She Works Hard For Her Money

 

                                                  Nathan Arnold holding Rachel Arnold,
                                          Nancy Jane Moore Moore Arnold, Maggie Arnold

I have written a story about my great-great-grandmother, Nancy Jane Moore Moore Arnold before. This story will not be a rewrite of that story but more details of something mentioned in that story. Both research and imagination are utilized in the making of this story.

Nancy Jane had had three children with her first husband George Moore and was widowed by 1900. Sometime around 1904, she married Nathan Arnold, a widower with six children of his own. Nathan and Nancy Jane then had three children together. Nathan died from tuberculosis in 1914. Their twelve-year-old daughter Maggie Arnold would die the following year of the same disease.

In 1920, the family rented land on Station Camp Road in Estill County, Kentucky. They likely raised a garden which provided not only fresh produce, but enough produce to preserve for the times when the garden was not producing. The family may have had chickens, a cow, and perhaps, a hog to further provide for their needs. They worked hard to be as self-sustaining as possible.

Still, there were some things that the family could not raise or grow for themselves. Cash was needed for the things that they could not raise or barter for.

It is likely for this reason that Nancy Jane is listed as a laundress on the 1920 census. This story is meant to provide a little more info on what being a laundress entailed.

 

 

Doing laundry back in the days of Nancy Jane was nothing like it is today. We have electricity, indoor plumbing, and water heaters in our homes. Electric washers and dryers enable us to wash and dry clothes in climate-controlled comfort with ease. We buy laundry detergent and fabric softeners from the market. Permanent press fabrics make ironing a rare necessity. When it is necessary, we have electric irons which stay hot and are much lighter. We even have closets just for the purpose of holding our clothes. Nancy Jane knew none of these luxuries.



She Works Hard For Her Money

The seasons had changed and the days had been gradually getting a bit longer and warmer. During the cooler times, hogs had been slaughtered, the sausage ground, shaped into balls, fried, covered in the rendered fat and sealed in jars. Hams, shoulders, side meat… had been salted down in the smokehouse.

Fat trimmings had been stirred and rendered down for hours outside over a fire. Finally, the fat had become liquid and any water had boiled off. This left the melted fat and the solids that remained after the rendering. The mixture was carefully strained, resulting in melted lard and the separated delicious cracklings which were enjoyed by all. As the lard cooled, it became a solid resembling white butter.

 

                                                     Public Domain (PD);  fat rendering
 

                                                                    PD; lard

Some of this rendered lard would be added, as needed, to the carefully strained household cooking grease that Nancy Jane had been collecting to form one of the main ingredients for soap making, fat.

It was time for Nancy Jane to make the other main ingredient for lye soap, lye. Lye soap was used by the family for all cleaning; bathing, dishwashing, floor scrubbing, washing clothes…

 
Nancy Jane not only did the family’s laundry but took in the washing of other families. She could barter these laundry services with her neighbors for items her family needed or for services the other families could provide, like plowing her garden with their mule, repairing a chicken house, wood for the cookstove...

The family couldn’t raise some items and had to purchase them; flour, coffee, sugar… If they couldn’t barter with the store for these items, Nancy Jane needed cash. Washing the clothes of others could bring in a little money for these times also.

Nancy Jane knew how to use what was readily available to make what she required. To this end, the hardwood ashes from the family’s cookstove were collected and placed in a wooden ash barrel. This barrel had a hole near the bottom of the side which had been made with an auger. A carefully sized bung was fashioned and used to temporarily plug the hole. The barrel was placed upon an elevated stable surface.

 

                                                                  PD; ash barrel
 
Nancy Jane had placed a layer of sticks in the bottom of the ash barrel to just above the top of the bung hole. Next, she had placed a four-to-five-inch layer of straw on top of this bottom layer. Finally, she added the ashes that the family had collected from the cookstove.

When the ashes nearly filled the barrel, Nancy Jane drew water from the rain barrel and then poured it over the ashes. The water was allowed to completely seep down through the ashes. The ash layer was agitated to hasten the water seeping into the ash. This was done carefully so as to not disturb the bottom two layers. Water was added until the ashes were completely saturated. Nancy Jane then covered the barrel, placed a wooden container under the corked hole, and the mixture was allowed to soak for a few days.

This water slowly seeped through the ashes, leaching the potassium hydroxide out of them. The resulting liquid would be very caustic and had to be handled with care to prevent injury.

After soaking the ashes, the bung would have been very carefully removed so the lye liquid could drain into wooden containers. Nancy Jane never used aluminum buckets, pans, or utensils when working with the liquid lye or potash. The caustic solution would dissolve aluminum.

