by Oris George
Before God made computers, He made pencils. If you go by the George home on any given Writer’s Night, you’ll be seated before a roaring fire, provided a comfy chair, a cozy cup of the most delectable hot chocolate, plenty of paper and a pencil. Yes, a pencil. Because when you’re at the Oris George home, it’s like stepping back in time to those cozy, comfortable days that passed long ago… along the back roads of yesterday.
~Jan Verhoeff
Unfamiliar Words & Phrases (Glossary)
As you read the stories inside this book, you may come across a few words or phrases that are unfamiliar to you. These words and phrases are not uncommon in some areas, but in others are totally unheard of. I’ve gathered a list of unlikely words and phrases to help you understand each of the stories in this book.
The Man at the Side of the Road
Driving to cart…..A mule or horse hitched to a cart going down the road.
Walking Staff…..Walking or hiking with a single walking staff or pole can give an extra point of stability.
Little Man
Leg Up…..Help someone mount a horse or mule.
Home Comfort cookstove…..Beautifully made wood-burning kitchen stove. The Cadillac of cookstoves.
Heat grill…..A grill mounted in the floor which enabled heat from the rooms below to flow upward in a multi-story house.
Stove lid…..A cover mounted in the top of a wood-burning cookstove. Usually cast iron and can become very hot very quickly.
Ol Sam, a Mule
Percheron…..An extremely large breed of draft horse known for their willingness to work, musculature and intelligence. They were originally bred as war horses.
Mammoth Jack…..An extremely large donkey standing at least 14 hands high (56 inches).
Kansas Chief…..A world famous Mammoth Jack around 1916.
Feed alley…..The alley in front of horse stalls.
Mule Apples!
Rhode Island Red hen…..A breed of chicken originally bred in Rhode Island. Known for their bright red color. Layers of large brown eggs.
Candled eggs…..Process of determining whether or not an egg has been fertilized or has a spot in the egg.. The eggs were passed in front of a candle in a darkened room or in a box to keep extraneous light from shining on the egg. Fertilized eggs are preferred by some people, not preferred by other people. Fertilized eggs are popular in health food circles.
Studebaker cart…..A horse/mule-drawn cart built by the Studebaker Company before they started producing automobiles.
White Leghorn…..Prolific layer of white eggs.
Speck inside the egg…..An egg which has been fertilized will show a speck inside it in the candling process. Also, a bloody speck will show.
Cow-hocked…..A condition in which the rear legs of an animal appear bent inward at the knees. Causes painful walking in most animals.
A Perfect Understanding
Spring Wagon……Old time horse/mule-drawn wagon, so called because it had springs running across the width under the wagon bed, giving a softer ride.
Mammoth Jennet…..A female of the Mammoth Jack breed.
Hands…..4 inches, the average hand width used to measure the height of a mule or horse without using a tape measure. 14 hands high. 14hh (56 inches tall at the withers). 16 hh (64 inches tall at the withers).
Palomino…..A particular color pattern of a mule/horse consisting of a gold-colored body with white mane and tail.
Snuffy Smith…..Hillbilly character in the comic strip ‘Barney Google.’
Jenny…..A female donkey.
Attila the Hun…..Attila is generally acknowledged as the cruel leader of the Huns who conquered most of Europe from Eurasia during the 5 century A.D.
Fox Trot…..A four-beat diagonal gait in which the horse/mule appears to walk with its front legs and trot with its hind. The gait, however, is not a mixed patter of footfalls, it has a clear pattern of diagonal foot movement where the front foot hits the ground split-second before the opposite rear foot. The head shakes in unison with the rhythm of the gait. The tail perfectly balances the movements of the head. Because the animal has a four-beat motion rather than a two-beat trot, the gait produces a smooth, comfortable ride. It is accompanied by an up and down head nodding.
Gaited…..the ability of a gait, usually between 10-17 mph.
Ol’ Blue and Charlie
Trace chains…..The chains, eight links, on the end of two heavy straps connecting a horse/mule to the vehicle it is pulling.
Hame…..One of the two curved metal or wooden pieces of a harness to which the tugs or trace chains are connected.
End gate…..The wooden equivalent of a tailgate on a horse cart.
Collar pad…..A pad which goes underneath a horse or mule’s collar which keeps the collar from rubbing its skin raw.
A Man Full-Grown and His Donkey
Sam Hill…..Euphemism for hell.
4-H…..A youth organization administered by a sub-division of the USDA. At this time it was an agriculturally focused organization.
Bull Durham…..A particularly hot-burning shredded tobacco leaf produced in a cotton pouch for roll-your-own cigarettes.
Buffaloed…..Bewildered, faked out.
Hitch ring…..A steel ring (usually mounted on a post) for tying a horse/mule.
Blue roan…..A donkey with white hairs intermingled with a black base color, except in the mane, tail, head and legs.
Mower knife…. A long knife with numerous sharp individual sections used in a Horse drawn mower to cut hay.
Ball peen hammer…..A blacksmith’s hammer with a flat face on one side and a hemispherical face on the opposite.
Head gate…..A control gate which controls the flow of water in an irrigation ditch.
#2 irrigating shovel…..A spade-shaped shovel used for flood irrigation. Sometimes half of the blade length is cut away keeping the original shape, making it easier to handle the weight of the mud in the ditch.
Faded Blue Bonnet
V-2 Rocket…..A large liquid-fueled missile developed and used during WW2 by Nazi Germany.
Slip…..A small implement used to move dirt pulled by mules/horses.
Fresno…..An implement used to move dirt pulled by mules/horses.
Span of Mules…..Two mules hitched together.
Feed Straw…..When hay is in short supply, it was possible to feed mules straw. Straw can be a good energy source for draft animals, but it is extremely low in protein for them.
Help in the Hay…..The process of converting the various types of hay into a storable supply of food for farm animals.
Sounds Like a Plan
Scratched a match on my pant leg…..Denim pants were made of much coarser material in the past. A strike-anywhere match could be lit on a pant leg because of the heat generated.
Rockford pocket watch…..A beautifully made pocket watch produced by the Rockford watch company between 1876 and 1915. Approximately one million watches were made by this company.
Elmer’s Bull
Bains wagon…..A buckboard-style wagon produced in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Heel chains….. The chains, eight links, on the end of two heavy straps connecting a horse/mule to the vehicle or farm implement they are pulling.
Tugs / traces….Long heavy leather straps or chains that connect a horse/mule to the vehicle or farm implement they are pulling.
Canvas water bag…..A water bag made of canvas which keeps water cool through evaporation.
Five wires….Five single strands of barbed wire fencing.
Nose ring…..A steel or copper ring installed through the nose of a farm animal to give control of the animal.
Mill tails o’hell…..A mill tail is the water flowing after passing through a water-powered mill. You can figure out the rest.
Mucked out…..Cleaned out calf droppings and soiled bedding straw. A real sh!@#y job.
Pantywaist…..At the time, a particularly vile thing to call your friend.
Sugar-tit
…..Cloth tied around a bit of sugar to serve as a pacifier; before pacifiers were invented, if you can believe it.
Cedar post…..Western red cedar provides some of the best fence post material in the world. It will outlast steel posts by more than 20 years.
Changed the water…..Changed the flow of water in a garden or crop field from one row to another to ensure all plants are provided adequate water.