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| William and Mary Shea of Ufford circa 1880. Great Grandparents of Suzanne and Great Great Grandparents of Andrew and Robert Currie |
THE THINGS YOU FIND IN BOOKS - AND THE OCCASIONAL BOOK WORM
TWO DAYS OF ANTIQUE SHOP MADNESS - BUT WE'RE OKAY WITH THAT
In the news business, and I do hate to admit this, we always got a major adrenalin rush, when an emergency call came over the police scanner, situated with its blinking lights, on a shelf deep in the sanctuary of the newsroom. We'd jump up, and like the firemen at the hall, across the road, we'd quickly gathered up our gear, and safety-wear, and fly down the stairs to our cars. We didn't get excited when we had to attend town council meetings, or going to take pictures of the latest grip and grin, for a local store opening. We wanted to be thrust into high gear, and left that way, because it made up for the times when we found it difficult to cover, while staying awake, the high points of a local rezoning, or application for a liqour licence; although on a slow day, it was better than sticking around the office, and getting housekeeping assignments. Like having to stare at the publisher during a meeting about having meetings. So from past experiences, I know that the antique trade is the one profession, above even writing, that can jolt to life, like the Frankenstein monster; having an electric charge that can stay with you for weeks following. In this business, it's the reality, a lot of people have strange items in their homes, and businesses, that occasionally, have to be re-located or disposed of, in some fashion; and we're standing with open arms for a majority of the good, bad, and ugly, from storage lockers, attics, musty basements, and cupboards so dusty, they have to be excavated free.
The situation is never the same twice, and there are times when the piece or collection, is so mind boggling, it will take upwards of a week, to sort through it all, and make judgements as to valuation. We get pieces that require hours of research to identify marks and places of manufacture, and other times, when even two weeks of research, won't give us the detail we need to offer even a basic evaluation. But more than this, there are the oddities that come through our front door, that reminds us, every time, how magical it really is, to work under the storefront banner, "Antiques and Collectables." I remember the time I accepted two wire wheels off a vintage sports car, that still have the original rubber. As I was admiring them, and trying to figure out how I could display them in the shop, I started to feel pains in my leg, as if I was being pricked with a sewing needle. A hot sewing needle. When I rolled up my pant leg, my skin was covered with red ants, and the trail of them, let right to the tires on the floor. I had to race them out of the building, and when I took the rubber and tubes off, I liberated about ten thousand vicious ants. It was one of those "note to self" occasions. To get to the value of the rims, we had to first get rid of some livestock.
In less than 24 hours, in the antique dealer's life, Suzanne and I acquired seventy-five vintage books, with at least 20 of them, being from the 1930 to 1950 Lone Ranger Series, which are fabulous additions for our nostalgia room. Out of all the books we purchased, only two have some minor damage. When it's a copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," even in this century, you overlook some damage issues, because it's the story that counts. I have had much earlier editions, which sold for a considerable amount of money; point is they've all sold. Some books are like that, and they're not always the titles you expect will sell quickly. As I wrote about, a few days ago, while I would like an original first printing of Lewis Carrol's, "Alice in Wonderland," or anything written by C.S. Lewis, such as "Witch and the Wardrobe." I'd gladly accept a J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan," or Frank Baum "Wizard of Oz." Or for that matter, about a hundred other classics of childrens' literature, that I thoroughly enjoy being companioned. I couldn't afford the luxury, of buying these books as first editions, (signed, would be in the many thousands of dollars) unless by some crazy chance, one or more were found at an estate sale, or flea market. It does happen, but it's pretty rare. Yet the very possibility of it all, keeps us antique hunters energized. We get some milestone events happening, and then we start thinking we actually can find the holy grail.
A lot of folks may not realize, the value of heritage paper, or as its better known, amongst collectors, "ephemera". One of the usual places we find interesting assortments, of historic paper, and documents, will seem unlikely at first. But if you think now, at this very moment, what you have intentionally, over the years, folded for safekeeping,, into the pages of books you have been reading, or collecting, and that could go back generations, you'll understand what a treasure-chest old books can become, in the right hands. If these books have been handed down, a hundred years or so, the treasure within could be quite valuable. Our heritage handwritten recipe collection, as an example, came almost entirely from the print interiors of formally published cookbooks. Suzanne and I would sit beside our latest book purchases, from an estate sale or auction, and search through each of the books, for what former owners placed within. The handwritten and clipped-out recipes, were not just found folded inside other cookbooks. I remember finding fifty or so, in a 1950's reprint issue of "Gone With The Wind." The book was basically worthless, because it was so far down the line from the first edition, but what we found inside was exceptional, and today makes up a good chunk of Suzanne's heritage recipe archives collection.
This morning, I have been pulling little bits of fabric out of the old books, we purchased, that were once used as book marks. There wasn't one book out of the lot, that didn't contain, at the very least, some old printed bookmarks, which we always collect and, when we have some enough, offer them to our book buyers, without cost. We don't like the idea of throwing them out, seeing as in some cases, they have survived a hundred years or more. Most are a lot newer, and in terms of graphics, quite attractive.
