these skills from other granny women.

Doctors were few and far between and did not always have the highest medical credentials or equipment and often could not make it to the home in time for the birth, Koch said. Midwives and granny women were seldom paid, but they were considered the authorities on childbirth. Often times home healing and midwifery overlapped as home remedies and plants were used to cure medical problems during childbirth. Plants were aids during childbirth— Cherokee women would drink cherry bark to speed delivery. Women were often back to working in the homes very shortly after delivery.

Nearly all of the homes of south until the early 1900s were log cabins. Appalachian architecture of log cabins can be attributed the unique combination of German, Scotch-Irish, English, and Scandinavian cultures that migrated to this area, according to the essay, “Historical Survey of Log Structures in Southern Appalachia.” Most structures were basic—one or two room homes. There was often a day room, and perhaps a bedroom shared among several children and family members. Cleaning would have been constant and necessary to keep order even in smaller spaces. Cherokee women also were living in log homes by the 17th century. The Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee, N.C., features replicas of 18th and 19th century cabins that were similar to the homes one would see on white-owned farms.

Women often would sell or trade surplus from their gardens and livestock in order to earn income for the family.

I don’t think that women had large roles in providing income, but they would often earn a little money and provide pockets of income, like selling chicken. Women canned their food for preservation but would sometimes sell items like canned sausage, salt pork and beans.

Cherokee women also sold their surplus to white townspeople, and while both white and Cherokee women’s roles were not necessarily equal to men, they played a large role in decision-making and providing for their family.

Cherokee women had a unique role in the fact that they were a part of government council meetings were open to women and they were active participants. There are records of women suing for personal property, and they often spoke up in attempts to persuade others not to sell land.

Also, the Finley Community normally has a lunch on each Friday at noon. Days that they are not open or only doing take outs will be posted on their Facebook page. Anyone wanting to add to the article needs to turn them in before Friday at 5 p.m. Additions can be emailed to me at: antlers278@gmail.com or call 580-208-0870, Have a blessed week.