After she had collected all of the liquid that had seeped from the barrel, Nancy jane checked the strength of the lye to make sure it was the proper strength for soap making. She did this by carefully placing a fresh egg into the bucket of lye. It was the proper strength when the egg would float near the surface with only an area the diameter of a quarter remaining unsubmerged.

If the solution was too weak, Nancy Jane would put the solution into an iron kettle over a fire outside and boil it to reduce the solution, thus increasing the strength. The solution would be allowed to cool and retested until the egg floated just right.

   

                                                      PD; reducing the lye solution

 

PD: when an egg placed in the lye floats, exposing only a quarter size area of the egg, it is ready

This lye solution was very caustic and Nancy Jane handled it with extreme care. She kept it stored in a safe place away from her children and others who might otherwise have accidentally come into contact with it. She worked with it outdoors so fumes would not be harmful. Nancy Jane used the lye to make soap, but it could also be used to make hominy .

With the lye making process complete, and the fat ready and waiting, Nancy Jane was ready to begin the soap-making process.

Nancy Jane heated the lard and carefully strained cooking grease until it was a liquid in a large iron kettle that hung outside over a fire. She and her 13-year-old daughter Rachel and her ten-year old son Andy had collected enough firewood to keep the fire under the kettle going. The family was always collecting branches that had fallen around their little farm to be used for lard rendering, lye reducing, soap making, laundry, canning… Wood for fires was always in demand and the family continuously gathered it for these purposes.

Nancy Jane carefully poured the warmed potash solution into the melted fat, stirring with a wooden paddle as she did so. She would adjust the amount of lye and the amount of fat, depending upon how much soap she was making.

 

                                                                PD; lye soap-making

Nancy Jane continued to stir the mixture. It would gradually become a mush looking substance. When she could lift the paddle and trace a visible design on the top of the emulsified liquid, the soap was ready to be molded. Nancy Jane would have to stir for an hour or more before the soap reached this point.
 

                                                            PD; soap at the trace stage

After the soap had reached the trace stage, sometimes, Nancy Jane just left the soap in the bottom of the pot she had made it in to cool. Other times, she carefully ladled the soap into shallow wooden boxes which had been prepared by rubbing the insides down with lard. This made it easier to remove the soap after it had set. She thumped the molds down on the table to level the soap in the molds. Then she covered them and let them sit for a day or two.

After this, the soap was removed from the molds and Nancy Jane cut the soap into bar shapes for later use. When all of the soap in the molds was cut into bars, the bars would be set up on a shelf in an airy dark corner to cure. This curing allowed the bars to harden and took about four to six weeks. It was ready to use after this curing period.

 

 

The lard had been rendered, cooking fat collected and strained, the lye had been made from wood ashes, and the soap had been made and cured. Now, it was time to do the hard part, the warsh.

Doing the laundry for a single family was not an easy task back in the day. The laundry would have been an all-day affair. Nancy Jane was doing the family’s laundry as well as the laundry of other families. It would likely take her several days, depending upon the amount of laundry that had come in at any given time.



Laundry Day

Nancy Jane and her children, Rachel and Andy, woke up early as usual. It was a chilly, but sunny day and doing the laundry was on the chore list for the day. The laundry would be an all-day affair.

 

                                Nancy Jane Moore Moore Arnold on the right of photo

The family’s own laundry had to be done but today Nancy Jane was working on the Dixon family’s wash. Most of Nancy Jane’s neighbors were in a similar boat to her own family. No one had an abundance of money or extra clothing. One good thing about not having many clothes was that there were fewer clothes to wash. Of course, Nancy Jane washed for a few families so the task was even more onerous.

It was laundry day, but the other routine daily tasks still had to be done. Andy grabbed an empty basket and a bucket holding some cooking and table scraps from the day before. He then walked up to the henhouse and scattered the scraps around for the chickens to eat, supplementing the diet provided by their foraging for insects and plants.

As the chickens scratched around for the scraps, Andy went into the henhouse and collected the eggs from the nesting boxes. He placed them into the basket, picked the scrap bucket up, and returned to the house. There he wiped off any feathers and obvious dirt from the eggs and placed them into a bowl on the Hoosier cabinet next to the water bucket with its dipper.

While Andy had taken care of the chickens, Rachel was taking care of their milk cow. She had taken a rag, a small bucket of warm water, and a milk bucket to the barn. She placed some hay into a trough and then led the cow that had been waiting outside the barn into the stall. As the cow munched on the hay, Rachel pulled a short stool over and sat beside the cow.

Rachel swished the rag around in the warm water and used it to wash off the cow’s teats. After she had wiped the udder down, Rachel began milking. The swish, swish of the milk going into the bucket provided a soothing rhythm as she leaned her head against the cow’s side. After she finished milking and the cow had finished her hay, Rachel put the stool back against the side of the stall and led the cow back outside.