I've been a bookman since we opened Birch Hollow Antiques, in the mid 1980's, in Bracebridge; first from our house on Ontario Street, just below the former Bracebridge High School, on to our house at Golden Beach, and then, to a storefront on Manitoba Street, just north of Memorial Park, until the mid 1990's. We have purchased many thousands of books, in the past twenty years, that had never been properly searched, before the owners, and estate handlers, put them up for sale or auction. There was one time, here in Gravenhurst, when a second hand dealer, kept badgering me about buying the boxes of books, he had brought to flog, at a happenstance yard sale. I had sorted through them, and most were book club editions, which unless it is "Peyton Place," by Grace Metalius, a manuscript that went directly to book club control, to be published, I won't stock them. They were the "cheap" issues, being of small size, and with lesser quality paper than the original releases. And of course, the book club editions were published in greater volume, and thus, the values are always much lower than smaller number first editions, with better quality printing stock and dustjackets.
So I politely turned them down, but he persisted, and kept cutting the asking price. I think he dropped the price to ten bucks for a dozen boxes, and by this point, I just wanted him to cease and desist calling out my name. We like to operate low profile at these events for obvious reasons, and this was one of them. Finally Suzanne handed the man ten bucks, and the boys started picking up the boxes, and carrying them to the van. I knew there was a chance of doubling that investment, but it was worth the ten bucks just to buy his silence. Later in the day, when we were going through them, to sort for odds and sods buried in the pages of select books, that appeared to bulge when closed, we found twenty-five or so handwritten recipes, in murder mystery books, of all things, and the usual dried flowers, and four leaf clovers, which I have to tell you, aren't as rare as you might think.
In the middle of one of the dozens of romantic novels, there was a big payoff. There was a nice collection of original 1960's Parkhurst hockey cards, known as "Tall Boys." At the time, we had a minor interest in hockey and baseball cards, at our Bracebridge shop, and the boys were dazzled, by the discovery of such perfectly preserved cards, from an old book. They were what was known as "commons" (being non all star players) but in the popular Parkhurst series, even the lesser players were selling for fifteen to twenty dollars each. They were needed most of all, to help collectors finish of entire sets. I was glad to help them out. We got six of them, and more than paid for our original purchase of books. All because of what he and I both didn't know, about what treasure was stored within.
Even this morning, we pulled out a well preserved "thank-you" card, from the original envelope, sent in the 1960's by a Nashville singer, known as Wilma Lee, back to the fan, in response to an earlier letter of congratulations; it was sent to the book owner, who was living in Huntsville, Ontario at the time. Other notes from the 1950's including personal letters between friends, and clippings about both Canadian and American boxing, some with photos; plus celebrity clippings, such as Tennessee Ernie Ford, and musician, Oscar Peterson, not to mention a plethora of British Royalty news clippings. Then there were fold-up novelty graphics, circa the 1930's, such as "The Carpenter," "The Plumber," and "The Butcher." Each, of course, is very collectable, especially if nicely framed. Among the gathering of old paper, were the usual four leaf clovers, dried flowers and leaves, plus individually cut cloth strips, of all shapes, lengths and materials, used as soft bookmarks.
Old book dealers cringe when they see a valuable old book, stuffed with relics of our flora and fauna, and especially newsclippings, from newspapers. Magazine clippings are generally better quality paper, and don't stain the pages of the average book unless there is moisture involved. Newsprint does leave a yellow mark, regardless how well the book is kept. Not the osmosis of the ink, but rather, the acid related yellowing of the newsprint, as it deteriorates; which by proximity, contaminates the white pages, of the book with ugly stains. It will contaminate at least four pages; the two the newsprint side on, and then, depending on the bleed, the backs of those same pages. Depending on whether the flowers and assorted vegetation was fresh at the time, or had been dried previously, the stain will reflect this accordingly. If a colorful flower, with some life left in it, after service as a corsage, can leave a colorful imprint on the white pages it is pressed between. These stains can devalue books by fifty percent or more, depending on how many pages are contaminated in a similar fashion. But on lesser quality books, that are not first editions, and were printed on cheaper paper stock, the damage these natural qualities and quantities cause, is moot to the selling price of the book. Now if it was a thousand dollar first edition, loaded with things that did rub off, well, it would no longer be worth a grand. This would bring most of us to tears, where, in contrast, we looked at the contents of some of these books today, and laughed to ourselves, about the unusual provenance attached, by a succession of owners, and readers, yet with or without the pressed flowers, the values were pretty much unscathed.
There were a dozen dried leaves, but no explanation why they were placed in between the pages. They weren't colored leaves from a vivid autumn season maple or birch, and yet, there was a significance attached we supposed, to the person who had gathered and dried them in her favorite books.
