By Mrs. Rosalind A. Redfearn
Last week we spent two days in Raleigh attending a conference of all the farm and home demonstration agents in the state. The agents were discussing the best plans for fighting the boll weevil in the cotton counties, the marketing of the crops put in to reduce the cotton and tobacco acreage.
The greatest problem in a great many of the counties had been in finding markets for the surplus by-products, the little things we might call it. This had been settled satisfactorily in the larger towns by curb markets. Lumberton, Fayetteville, Durham, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, reported excellent results from the curb markets. In Durham the products sold since the first of June amounted to something over $5,000. When you realize that most of this money is spent right there in town, you can readily see that it is a fine thing both for the farmer and for the merchant.
In some of the towns a house or shed was provided for the farmer’s products, in other places they sell it right from their Fords and wagons. One of the agents reported that at Fayetteville the town women were so pleased with it that they were lined up the streets with their market backets and there they had special farmers whose products were unusually good, they would wait until he drove up. Some of the merchants of the town would also buy fresh vegetables, etc., from the curb market for their own customers.
A note from Mrs. C.M. Burns of Wadesboro which was sent to the writer last week will be of interest just here.
“To the County Woman’s Club:
“This is to suggest to ladies of the club that we take up the matter of a curb market. It is much needed all concede, and the members of the club, with the cooperation of Mr. Van Hervie of the chamber of commerce, might map out some good plans and put them in effect at once. The farmers are in favor of it too, that is those who understand what it means. Let’s begin agitating it at once.”
Respectfully,
Mrs. Chas. M. Burns
In a small town like Wadesboro we might try it one or two days per week. We would like to hear from others on the subject. The farmers are going to be forced to grow other things in connection with their cotton, and such things as poultry, turkeys, eggs, butter, cream and fresh vegetables are in demand here at home, in the larger cities and at all our colleges. The meetings in Raleigh were held at the state college and as we had been shipping a good many of Anson county products to this college, we had a long conference with Mr. L.H. Harris, the steward. Mr. Harris carried me all through the storeroom, refrigerators and kitchen. We were struck with cleanliness of everything and also with the amount of food materials it required to feed these boys. There was a whole car of big hominy, hundreds of gallon cans of string beans, tomatoes and peaches, strawberry, cherry and blackberry jam, fresh apples, cereals, hens, turkeys, beef, pork, and many other things. Mr. Harris gave me the prices that he pays for all these things and the majority of them could be furnished the college from Anson county if we wanted to do so. However, when I went to settle up with him for the jam and turkeys which we had sent him since the first of November and received a check for $616, we felt real proud of the beginning we had made.
One of the barrels of turkeys which was sent by Mrs. J.C. Faulkner of White Store came in while I was there, so we opened it and they were weighed in my presence. Mr. Harris said that he was well pleased with our Anson county products, and could use 400 pounds of hens every week during the school term. He said that when the Thanksgiving turkeys were opened up his big old negro cook said, “Well, I just knows some ladies sent these here turkeys, cause they’s so nice and clean.”
When we went on up into the kitchen they were taking up the supper, and there were 135 bowls of hominy, 135 bowls of macaroni, the same number of weenies, bread and butter. Each table had a dish of red apples and a pot of molasses, which they call “Zip.” When the boys marched in the dining room, they began to bark just like little fice (fierce?) dogs and when I asked what it was for, they said “We always do this when he have ‘hot dogs’ for supper.”
Mr. Harris gave me a recipe for making light bread, which I thought some of you might like to try:
1 ½ barrels of flour, 2 pounds yeast, 4 lbs. salt, 4 lbs. lard, and enough water to make a medium soft dough. This will make 532 12 oz. loaves of bread and is sufficient for one day, providing you have 900 boys in your family.
Another interesting thing I saw was a dish washing machine. There was a set of revolving chains which carried the dishes in one side and out the other. They were cleaned with boiling water and steam and came out with hardly any breakage. It made me wish we could have one in every community to wash the dishes of all the families. Wouldn’t it be nice? Among the ladies who have sold things to the colleges during 1922 are Mrs. William Gulledge, white Store; Mrs. W.E. Kelly, Peachland; Mrs. Henry Flake, Wadesboro R. 1; Mrs. John Boggan, Polkton; Mrs. L.H. Colson, Ansonville; Mrs. C.A. Niven, Wadesboro, R A; Mrs. Bryan Dawkins, Morven; Mrs. J.C. Faulkner, White Store; Mrs. Nita Edward, Polkton; Mrs. B.W. Winfree, Wadesboro; Mrs. Stella Howell, Ansonville; Mrs. S.B. Lee, Polkton; Mrs. Fred Flake, Wadesboro, R A; Mrs. J.W. Cameron, Polkton; Mrs. L.L. Cameron, Polkton; Mrs. J.C. Watkins, Polkton R 1; Mrs. T.J. Chewning, Wadesboro R A; Mrs. T.L. Robinson, Morven R 2; Mrs. Hattie Bowman, Morven R 2; Mrs. B.C. Jones, Wadesboro R A; Mrs. J.F. Hamilton, Polkton R 1; Mrs. A.E. Hendley, Ansonville; Mrs. J.A. Gaddy, Ansonville; Mrs. J.D. McGregor, Lilesville; Miss Mary Graham, Lilesville; Mrs. J.T. Williams, Wadesboro; Mrs. C.P. Robinson, Morven; Mrs. Rosa Huntley, Wadesboro R 1; Miss Grace Winfree, Wadesboro; Mrs. Ray Griggs, Wadesboro R A; Mrs. S.M. Clark, Ansonville; Mrs. Jessie Threadgill, Wadesboro R A; Morven Methodist Missionary Society; Morven Baptist Missionary Society, and the Bethel Aid Society. The total amount of the checks was $1,226.
From page 5 of The Messenger and Intelligencer, Wadesboro, N.C., Thursday, Dec. 14, 1922
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