She wrung out the cleaning rag and after flinging the wash water toward the edge of the barnyard, she draped the rag over the side of the wash bucket. She carried it and the bucket of warm milk back to the house.

When she entered the house, Rachel was greeted by the delicious aroma of fried sausage and biscuits baking in the woodstove. Nancy Jane had cooked a breakfast of sausage, sausage gravy, biscuits, eggs, and fried apples while the kids had taken care of their chores. She had made extra biscuits, sausage and apples so they could have them for their dinner break.

Nancy Jane had also prepared another bucket covered with cheesecloth for Rachel’s return with the milk. Rachel carefully poured the fresh milk over the cheesecloth. This strained out any stray matter that may have gotten into the milk. This bucket of strained milk would remain on the counter. The cream would be allowed to rise to the top and the family could use it later to make butter and buttermilk.

Andy had set the table and had placed a glass of milk beside his and Rachel’s plates. A cup and saucer with a splash of milk in it sat next to Nancy Jane’s plate.

Rachel washed her hands in the wash pan and then began helping her mother get the breakfast on the table. After everything was on the table and Nancy Jane had poured good strong coffee into her cup, they all sat down to enjoy a meal that family members had enjoyed for generations. This hearty breakfast would provide the energy necessary for a long day of work.

After breakfast, the leftover sausages, biscuits, and apples were covered with tea towels and left on the table for dinner.

Rachel began the task of washing the dishes. This required drawing water, heating it, transferring it to the wash pan that soap had been shaved into, and then scrubbing the dishes clean. Then the dishes had to be rinsed, dried, and put up.

It was still early in the day and Nancy Jane had gone outside after breakfast and started a fire under the wash tub. This tub had been filled with water from the rain barrel and Nancy Jane had shaved a bar of soap into it. Another tub had been filled with rinse water. Still another was filled with rinse water into which a homemade starch made from a slurry of some flour carefully mixed into water had been added. This starching step would make it easier to iron the clothing and keep them somewhat wrinkle free. It also aided in keeping the clothing a bit cleaner, making future washing a little easier.

Andy had helped his mom carry out metal tubs of sorted clothes and sat them handy to the washtub but a safe distance from the fire. Nancy Jane first placed whites into the washtub. She used a stout stick called a battling stick to battle, or agitate the clothes. After they had boiled for several minutes, she used the battling stick to pull the whites out. Item by item, she would inspect each item to see if they were clean. If not, she would place each item onto the washboard, rub a bar of soap over the soiled spots, and scrub the remaining soil out. Andy kept an eye on the tubs and added more firewood or more water to each as needed.

 

                                                          PD; woman  doing laundry 

                                                             PD woman using washboard
 
Rachel had finished cleaning up after breakfast and had come out to help. As Nancy Jane finished washing, Rachel placed the clothing first into the rinse water, stirring them around with a stick to remove any soap. She then removed them from the rinse water and put them into the starch tub. Andy removed the items from this tub and used his manly muscles to wring out excess water. After wringing them out, he placed the clothes into an empty wash tub. When the tub was full, the family would wipe down the clotheslines strung across the yard with a damp rag and then shake out the clean wet items and clip them to the lines with clothespins. A wooden prop would be placed along the line to keep the clothes up off of the ground. The wash tubs would be flipped upside down on the grass so they wouldn’t be wet when the dry, clean clothes were placed back inside.

 

                                                                     PD; wash on line
 
When Nancy Jane had finished all of the whites, she let the fire under the tub die down. When the water had cooled to just warm, she put the colors in. The colors were not boiled but the water was still very warm; she repeated the other steps. After finishing the colors, Nancy Jane repeated the process with work britches and rags. After all of the laundry was washed, the fire under the wash pot was put out.

The wearying process of washing the clothes had taken several hours, but the washing was done, at least the actual washing part. The clothes were all on the line blowing gently in the breeze. Fortunately, the weather was perfect today. The early spring sun had been bright taking the chill out of the air, and the breeze should have the clothes dry before nightfall.

The family went inside for a well-deserved respite. Nancy Jane had drawn a fresh bucket of cold quenching water from the well and Andy had fetched milk from the spring house. They took turns sipping water from the dipper. Rachel poured milk for them all and Andy ran the remaining milk back out to the spring.

Then, the leftovers from breakfast were uncovered and Nancy Jane and her children pulled apart cold biscuits, topped them with sausage and delicious, chewy, fried apples. They enjoyed their “sandwiches” and cold milk in weary silence but with the satisfaction of knowing that the “hard” part of the washing was complete.