I remember my mother Merle, doing this, after my grandmother Blanche Jackson's funeral, in the early 1960's, when she took some ferns and flowers off the arrangements sent by the funeral home, to the gravesite, in Toronto's Park Lawn Cemetery. She did the same when her father, Stanley passed away. I saw her do this, but I never knew what book she had stuffed them into, until after her own death. We just wound up throwing them away, because both floral reminders had, by then, been reduced to dust, and could be simply blown off the pages. So maybe these leaves, tucked into the books, we acquired this morning, were from a special event, maybe taken from a shrub at a cemetery, as a meaningful keepsake, of a loved one's departure. They weren't placed between the pages, as a lasting memorial, or an accompanying note would have been attached. They weren't even kept, to be referred back to frequently. It was just to have the knowledge, that this event was acknowledged as having been momentous to the family, and deserving a place of honor for safekeeping. In this case, the book was the vault of choice, and by what we found in the other books she had owned, they were of the utmost value in her collection of personal items; meaning, storage in the books was a very great honor, and show of respect. But it is usually lost in transition, when new owners take over these once near and dear books. It's always neat to look through the books, but it is always a little sad, that these treasures that meant so much to some folks, leave us questioning what they all mean. The flattened bits and pieces of floral arrangements, from weddings, anniversaries, proms and funerals. Right now, I have a small bag full of these book inserts, that I don't know what to do with. I can sell several pieces and amalgamate a few others, with similar pieces currently in the shop; but generally, we will just count on the value of the subject purchase today, as our mainstay, being old book-sellers afterall. As is tradition with me, I will refuse to throw them out, and then will somehow be placed in another protective bin, of many down the road, (but never back into another book) while I make up my mind, as to whether I can do something, such as framing them, that will make them stand out, in the continuity of tribute; to the memory of a former owner's family life and times. And in cases, like this, we can tell a lot about the former owner(s), and create quite an interesting mosaic, from the bits of paper and cloth, we removed from every book we purchased. We love this kind of connection, but admit, we feel sorry it all had to end-up this way. Then I think about all the stuff I've got jammed into books back at Birch Hollow. Gads, I really should clean this up, before the boys have to deal with it as a future estate. I've got a lot of sensitive material outsourced into these books, including banking documents, and it will probably take me a year at least, to sort them out! I have a lot of books. I'm down to several thousand but they're scattered all over the place, and a portion is sealed away in boxes, undoubtedly carrying the lost documents, I've been searching for, even just recently. As for the family Bible. It is actually one of the least compromised books of all, when it comes down to our the discoveries we've made handling books of all kinds.
It's when you find locks of hair, baptism certificates, baby photographs and even funeral notices, inside books, that it becomes instantly more intimate. It's where I found two death photographs; one of a child in a coffin, and another of a gentleman, laid out on a flower-strewn bed. It was common practice after cameras became inexpensive and widely available. We've found some books, that appear to have been used as a informal, "hair receiver," and from multiple family members, probably from infancy. It was common to place combed-out hair into proper dishes with covers, known as "receivers," but a book obviously, could cover the same purpose. Love letters can be found most often, and I have discovered quite a few war-time notes, that have cleared censors coming from Europe to Canada.
One letter, we found in a Lone Ranger book, today, posted from Mount Vernon, Illinois, April 28th, 1958, to the book owner in Huntsville, opens, "Dear Martha; I got your letter sometime ago, so I'll try to answer it. I am okay now. I have had a cold for about a week. It's about to break up now, I hope. It has been the worst winter they say, in 50 years, but I can remember in 1917 it was worse than this, so I think they've lost track. We have been having lots of rain this month. We can't begin to plant the garden. The church people have been having a revival across the street for the last two weeks. Guess it was over last night. I went the first week until I got this cold. Lots of people have died this winter.
"I am slow answering your letters but I sure do enjoy getting them and don't think I don't.
"There is always something going on here, and the people next door nearly run me ragged wanting to use my phone. It gets old after awhile. I have to stop whatever I am doing and answer it, or deliver a message next door. Now do you know what I mean?
"Our rhubarb is big enough to pick; I think I'll fix some after awhile. I like just plain rhubarb sauce. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you I get around so much better than last winter and I have lost thirty-five pounds.
"This is a gloomy, rainy day. I have a light to write this. Employment conditions here are sure serious. My boy only got to work about five months last year. He is a welder and a good one. He is now helping a friend in a music store. He only gets about twenty dollars a week but it is better than nothing. He has a wife and two big girls, fifteen and sixteen, in high school, and a ten year old boy. It costs him over five dollars a week just for their noon day lunch for the three kids.
"My nose is awfully sore from blowing and wiping it! I am glad it isn't any bigger. It would be more to blow, ha, ha, ha! Well, news is scarce so will say bye, bye with love." Arlene.
Just one of the interesting letters we find tucked, for safe keeping, in the old books we buy.
