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Glass

2008-10-01 08:48:00

People were stouter back then

Answer: Continuing the answer from last month’s question, where we were talking about the “camp meeting revivals” of old, these camp meeting revivals lasted from a week to a month. Preaching was held several times a day, with often four or five ministers sharing in the sometimes “hellfire and brimstone” preaching. There were seldom any musical instruments, pianos or organs at these meetings, and the singing was done under the auspices of various song leaders. Some leaders had voices strong enough to carry the congregation with them as they led off with some familiar and well liked gospel hymn. Others “lined out” or had another singer line out the songs. To digress a little, we still have a group of singers who follow the old style of singing, the “Sacred Harp” or Fifth Sunday singers. Anyway, these protracted and camp meetings were enjoyed by all, not only for their religious benefactions, but because it was the only time of the year when there was a free opportunity to see and visit with hundreds of people. To the young it was the time of courtship. It was an understood axiom that the fall after each revival camp meeting saw many weddings occur. Funerals also were the occasion of gatherings, and because of the sadness and finality of death, always caused a great ingathering of friends and acquaintances. Of course when death followed a spell of sickness, the countryside was aware of all that went on, and friends were helpful during the sickness, as well as after the death. Neighbors took over the work of the sick and ill informed, providing food, cutting and hauling wood, sitting up with the sick ones, and in general doing good and helpful deeds for the affected family. In cases of accidental or sudden death, the grapevine telegraph passed the word of the calamity and again, friends and neighbors came in to help out. Oh…our pioneers had their superstitions, just like we do now. No doubt theirs were a blend of those brought from the old country, blended with those of the new country, those of the Negroes, and the Indians, with whom they had come in contact. Superstition decreed that when death came to a home, the clock or clocks must be stopped at the time of death and not started until after the interment of the deceased. Any mirrors must be shrouded and kept covered until after the funeral. All pictures had to be turned to the wall or laid face down on the bureau or table. There were other, at least to us, odd customs in connection with death. The country was full of harrowing stories of body snatchers, or of cats, rats and other carnivore animals awaiting an opportunity to sneak in and mutilate the corpse. There were also blood curdling accounts of someone being buried alive over in the next county, and horrible details were related to all who would listen, about the agonized efforts of the poor persons’ vain efforts to free himself from the coffin and grave before dying the second time. Therefore, it was necessary to have a corps of watchers to sit by the corpse to defend it from the depredations of the animals and to observe closely for any sign of the corpse coming back to life. I rather suspect, had the corpse made any movement of any kind, there would have been a general and immediate unruly exodus from the scene. There generally being no undertakers available, close friends often took over and performed the necessary preparations for burial. Friends laid out the body. If it were possible to get a store bought coffin, then that was done. But if a store bought coffin was not to be had, some one would volunteer “I have some nice, smooth boards I laid back for this sort of thing.” A burial box would be framed by the men, and then the women would line it and pad it. If a preacher could be found to hold services, then he was sent for. If not, then some of the elders preached the funeral and most did that well. Superstitions also decreed various decorations at the grave. Many graves were marked with shells, pottery, bottles or other decoration, which I think was either an Indian or Negro custom. As the cemeteries grew enough in population, another social event grew up. This was the annual “cemetery working.” On an appointed day, generally in the summer, all who had relatives or friends buried in the cemetery met in an all day “gathering.” The entire plot was cleansed of brush, grass and other growth. The graves were re-banked, flowers were planted or growing plants were trimmed. All brought lunches, and an all day social gathering was had. In election years the various political candidates attended these cemetery workings, as it afforded them the chance to meet many voters with small effort. While woman suffrage was not even thought of yet, the wily candidates wooed the women’s influence by bragging on their cakes and pies, and especially their children, knowing that the women, if won, would cast their votes through their men folk. One of the best entertainments the pioneers had was the occasional visit of itinerant merchants, beginning with pack peddlers, who walked through the country from house to house with an unbelievable weight of merchandise strapped in a bulging bag carried on the man’s back. Many of these pack peddlers were errant knaves who lied, cheated and stole. Others were high class men who built up a great reputation for honesty and fair dealings and were welcomed back again and again. One set of the latter class of pack peddlers were the Sanger Brothers. Some ancestors often told of living as neighbors to the Sanger clan at Calvert, Texas, with five of the brothers working the country with packs, while the sixth brother stayed at home doing the buying and attending to the business. This was about 1872. By the time the H. & T. C. Railway reached Corsicana, they had prospered enough to open the first Sanger Brothers store in Calvert, on the corner where the State National Bank now rears its skyscraper. After the railroad reached Dallas, the Sangers moved there, selling their store in Calvert, Texas to Col. S. S. Freedman and his brother Rueben Freedman. One of the main attractions of the pack peddler in his day was his value as a news carrier. Going from house to house, and working out of a town, he had all the news of the day, and served to carry messages from one house to the next. He was the radio of the day, known as a troubadour. As the country developed and roads became somewhat better, the pack peddler was succeeded by the wagon peddler. This man could not only carry a far more extensive assortment of merchandise, but he was also in shape to trade or barter his goods for whatever of value the farm had that was possible to transport in the wagon. So the wagon peddler would swap calico or pots and pans for eggs, butter, chickens, goose down or whatever he could get and dispose of at his headquarters. He even traded for calves and other livestock, trailing them after his wagon at the end of a rope. This man too was generally welcome as the bearer of news, or often as a guitar or fiddle player, leading his customers in old time songs and hymns. Among others of the itinerants of the day were lightning rod salesmen, wandering “doctors” and eye glass sellers. Some of these were good people but many left bad reputations for over-zealousness in selling, or for plain, down-right chicanery. But all were welcome, at least on the first visit, and were known for giving the monotonous drab existence in the out of way places a break. Many times we talk about how lucky we are today to have the best of everything in our modern lives…nice cars to drive on good paved roads…weather tight homes with lots of great window glass to see out of and get sunlight into…stores conveniently located so that we can provide for our families without having to actually go out and kill something to eat…we have it pretty good in today’s world, and sometimes I don’t think we give that situation enough thought, and or thanks! Maybe you can agree that we’re blessed in no small part by all the ones who came before us and made our lives possible. Next month we’ll talk about the meanderings of the wandering doctors in the old west and their involvement with the new form of entertainment… “The Medicine Show”.