After dinner, Nancy Jane dipped a bucket of the soapy, leftover wash tub water and took it inside their small house. Rachel had swept the floors and Nancy Jane used the soapy water to scrub down the floors of the home. Next, she used more of the soapy water to scrub down the wooden boards of the porch.

While the wooden floors of their home were drying, the family went back outside. Rachel and Andy took buckets of water from the rinse tubs and poured them over the base of the hickory trees at the edge of the yard. When the tubs used to wash and rinse were all empty, they would be carried up to the porch and hung from a nail on the outer wall of their home.

While the young’uns took care of the washing tubs, Nancy Jane busied herself with taking down the clothing that was good and dry. She would collect the work britches last so their heavier material could have longer to dry. She collected a tubful and carried it into the kitchen.

Nancy Jane took out her wooden ironing board and set it up in the kitchen handy to the stove. She tossed an old quilt over the top of it and then placed two heavy metal irons on top of the hot stove. She put a couple of dippers of water into a bowl and placed the bowl at the end of the ironing board.

 

                                                                      PD; antique iron

   

She would pull out an item of clothing, spread it on the board, dip her fingers into the bowl of water and then flick water all over the surface of the clothing. Next, Nancy Jane would use a towel folded many times to pick up the hot iron. If she could quickly touch a wet finger to the iron and hear a “sssssss”, the iron was good to go. She ironed the clothing item, folded it neatly, and then placed it into a tub.

 

                                                         PD; Doing the ironing

Nancy Jane repeated this process over and over and over again until all of the clothes had been brought in from the clothesline, all of the clothes had been ironed, all of the clothes had been neatly folded , and all of the clothes had been placed into the tub that would be picked up by their neighbor the next day.

These clothes belonged to the Dixon family from down the road. The Dixons had six young children and Comfort Dixon had been feeling poorly. James Dixon had brought by their wash for Nancy Jane to do. In return, James would be bringing over his mule to prepare Nancy Jane’s garden spot for planting.

While Nancy Jane did the ironing, Rachel had mixed up a pan of cornbread. She had poured the batter into a hot iron skillet with a bit of melted lard spread around it. She was just pulling it out of the oven as Nancy Jane finished the laundry.

Nancy Jane put her irons to the side of the stove, allowing them to cool as the stove’s fire burned out and cooled. She would put them back up later. She folded the quilt and ironing board and returned them to their place.

Andy had once again gone outside and pulled the cold milk from the spring, brought it inside, and poured a glass for each of them. They sat around the table eating hot cornbread slathered with Nancy Jane’s homemade butter. They ate more cornbread crumbled up into their milk.

After supper, they cleaned up the few dishes that had been dirtied. After cleaning the dishes, they washed themselves in a small pan of heated water before putting on their nightclothes.

The warmth of a sunny spring day had taken on the chill of a dark spring night. More coal was added to the fire grate in the main room which held two iron bedsteads and a couple of woven-bottomed, straight-backed wooden chairs.

Rachel slipped into one of the beds and Andy slipped into the other across the room. Nancy Jane pulled quilts that she had made up over Andy and put her work worn hand on his cheek as she whispered good night. She then did the same with Rachel before slipping under the covers beside her.

 

                                                            PD; old iron bedstead

Soon, the only sounds that could be heard was the sound of wind blowing the trees outside, the crackling of corn shucks in the bedticks as someone stirred in their sleep, the low sonorous breathing of three tired souls, and the crackles of coal popping as it burned in the grate.

Hopefully, each family member would enjoy a restful night of well-deserved sleep; for tomorrow was another day. There would be more chores and more laundry to do tomorrow.

                                                     

                                                           Andy Arnold as an adult

Rachel Arnold Hunt as an adult with husband Harlan

Letter to Santa

 

My granddaughter Jooniebug just started kindergarten this year and has been blessed to have a wonderful teacher who she loves. Her teacher Ms. Connerly loves flamingos and she seems to love her kids even more.

Jooniebug missed school for a couple of days when Roxanna recently went into the hospital to give birth to Baby Brudder Cyrus. Roxanna communicated with Ms. Connerly during Jooniebug’s absence and Ms. Connerly told her that every time she saw Harper’s vacant school desk, she said a prayer for her and the family.  So, the love seems to be mutual. 

Well, Jooniebug wrote a letter to Santa a week or so ago. It was the very first letter that she has written to Santa and in it she asked Santa to bring her teacher Ms. Connerly a flamingo for Christmas. 

 

I have a habit of making little Christmas ornaments and thought that I would try to make Ms. Connerly a flamingo from Santa. 

After Cyrus’ birth, I took supplies with me when I visited with Roxanna for a few days to help out. While there, I made a little ornament for Ms. Connerly for Jooniebug to take to her. 