Thanks for joining today's blog. It's always a pleasure to have you drop by for a visit.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE MEDICAL PERIL OF ISOLATION - AND THE RAGE OF SICKNESS THROUGH FAMILIES
HOMESTEADERS AND RURAL DWELLERS HAD POORER CHANCES OF SURVIVAL; EVEN MINOR COMPLAINTS BECAME KILLERS
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, IN THE DIOCESE OF ALGOMA, INCLUDING MUSKOKA, HAD ONE OF THE MOST ADAPTABLE AND DIVERSIFIED MISSIONARIES / MINISTERS SERVING THE NEEDS OF ITS CITIZENRY. GOWAN GILLMORE WALKED THOUSANDS OF MILES THROUGH THE ROUGHEST TERRAIN, TENDING HIS FLOCK, WHETHER THEY WERE ANGLICAN OR NOT. ONE OF HIS MOST ENDEARING QUALITIES, IS THAT HE WOULD ACTUALLY MOVE INTO A "SICK" HOUSE, TO TEND TO THE ILL AND DYING. IT WAS HIS CLAIM, THAT HE WAS THERE TO KEEP DEATH OUT. IT WAS AT A TIME, IN THE LATE PIONEERING PERIOD, WHEN QUALIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE WAS STILL DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN THROUGHOUT THE VAST RURAL AREAS OF THE REGION, WHERE DOCTORS WERE FORCED TO TRAVEL EXTENSIVELY, OVER DAYS, JUST TO TEND ONE OR TWO FAMILIES, OF MANY THAT WERE ILL, DUE TO EPIDEMICS. GILLMORE, "THE TRAMP," AS HE WAS BETTER KNOWN, WAS REVERED BY THOSE OF ALL FAITHS, FOR THE COURAGEOUS WORK HE DID, NURSING FAMILIES BACK TO SECURE HEALTH. HE LOST SOME, BUT THE SIGHT OF THIS HIGH ENERGY IRISHMAN, HOVERING IN THE DOORWAY OF YOUR HOUSE, OFFERED GREAT ASSURANCE, THOSE SICK WOULD BE TENDED AS IF BY A QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN, WHILE ALSO ADMINISTERING TO THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS OF A FAMILY IN CRISIS. GOWAN GILLMORE, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, DIDN'T BELIEVE HE WAS DOING ANYTHING EXTRAORDINARY WHATSOEVER. WE KNOW DIFFERENTLY, AND HISTORIANS SEE HIM AS A PIONEER HERO IN OUR REGION OF ONTARIO.
THERE IS AN INTERESTING STORY TOLD BY SHEA FAMILY HISTORIAN, BERT SHEA, IN ONE OF HIS REGIONAL HISTORIES, (UFFORD AND THREE MILE LAKE AREA, OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES) ABOUT A HOMESTEAD WOMAN, LEFT ON HER OWN, IN THOSE EARLY YEARS OF THE FREE LAND GRANTS, WHO SUFFERED A SIGNIFICANT INJURY, WHILE CHOPPING WOOD FOR THE FIREPLACE. WITH THE MALE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD WORKING SOME DISTANCE AWAY, THE OLDER WOMAN HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO CHOP THE WOOD FOR THE DAILY FIRE, WHICH BY ITSELF, WAS A PRETTY AVERAGE CHORE, EVEN FOR SOMEONE HER AGE. SHE HAD WORKED AWAY FOR SOME TIME, BEFORE THE ACCIDENT THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY CLAIM HER LIFE. ANYBODY WHO HAS WORKED WITH AN AXE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE BLADE SUDDENLY SHATTERS THE LOG, SENDING SPLINTERS FLYING IN THE AIR. MOST OF THE TIME, THEY FALL BY THE WAYSIDE. SOME TIMES, THEY BECOME DANGEROUSLY INTRUSIVE.
ON ONE DOWNWARD ARC OF THE AXE, SINKING INTO THE END OF THE LOG PIECE, A JAGGED SHARD OF WOOD FLEW UP, AND STRUCK THE SOCKET OF HER EYE, SEVERELY DAMAGING HER EYEBALL. NOW IMAGINE THE PAIN, AND THE FACT SHE COULD NOT DISLODGE THE SHARP PIECE HERSELF, LET ALONE STOP THE BLEEDING. THERE WERE NO CLOSE NEIGHBORS AT THIS TIME, AND THE COMPROMISE OF ONE EYE, AFFECTED VISION IN THE OTHER, AS A NERVE HAD BEEN DAMAGED BY THE SHARP IMPACT. BASICALLY, THE OLD WOMAN SAT DOWN AND WAITED TO DIE. NOW EVEN IF THIS EVENT HAD OCCURRED IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND A DOCTOR HAD BEEN AVAILABLE TO TEND THE INJURED LADY IMMEDIATELY, THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT A WOUND THIS SERIOUS COULD HAVE BEEN LIFE-THREATENING REGARDLESS. THE SUFFERING HOWEVER, WOULD HAVE BEEN GREATLY RELIEVED SOONER, AND THE WOOD SHARD REMOVED QUICKLY AFTER THE ACCIDENT, IF SHE HAD BEEN CLOSER TO A PHYSICIAN.