A Southern Patchwork  by Oscar D. Etheridge. Trent’s Prints and Publishing. Pace, FL.  317 pages. 2009.

     Do you know the brand name of stuff popular in the Florida Panhandle area in the 1930s and 40s?  
Have you ever toppled over a spit can at your granny’s house?  Have you ever smelled a smokehouse. . .
burned lightered wood. . .eaten a ‘stump knocker’, ‘goggle-eye’ or ‘shell cracker’. . .ever dug a 
water well or shot a deer?

     Oscar Etheridge knows all about such things, and he explains the details in the short stories 
found his this book.  They are not only entertaining, but bring customs and culture to life as it was 
lived in the tri-state areas – Mississippi, Alabama and Northwest Florida – of the American south.

     An artful story-teller, he represents a dying breed of communicators and historians in our society.  
This pre-television author defies today’s mass media compulsions by giving us an interesting and 
enriching look into how our ancestors filled their days.

     And what about the snuff?  That would be Rooster, Navy Scotch, Tops brands.  Don’t get in the way 
of the spittoon, either.  You may get splashed.  God forbid you contract ring worm.  A thick dab of 
snuff on the site might be used as a cure.

     Discover beauty, mystery and humor in Oscar’s stories.  Read them one or two at a time while on 
a quick break.  Or cuddle up on a rainy day and read longer.  Either way you are in store for a great 
treat that includes a step back into the past. “Dog Fennel” “Flounder Gigging” “The Stranger Who Came 
and Stayed” “The Pawnshop Banjo” “The Preacher Man” “Ralph and his Bugle” “Bad Dread Jackson” “Booger 
in the Woods” and many more.

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Copies on sale at Baker Block Museum.  See the museum’s Order Form on this website.