I explained to Jooniebug that Santa knew that I liked to make ornaments for her, and now Cyrus. Since, Santa makes his deliveries on Christmas Eve, he wanted Ms. Connerly to have the ornament early in time to put it on her Christmas tree. 

 

Santa asked me if I could be a special, temporary elf and make a flamingo ornament for Ms. Connerly to hang on her tree. I assured him that I would certainly try. He then asked if I would get Jooniebug to be a special temporary elf too and deliver it to Ms. Connerly before Christmas break. 

After explaining how Santa recruited me as a special, temporary elf and had asked me to recruit her too, she excitedly agreed! 

So this week, Jooniebug will complete her special, temporary elf assignment and she and I will go back to being just regular, everyday Jooniebug and Grannyma. Of course, Jooniebug is permanently special everyday!

 

Who knows, if Santa is happy with how we have fulfilled our special, temporary elf responsibilities, maybe he will recruit us again next year!

 

   

Jooniebug completes her special, temporary elf mission! 

Family Mountain Vacation

The second week of October, we were blessed to be able to visit the Smoky Mountains! Mom, Dad, Mohammad, my niece Mahdieh, and I drove up to our cabin in Sevierville on Monday. My daughter Alexandria and her pooch Porter arrived safely a bit later. Niece Sydney and her hubby Casey also arrived separately later Monday. Daughter Roxanna, her hubby Jeremy, and my Jooniebug would arrive Wednesday. I so wish that my son Cameron could have been with us but he could not take off from work.

The cabin brought back memories of visiting my grandparents on Anglin Branch. The road to the cabin was very curvy. It reminded me of the road that we took to Anglin from Ohio. The road around Dale Hollow Lake was curve after curve. My brother David would get carsick. He would sit up front around Dale Hollow. It seems that scenes viewed coming at you through the windshield discourage carsickness more than scenes flying by through the side windows. 

So that curvy road of the present, reminded me of a curvy road from the past.

 

           

                     View of road to cabin from the front porch. 
 

The cabin driveway was gravel, steep, and rutted! I was driving and I am not used to driving up such “four-wheeler terrain”! I had to slide backwards a ways and try again more than once before making it to the top. I feared that we might have to park at the bottom and walk the rest of the way to the top before we finally made it. 

I told the kids that visiting Grandpa and Grandma there on Anglin wasn’t steep like the cabin driveway, but it did have curves and hills. When it rained it became a mud slick that would occasionally prove too much of a challenge for my dad, who is the best driver. We would have to park the car and walk the rest of the way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. 

Once Alex was driving the van and had trouble getting up the drive. Dad asked her to let him drive. He made it without any trouble. The neighbors across the way gave a round of applause! 

When we got to the cabin, Alex had pulled off her shoes and was walking around barefoot. Before going to bed, she happened to see the bottom of her feet, they were black! She had to wash her feet off before going to bed. 

I told her that David and I would run around barefoot outside when visiting our grandparents. We would bring the dust from the lane inside on the bottoms of our feet and would have to wash our feet before climbing into the squeaky-springed bedsteads for the night. 

On most mornings, a short shower played on the metal roof of the cabin. This reminded me of the music the rain played on the porch roof at Grandpa snd Grandma’s. I don’t remember hearing the rain on the metal roof inside the house; I suppose because the attic space served as a buffer. On Gpa and Gma’s porch though, the raindrops were readily heard playing on its tin roof! 

Our cabin in the mountains was surrounded by nut trees. Dad called them pignuts. The “music” of those nuts bombarding the roof during the night could be rather startling, kind of a “heavy metal” vibe. 

Fortunately, Grandma and Grandpa didn’t have nuts hurtling at their roof. I imagine that my young self would not have been able to sleep a wink on that bedstead, wondering what creature kept violently knocking on their Anglin roof; especially if cousin Glenna Faye had been around telling scary stories! 

Of course, sitting on the porch was a reminder of sitting on Gpa and Gma’s Anglin porch. In the evening, while swinging on the porch, night sounds were music to my ears. The scent of rich earth carried in the air, reminding me of Kentucky air. The cabin did apparently need a septic tank emptying. Sometimes, the scent of rich earth was replaced by a septic tank scent more reminiscent of the outhouse!

The tranquility of the setting seemed to settle in my soul, replacing chaotic thoughts with serenity, much as that porch of the past did. It was easy to close my eyes and imagine the whisk, whisk of Gpa’s pocketknife across his sharpening stone. When the septic tank was cooperating, I could even imagine the scent of the cedar stick he whittled. 