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE WAS IN SHORT SUPPLY IN THE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES, DURING THE FIRST THREE DECADES OF SETTLEMENT IN MUSKOKA, BUT THOSE IN THE ISOLATED, RURAL AREAS OF THE REGION, WERE MOST AT RISK; AND AT THE SAME TIME, WERE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO FARMSTEAD INJURY. CONSIDER THE LOGGERS WORKING IN ISOLATED CAMPS, WITHOUT ANY MEDICAL PROVISIONS, OTHER THAN BASIC SUPPLIES OF DISINFECTANTS, SPLINTS, AND BANDAGES. THEY LIVED AND WORKED IN A PERPETUAL STATE OF DIRE CONSEQUENCE, POTENTIALLY FATAL, IF THEY WERE BADLY INJURED, OR CONTRACTED A MAJOR ILLNESS, SUCH AS SCARLETT FEVER, DYPTHERIA, SMALL POX, TUBERCULOSIS, OR EVEN THE INFLUENZA; WHICH PROVED DEADLY DURING SEVERAL MAJOR COUTRY-WIDE OUTBREAKS. EVEN MINOR ILLNESSES AND INFECTIONS, IN SOME CASES, CAUSED BY BACTERIA FROM THE SOIL, PENETRATING INTO OPEN WOUNDS ON THE HANDS AND FEET, WOULD CLAIM LIVES SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY. WHILE MANY ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES HAVE BEEN IMPROVED UPON, FOR RURAL DWELLERS, IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES, IT IS STILL MORE DIRE TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK IN THE RURAL CLIME, THAN HAVING ONE IN AN URBAN AREA, IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A HOSPITAL OR MEDICAL CLINIC. SO IMAGINE HAVING A HEART ATTACK IN 1870. IT WAS TIME THEN, BASICALLY, TO PREPARE A GRAVE MARKER. GENERALLY, THE HEART ATTACK WASN'T DIAGNOSED, AND IF IT DIDN'T KILL THE INDIVIDUAL ON THE FIRST ROUND, IT WOULD, BEFORE LONG, BE THE EVENTUAL CAUSE OF SUDDEN DEATH.
SO WHAT BEGAN AS A REQUIREMENT OF THIS ISOLATED LIFE, WAS FOR HOMEMAKERS, PARENTS AND ELDERS, TO QUICKLY BECOME PIONEER NURSE PRACTITIONERS, IN ESSENCE, BECAUSE THEY WERE USUALLY THE FIRST RESPONDERS BY CIRCUMSTANCE. WHILE SOME OF THE REMEDIES AND CURES WERE BORROWED FROM THEIR INDIVIDUAL CULTURAL ROOTS, MUCH WAS LEARNED FROM THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE, WHO SHARED SOME OF THEIR REMEDIES WITH THOSE IN IMMEDIATE NEED. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS A STORY ABOUT A MUSKOKA LAKES MAN, WHO HAD SUFFERED A MAJOR BURN TO HIS STOMACH AREA, AND WAS BEING TRANSPORTED ACROSS LAKE ROSSEAU, TO PORT CARLING, AND THEN, IF HE SURVIVED THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY, HE WOULD BE TRAVERSED BY CANOE TO EITHER A DOCTOR IN BRACEBRIDGE, OR GRAVENHURST. NEAR PORT CARLING, HE WAS MET BY A FIRST NATIONS INDIVIDUAL, WHO, AFTER HEARING OF THE MEDICAL COMPLAINT OF THE PATIENT, IN TOW, OFFERED TO MAKE A POULTICE TO APPLY TO THE SERIOUS WOUND. THE NATURAL DRESSING WAS APPLIED TO THE BURNED FLESH, AND ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, THE INJURED MAN EXPERIENCED CONSIDERABLE RELIEF. IT IS NOW A RURAL LEGEND, BUT IT IS SAID THE WOUND BECAME MUCH LESS PAINFUL, AND SOON BEGAN TO HEAL AS A RESULT OF THE NATURAL TREATMENT HE'D RECEIVED. IT WAS THOUGHT BY HIS RESCUERS, THAT THE MAN WOULDN'T SURVIVE THE TRIP. HE DID, THANKS TO THIS INTERVENTION. THUS, WHATEVER THE NATURAL INGREDIENTS WERE, THAT THE PARTY WAS ABLE TO LEARN ABOUT, IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN RE-CREATED AT SETTLER'S HOMESTEADS, TO TREAT CERTAIN TYPES OF INJURIES THERE-AFTER. AS WELL, THERE WERE A LOT OF CULTURAL REMEDIES BROUGHT FROM EUROPE AND ADJUSTED TO THE PLANT AVAILABILITY IN OUR REGION.
