Grandpa Smith smoked Bull Durham tobacco in a sack for 70 years. Grandma Smith never through anything out. 'Waste not want not' was one of her favored sayings. She saved every empty tobacco sack. She carefully remover the tie string from top of the sack and turning sack inside out, she unseam, wash and iron the sack before putting it away to be used in making a patch quilt or to repair a hole in Grandpas or one of the boys work clothes.As a boy I used tobacco sacks to store and carry my valuables. My marble collection, horned toads and lizards I had caught, grasshoppers on fishing trips and other little treasures a boy might discover. Their was no end to what you could do with a tobacco sack.
Hanging around the house was strongly discouraged by adults. A boy hanging around the house could only bring you trouble. You would soon be tagged by neighbors as a mamas boy or more likely you would find yourself on your hands and knees pulling weeds from the garden or in the barn forking cow manure! There were always jobs that needed to be done and if you were seen to much, you guessed it, you 'got' to do that chore.
Every dog needs a boy. Remind me to tell you about my hunting and fishing buddy, Dart. The pup that was at my side for more than 13 years. copyright © 2008
2 comments:
Your writing was so vivid I could imagine your Grandpa and Grandma. I especially liked the image of your frugal Grandma. My grandma was like that in that she hoarded things. Like 20 cans of tomato soup or 11 bags of toilet roll in her pantry. Don't you love those memories..?
"A boy hanging around the house could only bring you trouble."
I got two boys so I guess that's double trouble.
My parents were depression babies and I was my mom's 10th and final child. All my friends' parents were baby boomers. My friends never understood why I saved and reused everything.
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