 

Loretta Nolen Smith, porch sitting

Mahdieh Alizadeh Mollapour and Harper Jooniebug McCommon 

Harper Jooniebug McCommon

The cabin had a replica of an old-timey radio. When I saw it, I imagined Grandma, Grandpa, and their children gathered around a real old-timey radio decades ago. Their radio was larger and had large batteries to run it prior to Dad running electric to their house years later. I imagined serials like ‘The Lone Ranger’, ‘The Green Hornet’, ‘The Grand Ol’ Opry’, the news… playing on that radio with the family gathered around listening.

 

The day after we arrived at our cabin, Mom treated us to first class tickets on a Great Smoky Railroad steam engine through the Nantahala Gorge. I think this is our first, and perhaps only first class experience! 

Casey drove the approximately two hour drive to the depot in Bryson City.  The mountains had not yet put on their fall frock, but a few trees were beginning to prime the fall pump.

 

April Smith Hajjafar, Alexandria Hajjafar, Loretta Nolen Smith, Donald Smith and Sydney Smith Haywood outside depot

 

 Alexandria Hajjafar, Loretta Nolen Smith, Donald Smith and Sydney Smith Haywood; Casey Haywood in back, outside depot

Mom, Dad, Alex, Sydney, Casey, and I rode on the train. Mohammad hadn’t wanted to go, and we didn’t know Mahdieh joon could join us until it was too late for reservations. They stayed back in the cabin. Mahdieh joon had school work to do anyway. 

We enjoyed a nice meal on the train, a “free” tote bags for the women, free mimosas and a free slice of cheesecake with a pumpkin swirl, history and “comedy” from our guide Steve B, and last but not least, beautiful scenery. 

  

Loretta Nolen Smith and Donald Smith on train

Sydney Smith Haywood and Casey Haywood

 

April Smith Hajjafar by window and Alexandria Hajjafar

 

Loretta Nolen Smith laughing at Steve B.

Mom and mimosas do not mix! 

April Smith Hajjafar, Sydney Smith Haywood, Donald Smith, Loretta Nolen Smith and Alexandria Hajjafar; Casey Haywood in back

The Civil War home place had been in the same family for generations.

Even the kudzu, which was very present, was lovely! I even found out that kudzu has medicinal uses! Now I need to search for some kudzu, send hubby to the store for some high-octane vodka, and get busy making up a batch of Grannyma’s Magical Kudzu Tincture!! My Grannyma’s Magical Sweetgum Ball Tincture is getting lonely sitting on the shelf and could use some company!

 

The train ride was about 4.5 hours. The drive to and from was another combined 4 hours. Elk are usually present at sunrise and sunset at the Ocanaluftee Visitors’ Center. I really wanted to see the elk but knew that we needed to head back to the cabin before it got too late. 

 

    Back at the depot, I saw one of the cars was named Harper.

Well, guess what we passed right by on our way home; the Ocanaluftee Visitors’ Center! And, guess what was in the meadow beside the center, ELK!!! We stopped and I took a few photos! 

 

We were all tuckered out when we got home, especially Dad. I think the trip exacerbated pain that he has in his side and back at times. It kept him pretty much cabin bound for most of the trip. Wishing Dad wasn’t hurting was the worse part of the trip. 

Wednesday, Mahdieh joon had zoom classes to teach but Mohammad was antsy to get out. He and I drove to the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. Dad and I wanted to get some of their meal to take home. Dad makes the best cornbread and their meal makes it even better! 

 

 

 

 

While I went into the mill, Mohammad walked around, visiting the little shops around the mill. I bought 50 pounds of white, unbolted corn meal and then took some photos of the old mill. 

It is a beautiful place. Watching the waterwheel turn is very mesmerizing and calming. It is easy to imagine how back in the day, settlers waited while that turning wheel was turning stones to grind the corn they had brought in. That corn meal was a blessing for those families. We consider it a blessing today but we could likely survive without our cornbread. Corn meal probably had a major role in staving off starvation back in the early days. 

Roxanna, Jeremy, and Jooniebug arrived later Wednesday evening. Before coming to the cabin, they drove on to North Carolina. Jeremy had ridden on the Tail of the Dragon as a child, but wanted to drive it. I think that it was a bit much for Roxanna. I am not sure how little Cyrus felt inside his cozy womb, but Jooniebug wasn’t bothered at all. 

Thursday, we lolly-gagged around the cabin all morning. Mom, Dad, and Mohammad stayed home. I believe that Mohammad had the misfortune to lose in Rummy while we were gone. 

The rest of us loaded into two vehicles and made our way to my favorite place to visit, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. 

Just before the one way loop for the trail starts, the Noah “Bud” Ogle home site lies on the right. The Bud Ogle homesite is my most favorite place to visit in the Smokies. Mahdieh joon and Jooniebug had never been there and I loved being there with them while they experienced this beautiful, magical, and serene setting! Jooniebug loved clambering over the  very prevalent rocks and flitted from here to there like a butterfly in a flower garden! 