CONTAINED IN THE 1950 DOCUMENT, "FOLK-LORE OF WATERLOO COUNTRY," BY W.J. WINTEMBERG, FROM A LARGE COLLECTION OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS, COMPILED FOR THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CANADA, THERE IS A SECTION ENTITLED "FOLK-MEDICINE AND METERIA MEDICA." ALTHOUGH THESE REMEDIES CAME FROM THIS SOUTH WEST AREA OF THE PROVINCE, EARLY IN THE 1800'S, MANY OF THE SAME NATURAL TREATMENTS AND MEDICAL LORE COULD BE FOUND, BEING REGULARLY AND FAITHFULLY EMPLOYED IN THE HOMESTEADS OF OUR DISTRICT AS WELL. HERE A FEW OF THE MOST INTERESTING TREATMENTS, GATHERED AND APPLIED BY THE HOME PRACTITIONER:
ASTHMA: "BOIL THE LUNGS OF A FOX IN WATER AND DRINK THE LIQUID. OBVIOUSLY THE LUNG OF THE FOX WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE THAT ANIMAL CAN RUN LONG DISTANCES WITHOUT ITS POWERS OF RESPIRATION BECOMING IMPAIRED; AND, ASTHMA BEING A DISEASE THAT AFFECTS BREATHING, ONE CAN READILY UNDERSTAND WHY A FOX'S LUNG WAS CHOSEN AS A CURE."
BEE STINGS: "IF YOU CAN SUCCEED IN KILLING THE BEE THAT STINGS YOU, THE WOUND WILL NOT MORTIFY. MUD APPLIED TO A BEE STING WILL HELP ALLAY THE PAIN."
BLOOD PURIFIER: "TEA MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE IS USED AS A BLOOD PURIFIER."
BOILS: "COW EXCREMENT IS APPLIED TO A BOIL TO BRING IT TO A HEAD. THE INNER WHITE SKIN OF AN EGG IS USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE."
COLD CURES: "TEA MADE FROM THE FLOWERS OF THE MAYWEED IS USED FOR COLDS. A TEA MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF THE CATNIP IS USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE. ANOTHER TEA MADE FROM THE BARK OF THE SPICE BUSH, AND THE TWIGS WERE CHEWED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE. A FAMILIAR COLD CURE WAS A TEA MADE FROM THE FLOWERS OF THE COMMON MULLEIN."
COLIC: "IF BEFORE BREAKFAST, ON EASTER MORNING, YOU SUCK A RAW EGG THAT WAS LAID ON GOOD FRIDAY, IT WILL KEEP YOU FROM GETTING THE COLLIC THE REST OF THE YEAR (AMISH)."
CONSUMPTION: FOR CONSUMPTION EAT THE LEAF OF A MALE DANDELION FOR NINE SUCCESSIVE MORNINGS. A TEA MADE FROM THE FECES OF A BLACK HORSE WAS ONCE PRESCRIBED AS A CURE FOR PULMONARY TROUBLE."
CURE FOR BAD TEMPER: "PASS THE CHILD HEAD FIRST THROUGH THE LEFT LEG OF ITS FATHER'S TROUSERS."
DOG BITE: TAKE SOME OF THE HAIR OF THE DOG THAT BIT YOU AND PLACE THEM IN THE WOUND."
DYSENTERY: "A TEA MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF THE CURLED DOCK IS USED AS A CURE. A TEA PREPARED FROM THE LEAVES OF THE KNOT-GRASS, WAS ALSO REGARDED AS A CURE. A TEA MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF THE PLAINTAIN-LEAVED, EVERLASTING, WAS USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE. ANOTHER CURE WAS A TEA PREPARED FROM THE ROOTS OR THE LEAVES OF THE WILD RED RASPBERRY, THE BLACK RASPBERRY, AND THE HIGH BLACKBERRY. THE TEA, HOWEVER, MUST BE PREPARED IN A POT THAT HAS NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY USED."
"DYSPEPSIA: "A TEA MADE FROM CHIPS OF IRON WOOD IS SAID TO BE A GOOD CURE FOR DYSPEPSIA. THE DECOCTION IS PREPARED FROM THE HEARTWOOD, A HANDFUL OF CHIPS BEING BOILED WITH TWO PINTS OF WATER, AND THE FLUID IS ALLOWED TO BOIL DOWN TO ONE PINT, WHICH IS THEN USED AS A TONIC."
EARACHE: "A POULTICE MADE FROM THE WOOD OF A BLACK SHEEP IS CONSIDERED A VERY EFFECTIVE CURE."
FOR THE EYES: "WEAR EARRINGS FOR SORE EYES. TAKE THE BLOOD OF A BAT AND BATHE YOUR EYES WITH IT AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE AS WELL IN THE DARK, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE DAYTIME. (DON'T USE RABID BAT) THE CALCAREOUS BODY FOUND IN THE COMMON FRESHWATER CRAYFISH, IS SUPPOSED TO BE USEFUL IN REMOVING FOREIGN SUBSTANCES FROM THE EYE."
CURES FOR FITS: "GIVE THE BLOOD OF A BLACK HEN AS A DRINK TO THE PATIENT. TO CURE A CHILD, THUS AFFLICTED, TAKE IT INTO THE WOODS, PLACE IT WITH ITS BACK AGAINST A TREE, AND BORE A HOLE INTO THE TREE ABOVE THE CHILD'S HEAD. THEY THEN CUT OFF SOME OF THE CHILD'S HAIR AND STUFF IT INTO THE HOLE, WHICH THEY THEN CLOSED WITH A WOODEN PLUG. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT AS THE CHILD GREW UP ABOVE THE HOLE, THE DISEASE DISAPPEARED. A PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN TOLD ME THAT IF A PERSON WHO WAS SUBJECT TO FITS, FOUND A HORSESHOE WITH THE NAILS STILL IN THE HOLES, HE WAS TO REMOVE THEM AND HAVE THEM MADE INTO RINGS. THESE, HE SAID, WOULD HAVE A SALUTARY EFFECT IF WORN BY THE AFFLICTED PERSON."
