Implements used by our forbears
This will be one of many pages of this type, as I find I could go on forever describing the tools used.
These will be tools most women used.
On the right are 2 kinds of brooms and 1 mop. Brooms made to sweep floors, were made of softer materials than those used to sweep the yards. Depending on whom you are asking, you may get any number of different reasons for keeping a yard clean of grass, and other items. Some say it was to avoid fires; others that it let one see what kind of crawling critters might be around the house; still others that it just looked nice! Keeping sandspurs out of the house, was probably one of the reasons as well, but I, personally, think it was to keep overactive kids out of mom's hair!
The following is from Hurry! Rubie, Hurry! A story of how folks lived in the 1890s in Walton County. It can be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flokaloo/rubie.htm
"They made their house brooms of what is called Broom Sage, which is plentiful in fence rows. They cut the broom sage about three feet long, cleared it and shapes it in round bundles that was comfortable to hold in their hand. About half way in the middle of the length of the sage a string was attached. It was tied around the round bundle of Broom Sage. The bundle was rotated spiraling the string like a barber pole until it reached the cut end if the broom. It was securely attached there. The sage broom swept the floor clean.
The yard broom was made the same way but Gallberry bushes were used instead of Broom Sage. People didn't nave grass lawns then as they were afraid of fires, therefore they had no use for lawn rakes. Garden Rakes were made from a piece of wood with nails in it and a handle attached. they were similar to those we have today.
Women didn't have mops like today. They made their own. They had blocks of wood with holes bored in them to which a handle was attached. They soaked corn shucks in warm water then twisted the shucks until they went through the holes in the block of wood. Then, they wet the floor with lye water and used washing powder to scrub the floor. They were proud of their beautiful floors. If the floor was made of rough lumber, they put coarse sand on the floor and really scrubbed it hard." In the photo the mop is the gray item above the bundle of what I think is actually salt grass, rather than Broom Sage.
Here are two views of a carding tool. The tool pulls trash out of wool and then combs it smooth. A skillful person can quickly make a tangled clump of wool very smooth and then roll it into a compact roll for use on the spinning wheel in making thread. This same device, or one much like it was used for carding cotton. Cotton has hard seeds in it that must be removed before it can be made into thread. Perhaps some smart person started using small twigs bound together to ease the job of hand picking the seeds out. If you have ever seen a boll of cotton, you might realize what a tedious job it would be.
Many of the older combs were made of boards with tiny nails inserted in them. These are made of a set of fine wires attached to boards attached to nice handles. The photo on the left is of the tool closed and the one on the right is with it open. There is even a bit of cotton still stuck in the wires. Although it looks as though this is a one-piece item, it is not. I took the photo with the 2 pieces close together to save space, not realizing it would look like it does.
The next item is a ceramic or clay crock. Crocks were used for storage of many things. Their greatest asset was that they kept things cool. Another wonderful thing about them was that they generally did not react with acids. They were often sealed with wax to keep out insects as well as to keep items fresh.
The flatiron was used for ironing clothes and most women had more than one. They liked to keep at least one heating while using another. Several pieces of linen or clothing could be ironed before the tool needed heating again. The Foxfire books suggest that "You could iron five 'r six pillow cases — maybe a little more'n that . . ."
Below are various pots used in cooking, cleaning and other chores a woman had to do to keep her family fed and happy.
An enameled pot, heating water
A steamer in which another smaller pot, suspended from the central downward curve of the handle, sits in boiling water
A ladle with a nice long handle
A large cast iron pot for handling big chores
Dutch ovens were used for baking, coals were placed in the rim on lid and beneath its feet so the food gets cooked evenly on the top as well as the bottom. Double bread pan sits inside with loaves ready for the table.
Coffee Pots. Covered Kettles - One holds coals on its lid.
Spiders, below, are used to hold pots off the ground or hearth so coals can be placed beneath them. The covered pan is a roaster, as you might imagine. Next there is a grill with a pan of sausage cooking. This grill is suspended above the fire, while others are mounted on legs.
A bucket made of a cedar stump. One made of wooden slats and often used in washing clothes. A scrub board for washing clothes. A bed warmer - bet you can guess its use!
Mortar and Pestle, used for grinding corn. Smaller ones were used for spices. Various cutters for making food preparation easier. Bread board or dough board in which biscuits were made. A couple of types of rolling pins are shown as well. Candlemold.I would like to direct you to the Lodge Manufacturing page for more on how cast iron pans are made and how to take care of them. http://www.lodgemfg.com/index.htm
Also, there are several links to blacksmith sites and one very special one with stories you will want to read. The author of The Revolutionary Blacksmith, Jim "Paw-Paw" Wilson has given me help and encouragement I've needed. Thanks Jim!http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/stories/index.htm
http://www.paw-paws-forge.com/
http://www.anvilfire.com/index.htmA few museum pages that you may find of interest:
http://www.zyworld.com/whitewing/Baker%20Museum%20Homepage.htm
http://www.dadecity.com/museum/
http://www.flamuseums.org/fam/florida.map?70,19
http://www.pioneerfarmmuseum.org/homepage.html
