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Page 12A THE BEACON November 2018
G
In the OOD OLD DAYS
By Mary-Alice Helms
Community Correspondent
goodolddays @ goBEACONnews . com
Recycling Revisited
What a great “ new ” idea — recycle to save the environment . Actually , recycling isn ’ t such a new idea . We recycled everything when I was young ; we just didn ’ t know that ’ s what we were doing . If something wore out , there simply wasn ’ t anything with which to replace it .
I was six years old when America entered World War II . Still struggling with the depression , most people had some experience in “ making do ”. Swapping or trading often replaced buying for cash . I can remember our dad and our uncles talking about some really good bargain they had made for a tool or piece of equipment they needed . But along with the war came shortages and rationing . There were ration stamps for everything from sugar , coffee and meat to gasoline , tires and shoes . Even if we had the money to buy something we thought we needed , it might not be available . Besides , it was a time of great patriotism , and saving everything we possibly could was considered a part of the “ war effort ”.
Shoes worn out ? A hole in the sole ? If they were still the right size , we didn ’ t go and buy a new pair . We took the old ones to the shoe repair shop in the Popper ’ s store , and had them resoled . If Mother ’ s favorite pan developed a hole in the bottom , it was put away until the tinker came around with his soldering iron to make repairs .
My sister and I had lovely dresses and coats , many of which weren ’ t new but had been re-purposed for us . Our mother was an excellent seamstress . She made pretty dresses ( with matching panties ) from the printed cloth sacks from Strohmier ’ s or McKibben ’ s feed stores . I never knew an adult ’ s coat to be discarded . Mother would open all the seams , spread the fabric out on the kitchen table , and lay a child ’ s pattern so that it missed all of the moth holes and frayed sleeves and hems . The “ new ” coats that she created for us were cleaned , pressed and looked brand new . If an article of clothing was so worn that it had to go in the “ rag bag ”, every button was carefully removed and stored in the button box for future use .
When the laundry was ready to be put away , every
sock was examined for holes . No holey sock was thrown away until it was deemed just too worn out to survive another darning . Darning socks also involved
“ When my time comes , just put me in a Pine Box .”
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513-367-4005 reusing something that was worn out . A blown lightbulb made a perfect “ darning egg ”. A worn sock would be turned inside-out and placed over the light bulb . When a hole in the sock was spread over the glass , the surrounding fibers would separate so that a threaded needle could more easily go through them and pull the edges of the hole together in a nearly invisible repair .
Our dad was great at recycling , too . I remember seeing him painstakingly pull bent nails out of a board and lay them on a flat iron where he pounded them back into shape with a hammer . No need to buy new nails when those reshaped ones would work just as well . There probably wouldn ’ t be any new ones available , anyway .
Everything made of metal was collected and sent to munitions , tank and airplane factories to be forged into weapons and the machinery of war . One of the things that I really hated to see sent away to be melted down was the iron cannon from the Civil War which stood on a stone platform on the Franklin County courthouse lawn . The platform is still there . After the war was
M
DEAR ,
ARIE
By Marie Segale
marie @ goBEACONnews . com
Dear Marie ,
As Halloween approaches , I would like to seek advice about whether or not I should distribute treats . This will be the fourth Halloween that I ’ ve resided in my new neighborhood . The first three years I gave out treats were quite frustrating to me . Very few trick-or-treaters acknowledged any form of gratitude
over , a WWII artillery gun took the place of the cannon , but it just wasn ’ t the same .
Vast amounts of used paper were collected . I don ’ t know what it was used for , but my sister and I went from house to house in our neighborhood , using our express wagon to collect paper . I don ’ t know how many trips we made to stack the paper in our garage , but our dad finally told us that it was time to turn it in to the collection center . He stacked the paper in his truck , and hauled it to the center . We were amazed to learn that we had collected over a ton of paper with our little red wagon !
With so many shortages in food items , preparing tasty meals became a real challenge to the wives and mothers . Of necessity , many of them became quite creative in using leftovers and preparing meals that were balanced nutritionally . Some of the meals that we loved the best were invented to use substitutes for meat . We loved fried noodles . Mother made egg noodles , dried them a bit and then cooked half of the recipe in salted water and fried the other half until they were crisp and golden brown . The two batches of noodles
for the generous array of treats I offered to them .
I would say that only ten percent of the trick-or-treaters said “ thank-you .” Many were accompanied by their parents who also neglected to acknowledge my generosity . In fact , whenever the trickor-treaters neglected to say , “ Thank-you ,” I would say to them , “ Please say thank-you .” As you can imagine , I would receive glaring stares from their ungrateful parents , which seemed to say to me , “ Don ’ t tell my child what to do .”
Please let me know whether or not I should take the chance to give out treats to these little ingrates and their ungrateful parents , or take the chance that they have finally acquired some much-needed manners . were then combined in a milk sauce . Mmmm ! Delicious . Another favorite was scalloped eggs , prepared just like scalloped potatoes , but using hard-boiled eggs instead of potatoes . For the protein , don ’ t you know !
We didn ’ t use lard or other shortening for frying . When we had bacon , we saved the grease in a metal container which sat on the back of the stove . I still miss things like breaded mushrooms , which were fried in bacon grease .
Another challenge was how to use every leftover . My favorite was what Mother called “ icebox cake ”. When we had leftover cake which had gotten stale , Mother would crumble it into small pieces and fold it into whipped cream . Sometimes she added strawberries or chunks of pineapple . When frozen and served with a drizzle of chocolate sauce , I thought there was nothing better !
Ironing out the creases in used wrapping paper , saving slivers of bar soap in water to use for washing hands , using naptha to dry clean non-washable clothes — all were ways of recycling . We just didn ’ t call it that !
Marie , what do you think ? Disappointed Neighbor
Dear Disappointed ,
I can certainly understand your disappointment . Teaching our children manners is a very important part of parenting . It saddens me greatly when I see parents not fulfilling their duties because these little ones will grow up to be the adults who will one day be leading our country .
I have a suggestion . Due to your great disappointment in the behavior of your neighbors , you could turn your lights off and not answer your door , or go out for the evening . If , however , you want to make a statement , you can keep your lights on , put a big ( unbreakable ) bowl by your front door with only a note inside . Leave the message that says , “ Due to the rude behavior of past Trick-or- Treaters , I will no longer offer treats .” Something simpler like , “ Say Thank You ,” might work as well . The possibilities are endless and your choice depends on whether you want to be on speaking terms with your neighbors . You could also just put one little piece of candy in each of their bags and politely smile without expecting anything in return .
Have a pressing question ? Contact Marie @ GoBeaconnews . com
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