FRECKLES: "TO KEEP A CHILD FROM GETTING FRECKLES RUB A LIVE GOSLING OVER ITS FACE. DEW RUBBED ON THE FACE BEFORE SUNRISE ON A MORNING DURING THE MONTH OF MAY, WILL REMOVE FRECKLES AND GIVE ONE A BEAUTIFUL COMPLEXION."
CURE FOR GOITRE: " TO CURE GOITRE OR THICK NECK, WIND A BLACK RIBBON AROUND THE NECK THREE TIMES AND THEN PUT THE RIBBON INTO A COFFIN WITH A CORPSE BUT DO IT SECRETLY. RUB THE HAND OF THE CORPSE ON THE GOITRE. ANOTHER CURE WAS TO RUB A LIVE FROG ON IT, AND THEN BURY THE ANIMAL ALIVE, WITH ITS HEAD DOWNWARD. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT AS THE FROG DISAPPEARED THE GROWTH WOULD ALSO DISAPPEAR.
HEADACHE: A DECOCTION MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF THE COMMON SPEEDWELL IS USED FOR A HEADACHE."
HICCOUGH: "WHEN ANYONE HICCOUGHS IT IS CUSTOMARY TO SAY, 'YOU HAVE STOLEN SOMETHING.' THIS IT IS BELIEVED, WILL STOP IT, BY FRIGHTENING THE PERSON AND MAKING HIM FORGET TO HICCOUGH."
HYDROPHOBIA: "TEA MADE FROM THE LEAVES OF A COMMON CHICKWEED IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PREVENTITIVE OF HYDROPHOBIA."
INFLAMMATION: "TO CURE INFLAMMATION OF THE FINGER, DIP THE FINGER THREE TIMES INTO HOT WATER."
CURES FOR JAUNDICE: "EAT ALL THE CARROTS YOU CAN."
LUMBAGO: "A CURE FOR LUMBAGO IS TO LIE ON THE FLOOR, FACE DOWNWARDS, AND HAVE YOUR WIFE TREAD ON THE AFFLICTED PART."
RHEUMATISM CURES: "CARRY A HORSE CHESTNUT IN THE POCKET. A SALVE MADE OF EARTHWORMS WAS USED AS A CURE. THE SKIN OF A WHITE WEASEL WORN ABOUT THE PERSON IS REGARDED AS A PREVENTATIVE. IT IS CLAIMED THAT A PERSON MAY TRANSFER A DISEASE TO SOME ANIMAL BY HAVING THE ANIMAL SLEEP WITH HIM OR CONSTANTLY NEAR HIM. THE COMMON GUINEA PIG WAS KEPT BY SOME FOR THE PURPOSE OF CURING RHEUMATISM, AND IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THE DISEASE WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE ANIMAL BY FONDLING IT."
CURE FOR RUPTURE: "TAKE THE HAND OF A CORPSE AND PRESS THE THUMB ON THE RUPTURE AND IT WILL BE CURED."
FOR SORE MOUTH: "BLACKSMITH'S FORGE WATER IS USED AS A WASH FOR SORE MOUTH."
FOR SORE THROAT: "TAKE THE SOCK OFF YOUR LEFT FOOT, TURN IT INSIDE OUT, AND WEAR IT AROUND YOUR NECK. IT IS SAID THE CURE WILL BE MORE EFFECTUAL IF THE SOCK IS RED."
CURES FOR SIDE-STITCH: "SPIT ON A PEBBLE AND THROW IT OVER YOUR SHOULDER, AND THEN WALK AWAY WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT IT. ANOTHER CURE IS TO OVERTURN A STONE, AND SPIT INTO THE CAVITY IN THE SOIL CAUSED BY ITS REMOVAL, AND THEN REPLACE THE STONE."
STOPPING THE FLOW OF BLOOD: "TO STOP NOSE-BLEEDING PUT A KEY ON THE BACK OF THE PERSON'S NECK, THE COLDNESS OF THE METAL SOMETIMES PRODUCING THE DESIRED EFFECT. ANOTHER METHOD IS TO TIE A STRING OF RED YARN ROUND ONE OF YOUR FINGERS, USUALLY THE LITTLE FINGER. PRODUCING THE DESIRED EFFECTS. COBWEBS ARE USED AS A STYPTIC OF FLESH CUTS OR WOUNDS."
