2000-08-27 - 20:38 MDT

August 27, 2000

Use And Name

Last year I think it was, that I went to an estate sale with my Eugene family, and in going through the house which obviously had been occupied by super oldsters who possibly owned possessions of their ancestors too. The chinaware as exquisite, translucent and beautiful. The bookshelves occupied with classics.

In going around in the house we discovered things that I knew not the name for or it's use. Daughter held up this little thing made from round steel with a curved around in on itself end -- the curved part flattened, the other end was fashioned with a graceful hook, she asked, "Daddy, what is this ?" I looked over and said, "That's a button hook lady," and went on doing my nosing around. Her next comment was also in the form of a question, "What is a button hook and what do you use it for, button what ?" So then, reaching back into the very dim archives in the back of my mind came the pertinent explanation. "Dear, before my time ladies wore high topped shoes, about midway between ankle and knee. They were not laced, but buttoned with sturdy buttons. Imagine trying to get a button through a hole in the leather. To save the ladies delicate hands from bruises and pain, the button hook was invented, reaching in through the hole in the shoe the button was easily led and pulled through the hole."

Later on she brought a flat piece of metal with a slotted hole and a round hole at the broadest end. Fortunately I remembered

the name of that instrument too. I told her, "That's a bodkin honey, one thing it was used for was to pull the elastic through the tube at the waist of underclothing. Around the sewing machine were many things I could not identify and so I headed for man's country -- the garage.

There were so many things out there that I could see what they were used for, but the name probably was never in my memory. Calipers which could be set to a certain thickness and were hinged in such a way that they could be opened up and removed and put back in position to show the measure desired. Horse shoer's rasps, which were excellent for rough shaping and trimming wood. Sheep shears which were used for trimming the grass. A set of Quoits like the ones my uncle had, iron, about maybe a pound each, very thick in the middle tapering to the edge, a hole maybe two and a half inches in diameter in the center and a small notch on the edge.

The quoits were in my fond memories and I enjoyed telling her about the family picnics and the hard-boiled eggs in beet juice, the watermelons and cold drinks, penned in by a small dam we boys had built, and then the quoits. I never knew the real setup, but the distance was measured as in setting up the horseshoe games, the stakes were the same and driven in the ground the same as horseshoes. What fun the game was, when you made a ringer your name was fame for that day. The little notch on the periphery was for the tip of the index finger to fit to help aim and control the disc.

There were many things we looked at and discussed trying to figure out what they were for I finally identified a cherry pitter, an apple parer and the old fashioned dandelion digger. Where the photos and albums were kept were packages of little things that the kids were curious about. They were called "Art Corners," and were used to mount photos in the albums. I remembered my Mom putting one on each corner of a picture, quickly licking the back of each one and placing it on the page of the album. On nice thing about that method, the picture could be taken out and put back again.

Back in the garage my son-in-law ran on to some rolls of tape and asked me about them, I told him that years before plastic and duct tape the tape he was looking at was used and it was called, "Friction Tape." I told him how we boys would part with precious pennies for a roll of it to put around the bat handles -- sure gave us a good grip on the ball bat. It was also a make do cure for an ailing baseball splitting at the seams. A good wrapping with Friction Tape and we got some more mileage out of the ball. Another use for it was by an adult who could apply the right tension and direction to mend a leaky garden hose, properly done and the hose properly handled, a seasons use could be expected.

Memories are the stock in trade of the seniors.

In those days Carbide could be bought in most any hardware store and also the miners lamps that used it. Most of us kids sooner or later had a hat we could wear the lamp on, with it lit we would try to find dark places to play so that we could dimly see. Another use for carbide (for us kids) was the tin can cannon. Once cocoa cans were metal and had a friction fit lid. A hole punched in the bottom, a hunk of carbide, a blob of spit and the lid forced on and then the application of a lit match to the hole would cause the bang and the lid would be blown a fair distance. Later on we engineered nested, cylindrical cans and would blow a whole can quite a ways up in the air. Other things that could be bought at the hardware store were knives of all kinds, jacks, hunting, filleting, shotgun shells, cartridges and all kinds of fishing tackle. Coal scuttles, galvanized wash tubs, and the corrugated galvanized, bound in wood washboards were plentiful.

Another thing in the hardware stores were the Wood Grainers, implements used with varnish of different grades. When the undercoat was dry, a varnish of a different color or shade would be applied and the Wood Grainer used with a sort of rocking motion with the end result the finish would look like wood grain. Glue pots where wood glue was melted and kept hot until used. Funny looking popcorn poppers for use on the top of a stove, and the four sided funny looking bread toasters to use stove top.

The flat carpenter's pencils and the plumb bobs were items used in our play.

All the previously mentioned stuff had a valid use. But from the novelty store next door were the fun things too, I remember the noise and smell of cap guns firing and my first acquaintance with the automatic feed for the gats. Daisy BB guns and Benjamin Pump pellet guns. Kites of all kinds, kite string. Tops and Tootsie cars (matchbox type), toy soldiers (cast lead). So many things from that time, forgotten -- the use and name.

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