tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501801448727519087.post8696061204908075588..comments2023-10-25T05:27:29.747-04:00Comments on Hazard's Glory Years: Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07317006270413179850noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501801448727519087.post-3304562595110449942009-09-04T18:06:13.791-04:002009-09-04T18:06:13.791-04:00Growing up in Hazard in the thirties and forties, ...Growing up in Hazard in the thirties and forties, I witnessed many neck-wringing, head-chopping (my Mom used a meat cleaver), throwing in a tub of scalding water, feather-plucking, cutting up the body in sections, and frying on a wood-burning, coal-burning stove in a cast-iron skillet. It tasted soooooooo goooood!!<br />My older brother claimed to have had a fight with a rooster one time, but he lost the fight and claimed that was why the eyesight in his right eye was so weak!!Billie Reda Sowershttp://aol.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501801448727519087.post-723244314877868102009-08-11T21:46:48.249-04:002009-08-11T21:46:48.249-04:00We have had many similar experiences. I was flogge...We have had many similar experiences. I was flogged by roosters and mother hens many times as we all played or worked in their case in the same back yard in Western Kentucky where I lived full time for awhile and part time for longer. I fought back to the point where most of them learned to leave me alone. Anyway, I ate so many chickens (from the age of about 10, a fried chicken for me and a chicken for the rest of the family was the norm; of course, they were generally `pullets' not full size chickens) that I felt like the winner! Mostly we drank cistern water but I agree with you, well water was colder and sweeter. As far as the outhouse goes, we were pretty sophisticated in Marion, KY. There was a very small `hole' for me so I didn't have to worry about falling through. In those days I could still smell and the odor I remember to this day. The catalogs(Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward) were for toilet paper. Surely Aunt Emmer didn't have regular toilet paper in her outhouse. Of course, the paper was firm and slick and not really `good for the task' but in those days, nothing was wasted. The catalogues also serve for reading entertainment, if you were there for an extended period. And finally, they were weapons. All you would had to do was to open the door and chuck a catalog at that bossy hen; she would have found something to do elsewhere in a hurry. I'm sure you must have shared my memories of the preparation for a chicken dinner. My aunt would grasp a pullet by the head in each of her hands and start walking and whirling the birds. Soon the bodies would fly off, spurt blood everywhere and jump around a bit before they gave up and lay quietly. Then came the feather plucking, then the water bath, then the `dicing' into parts and then the `frying'! My playmates and I would always try to be present for the `beheading' as that was really dramatic!James H. Dobynsnoreply@blogger.com