Vocabulary and Memories

At Land Between the Lakes in Western Kentucky,  I went to “The Homeplace”  an 1850 working farm complete with crops, animals, buildings, and antiques.  In the museum there was a description of the tobacco curing process. Having grown up on a Burley tobacco farm, I was reminiscing. In  the Western region of Ky.  the Dark Fired Tobacco was grown, it being very similar to the Burley that we grew.  When I read this one sign I laughed out loud. Just a few miles down the road and the language changes.

For those not familiar with the growing of tobacco, perhaps I should explain. After tobacco is cut and housed in the barn for curing, it has to be stripped from the stalk.  For the stripping process it can not be dry and brittle. The humidity needs to be just right for the tobacco to be flexible enough to strip without crumbling. Those mornings the humidity was just right we said tobacco is "in case" and off to the stripping room everyone went.

Of course “we” know that tobacco comes “in case” but I guess the folks in Western Ky. and Tennessee thinks it comes “in order”..........

 This is a "hand" of tobacco after it has been stripped.

 

This next pic really brought back memories! Grandpa Wesley had a wooden box that he kept at the head of the stairs with his "twist" in it. I can just see him go and unbutton the wooden button on the door that went up the winding  stairs. He would just go to the first step and reach up over his head and get a “twist” from the wooden box .He mixed the twist with a store bought “plug” that probably cost about a nickel or a dime. I can also remember him making the twist during a cold winter day while sitting beside the heating stove. Oh, the memories.