 

                                Harper Jooniebug MCCommon

 

 Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Grannyma April Smith Hajjafar

 

 Noah Bud Ogle cabin

                                 The spring house on the hill.

                            The Noah Bud Ogle home site barn

                                                The barn

                               The Noah Bud Ogle home site

                        The Ogle home viewed from the barn 

                                        Stall with trough

          Delicate beauty, braving the coming of cooler weather. 

Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Roxanna Hajjafar McCommon

Jeremy McCommon, Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Mahdieh Alizadeh Mollapour at the spring

                        It looks like Jooniebug is rock surfing!

        

                                    Noah Bud Ogle cabin

                                      Noah Bud Ogle cabin

Jooniebug, saw the Roaring Fork and decided she wanted to go swimming. Somehow in the stop and go traffic of a bear sighting, she changed into her swimsuit! 

 

                          A small mill along the Roaring Fork.

 

                                     Bee hives at Ely’s Mill.

                                              Ely’s Mill

                                                Ely’s Mill

Ely’s Mill

Unfortunately, we had gotten a late start and wanted to go to the craft show at the Gatlinburg Convention Center and it closed at 5:00 so we couldn’t take a leisurely tour of the motor trail. Somehow, we missed our favorite overlook spot, we didn’t have time to stop at Ely’s Mill, and Jooniebug's didn’t get a chance to go “swimming” and find out exactly how cold mountain springs are. Next time!!

 

                           Skylift near the Convention Center.

                               Outside Convention Center

           

                                Outside Convention Center

              Harper Jooniebug McCommon outside Convention Center.

  

Inside Convention Center, I love their carpet!

      
We made it to the convention center. There were more beautiful crafts than we had time to see. One lady made beautiful pictures from dried, pressed flowers. She had a sign asking folks not to take photos. I sure wish that I could have, as her pictures were truly lovely. Mahdieh joon could not resist purchasing one to hang in her living room. She bought one and then went back and traded it for a different one. We got a photo of those two.

Made with real flowers grown by the artist.

One booth had bow knives. I have heard of a bowie knife, but had never heard of a bow knife. They looked a lot like a fiddle bow with a coping saw looking blade.

 

We didn’t have time to see all the craft show had to offer, but some flavored honeys and fruit jams were bought. Alex bought some spiced honey for Cammy which he has already enjoyed. I believe that Sydney and Casey sampled some hot honey and bought some because it was so good. Roxanna bought a sampler pack of jams. 

Jooniebug had a huge apple that had been dipped in caramel, then chocolate, and then marshmallows! The entire huge apple was consumed, but I heard it on good authority that Jooniebug’s daddy helped to finish it!

After the craft fair, back to the cabin we went! During our down time, we just enjoyed time being together in the cabin. 

 

         Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Auntie Alex Hajjafar

             Porter Hajjafar, trying to avoid going to his room.

          Mahdieh joon Alizadeh Mollapour and Harper Jooniebug    McCommon

          Mahdieh joon Alizadeh Mollapour and Harper Jooniebug    McCommon

Jooniebug wanted to take a silly pic, April Smith Hajjafar and Mohammad Hajjafar.

 Jooniebug wanted to take a pic; April Smith Hajjafar and Mohammad Hajjafar.

Auntie Alexandria Hajjafar, Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Porter Hajjafar

       Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Pepaw Donald Smith

  Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Grandma Loretta Nolen Smith.

               Alexandria Hajjafar working on some cross stitch.

 Donald Smith and Casey Haywood; serious talk going on.

 

 Donald Smith, Mahdieh joon Alizadeh Mollapour, Harper Jooniebug McCommon.

Grandma Loretta Nolen Smith and Harper Jooniebug McCommon

coloring and tic-tac-toeing.

                         Serious tic-tac-toe thinking going on.

 

Harper Jooniebug mcCommon and Grannyma April Smith Hajjafar

Jooniebug wrote my name.

Jooniebug drew a rainbow sunshine sunflower. 

Jooniebug drew her and me. 

                                  Another Jooniebug and me.

Unfortunately, Casey and Sydney had to drive back to Bell Buckle. They had just moved home from Memphis and had unpacking to do before Casey’s rotation began on Monday.  

Mahdieh joon wanted to treat us all to a nice dinner. We went to the Old Mill but there was a two hour wait. We ended up going to Pollo Loco for Mexican. It was different from an Old Mill dinner, but it was still good, and we were all together except for Sydney and Casey! We did miss their company.

 

                           Llama company at Pollo Loco.

Friday was a cabin day for me. I stayed home with Dad and Mohammad. Roxanna, Jeremy, Jooniebug, and Mahdieh joon got up early and went to the aquarium. After that they did a little hiking along the way.