TOOTHACHE CURES: "PUT A PIECE OF GARLIC IN THE EAR ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE ACHING TOOTH. THE WHITE LIMY PARTICLES IN HEN'S FECES WERE SOMETIMES USED. ONE WAS PLACED IN THE HOLLOW OF THE ACHING TOOTH. CUT OFF A BUNCH OF YOUR HAIR AND PLACE IT WITH A CORPSE IN A COFFIN. THIS MUST BE DONE SECRETLY. A BONE FROM A PIG'S SKULL CALLED 'BRAIN TOOTH,' IS CARRIED IN THE POCKET AS A PREVENTATIVE. IT IS ALSO WORN SUSPENDED AROUND A CHILD'S NECK TO ASSIST IN TEETHING."
MY OWN MOTHER, MERLE, INSISTED THAT, WHENEVER I GOT A SORE THROAT, I HAD TO WEAR AN OLD WORK SOCK, OVER A THICK LAYER OF VICKS VAPO-RUB, AND IT WAS FASTENED WITH A BIG SAFETY PIN. I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE AVOIDED THE MUSTARD PLASTER, FOR CHEST INFECTIONS, BUT SHE OFTEN THREATENED ME WITH IT....WHICH ON ITS OWN, WAS ENOUGH TO EITHER PLAY WELL, OR GET WELL FAST. HER OWN MODERN DAY POTION, FOR GENERAL MALAISE, WAS HOT RYE WHISKEY AND WATER, WITH A LITTLE HONEY, AT BEDTIME. I SURE SUCKED THAT BACK WITH A GRIN, AS I DID WITH HER SPECIAL LIQUOR, TIA MARIA, WHICH SHE SAID WOULD BREAK A FEVER LIKE A BULLDOZER THROUGH CONCRETE.
MOST OF US HAVE LIVED WITH THE RELICS OF THESE UNIQUE OLD FOLK REMEDIES, FROM OUR CULTURAL PAST. WHO THOUGHT UP THE RAW STEAK ON A BLACK EYE FOR RELIEF, AND A LESSENING OF THE SWELLING? I'M TOLD IT WORKS, BUT BY GOLLY, THAT'S A WASTE OF A NICE DINNER. I'D RATHER EAT IT AND LIVE WITH THE BLACK EYE. AT LEAST WITH THE COST OF MEAT THESE DAYS.
MY MOTHER TOLD ME I WAS GOING TO GET CANCER IF I PICKED MY NOSE, AND HORRIBLE SINUS PROBLEMS IF I DIDN'T WEAR A HAT, FROM EARLY AUTUMN TO SPRING; IF I DIDN'T WEAR ONE IN THE SUMMER, I WOULD GET SUN STROKE AND CANCER, FROM THE SUN'S RAYS. (SHE WAS BANG ON WITH THIS WARNING) SHE DIDN'T MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT A HAT CAUSING HAIR LOSS. GEEZ, YOU'D THINK SHE MIGHT HAVE WARNED ME ABOUT THAT SIDE-EFFECT. I CAN HEAR HER NOW, "BUT AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T GET CANCER."
IT MUST HAVE BEEN WICKEDLY TOUGH, IN PIONEER TIMES, TO HAVE HAD THE ENTIRE FAMILY STRICKEN BY A RAGING EPIDEMIC....WATCHING HELPLESSLY, AS ONE OF THE INFECTED, AS LOVED ONES WERE DYING, AND WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE ANYONE LEFT ALIVE AT ITS CONCLUSION......MOST OF THE TIME, HAVING NO MEDICAL AID TO EASE THE SUFFERING. I OFTEN WANDER THROUGH REGIONAL CEMETERIES, LOOKING AT THE INSCRIPTIONS STILL VISIBLE ON THESE PIONEER TOMBSTONES, AND HAVE FOUND MANY FAMILY PLOTS, WHERE DEATH VISITED THE SAME HOUSE OVER SEVERAL DAYS, CLAIMING MULTIPLE LIVES. IN THE CASE OF THE DOUGHERTYS, A HOMESTEADING FAMILY ON THE DOUGHERTY ROAD, NAMED IN THEIR HONOR, IN UFFORD (TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES), FIVE FAMILY MEMBERS DIED IN ONE TWENTY-FOUR HOUR PERIOD. THEY ARE BURIED AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, NEAR THE SITE OF THE FORMER HOMESTEAD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF YOUR HECTIC SCHEDULE TO VISIT THIS BLOG-SITE. I HAD A HARD TIME WRITING THIS ONE TODAY, BECAUSE I KEPT GETTING DISTRACTED BY THE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW.....AND THE ACTIVITY OF ALL THE WILD CRITTERS, FLITTING ABOUT, RUSTLING IN THE BED OF NEWLY FALLEN LEAVES, CRESTING OVER THE LONG GRASS IN THE FRONT YARD....... THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO CUT ONCE MORE, THIS SEASON, BUT CONVENIENTLY FORGOT. IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY WEEKEND HERE IN MUSKOKA.....WITH SOME FABULOUS COLORS ACROSS THE WOODLANDS.....AND FRED SCHULZ HAS CAPTURED MANY OF THOSE INCREDIBLE IMAGES OF OUR HOME DISTRICT.
PLEASE JOIN ME FOR MORE THANKSGIVING FEATURE COLUMNS (BLOGS) COMING THIS WEEKEND.
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