 

                 Harper Jooniebug McCommon hiking and posing. 

Jeremy McCommon and Harper Jooniebug McCommon

Harper Jooniebug McCommon and Mahdieh Alizadeh Mollapour; Jooniebug finally got to go “swimming”!

Mom, Alex and I watched The Barbie Movie and Alex painted Mom’s fingers and my toes. That is the second time in my life my toenails have been painted. I reckon that I must have been overcome by the Barbie world! 

 

                   Alexandria Hajjafar setting up Barbie Movie.

                                           My “Barbie” toes.

Mom and Alex then went to the Christmas Village and the Moon Pie General Store and Book Warehouse. Roxanna’s bunch met up with them there. They all ended up having a late lunch at the Old Mill. I think that most enjoyed their food!

Early Saturday morning, Mahdieh joon had to fly home so she could be at work on Monday. Alex drove her to the airport in Knoxville. We missed her that last day but she got home safely and said that she had a great time during her first visit to the Smokies. 

Roxanna, Jeremy, and Jooniebug got up early and visited Cades Cove. I think it took them over three hours to drive the loop but they stopped and walked to all of the cabins. 

In the Betty cabin a park ranger was playing some type of dulcimer. She played Amazing Grace and another tune that Roxanna said was beautiful. The ranger made Jooniebug a junior park ranger so that was exciting!

Jooniebug enjoyed hiking amongst God’s beautiful nature but I think that all of the activities of the week had succeeded in making our Energizer Bunny a wee bit tired! Roxanna was tired too! Of course, Roxanna is due to give birth to Cyrus in December, so she may be tired for two. Jeremy seemed to hold up fine.

 

                         The Energizer Joonie has worn down.

In the afternoon, Alex, Mohammad and I went to the Apple Barn. Dad wanted a bushel of apples to put up and Alex wanted a frozen cider slushy. Mohammad wanted to get out of the cabin for a while. 

 

                          The Apple Barn and Cider Mill.

                                     Such a glorious day!

                           Mohammad and April Smith Hajjafar

                   Mohammad Hajjafar and Alexandria Hajjafar

We shopped in their little store and I bought a bushel of Arkansas Black apples for Dad. He wanted to smoke them, but Mom thought that we needed to freeze them. I am not sure how we will end up preserving them. They are delicious either way. 

When we got home from the Apple Barn, we had what I call an ancestor meal. My parents, grandparents, greats and on back through generations have enjoyed a similar meal. 

Mom had peeled a mess of apples and put them in a big skillet, ready to fry. She was making buttermilk biscuits when we got back from the Apple Barn.

I made fried pork loin chops, pork loin chop gravy, and fried the apples. Alex scrambled some eggs. We enjoyed a wonderful ancestor meal. 

  

Unfortunately, niece Mahdieh joon had already flown back to New York, and Sydney and Casey had already left for home. Roxanna’s crew was late and almost missed supper, but we saved them some! Those present surely enjoyed our ancestor meal!

We did most everything we had wanted to do. Our cabin was supposed to be very close to Douglas lake and I had wanted to at least drive around the lake. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. I am not sure if there really was a lake there but Alex and I heard geese honking one evening. We surmised that there was indeed a lake whether we had seen it or not! 

Before we left, I asked Jooniebug what her most favorite thing about our mountain vacation was. She said that being with her family was her favorite part! Roxanna said that Jooniebug had told her that being with family was her favorite part too. We surely enjoyed being with her too. The aquarium was her second favorite part. When you rank higher than jellyfish, seahorses, sawfishes, sharks, and rays, I reckon you are doing alright!

Roxanna’s crew had a longer drive and got an earlier start than the rest of us. Alex and Portie went home a different way. Alex saw this scene and pulled over so she could send me a photo because she knew that I would love it. 

 

On the way home, we stopped by the Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Dad and I went in while Mom and Mohammad waited in the van.

Dad looked briefly at a knife display or two, but was looking for a sharpener. He found one and we returned to the van to begin our trip home. 

 

                                  Dad “window” shopping.

 

I had to take a photo of that big wooden knife. Mr Cook lived not far from where we lived in Wartrace and made small wooden knives. I remember that David had bought one for Dad decades ago.
 

 I had to take a photo of this huge whetstone. It made me think of all of the knives and tools family members have sharpened over the generations!

Despite, Portie sneaking out the backdoor once, and Alex losing her keys just as we were leaving for home, we all made it home safely. Everyone was tired but we all enjoyed being with family in the beautiful peace of the mountains! Thanks God for both! Thanks God for all of our blessings!

 

 

In one of the gift shops on our trip, I saw some cute plush bigfeet. I loved them. Alex got one for me as an early Christmas present. Here, Houdini and I are chilling after our trip!