Household Crafts and Tips: The Foxfire Americana Library (12) Read online

  The scientific name for a dipper gourd is Cucuribita foetidissima (perennis) and a couple of its common names are calabash and siphon gourd.

  Not very long ago Suzy set up an interview with Lawton Brooks who grows his own gourds and had said he would cut us out a dipper gourd when we came. I was really glad I was involved with what went on that afternoon; the main reason being that it was my first visit to Florence and Lawton’s, and I just enjoyed spending that part of the day with them. When Suzy and I arrived there, we talked awhile as Suzy has known them for a long time. Then we discussed the process of growing gourds. We went on out on the front porch while Lawton talked and made the gourd into a dipper. In an hour or so, we ended up with the gourd finished and ready to be used for drinking.

  ROY DICKERSON

  LAWTON: Gourds’re a thing that has to be planted early, but if frost touches them, it’ll kill’em. You’ve got to get a gourd planted early. Now the way I get mine, and the best way I think to do this is to plant’em the last of March in pots. And then they come up in them pots; well, when they come up, they’ll just grow up a long stem in the shade and two little ol’ leaves will grow up about [six inches] high. But just let’em alone and then you take them out there and you can transplant them. You can set’em out wherever you want to, when you think there ain’t going to be any more danger of frost. Now down at [Suzy’s] place, you’ve got a perfect place ’cause you’re nearly at the frost line. It wouldn’t hit that way like here in these low places, ’cause you’re just about above the frost line. And if you get down there, you can grow’em; you’ve just got to grow some next year. I’m gonna pot a bunch of’em for you. Pick you a good place and I’ll come help you put up your wires; I’ll get your wire. You just furnish the place, and me and you’ll grow us a bunch of gourds.

  ILLUSTRATION 35 Lawton Brooks offered to show us how to make a dipper out of a gourd.

  ILLUSTRATION 36 The gourds themselves ripening on a fence in Happy Dowdle’s back yard.

  ILLUSTRATION 37 Lawton first chooses where the hole is to be cut, and then rings the spot with a pencil line.

  ILLUSTRATION 38 Starting in the center of the penciled circle, he begins to cut through the gourd’s shell with his pocketknife.

  ILLUSTRATION 39 Slowly he trims down to the line itself.

  ILLUSTRATION 40 Next he scrapes out the spongy inside and the seeds, and saves the seeds to plant next spring.

  ILLUSTRATION 41 Then he trims up the edge …

  ILLUSTRATION 42 … files it smooth …

  ILLUSTRATION 43 … and goes to the sink to try it out.

  They like a pretty good soil. They like a little clay in their soil but they need pretty good soil to grow. Manure’s good [for fertilizer]; just regular ol’ stable stuff.

  They have to have support to [grow specifically into a dipper gourd]. If they lay on the ground, they’re liable to grow in just any direction. [A fence for support] wouldn’t have to be too high if you just keep the vine up on the fence. You know how they took to my clothesline up here—they’ll just go from one to another, and they’ll get around. [The gourds] just tie themselves to a fence or anything they can climb. Wherever the vine touches, it attaches itself. Then it goes a little further and ties itself again. You’ll have to break them loose, because they’ve done tied themselves—the wind won’t blow’em down.

  Sometimes a vine will blight, but not bad enough to hurt. I’ve never had any insects bother me. If them ol’ gourds stay there and they mash down into the ground, the seeds will come up in another year volunteer. They’ll mix if you get’em too close to the cucumbers—it’ll be so bitter you can’t eat’em. Now I tried that out. I had my gourds on the lower part of my fence. And my cucumbers were way up here, but the vine runs down that way, y’know, and they didn’t go all the way to the gourds. Anyway, we couldn’t use them cucumbers; they was the most bitter things I ever ate. They was the prettiest cucumbers, but we couldn’t eat’em. They were so bitter we just let them lay there. It didn’t bother the gourds. It’ll make the cucumbers bitter-like; cross pollination is why it happened. I don’t know about squash; I never tried them.

  You ought not to plant [the gourds] any closer than six foot apart. That gives them a chance to go one way and the other, or cross over each other. [Just plant them] along the edge of the fence; they’ll take a runner and go by and hit something, anything, and climb it. Now this man that raised them in Atlanta gave me this gourd here. He planted one by his woodshed and out in a field he laid him a pole in the fork of the apple tree, and that thing went right on up the apple tree and crossed over to the other one and filled’em both up. They was hanging that close together. By gosh, I bet my pick-up [truck] could of been filled up twice. That’s the prettiest sight I ever seen in my life from that vine. That goes to show you there would have been about a thousand if it all would have been counted. So you can’t tell how many you’ll have; it’s according to how they get started, and how they turn out, and the season they get planted.

  It takes them a long while to mature and get ready for the frost; frost keeps’em from rotting. Just let them hang till it frosts on them, or two or three good frosts. That hardens their shell better. Now [that man in Atlanta] hadn’t picked his [gourds] till ’long in the winter and them apple trees was hanging full.

  Leave about three inches shank [when you pick them]; break it off near the vine and leave the rest on the gourd. When you pick’em, you should set’em in a dry, cool place, in the air. Let them settle one or two months, and the seeds get hard and everything. They should be dry enough to rattle. When he gets dried out good and hard, then you can make your dippers. They’re green growing, but turn kind of yellow when mature.

  There’s a type gourd they call a martin gourd. This is for the martin bird. They’ve got another great big one they call a half-bushel gourd. They grow more like a pumpkin. The old folks used to use’em around the house to put something in them for a waste basket or a sewing basket. They’d use the big gourd for it. Just cut the top off and clean’em out. It makes a good one; they’d last from now on. Just like a dipper would last from now on. Old people, when they made their lye soap, they’d use them to make their soap in and store it. And they’ve got a blamed gourd they make a dish out of. It grows kinda like a dish and it’s got a ring around it. You cut out the ring and that ring makes a lid.

  BROOMS AND BRUSHES

  THE MONROE LEDFORD VARIETY

  Through Maco Crafts in Franklin, North Carolina, we were introduced to Monroe Ledford, a delightful person who has raised broomcorn and made brooms for several years as a hobby. He uses the same technique as his parents and grandparents used. He will be retiring soon from road construction and plans to make brooms to supplement his retirement income.

  As we drove up in the Ledfords’ yard, we noticed bunches of sticks in neat piles, lumber near a workshop, and a shock of corn nearby. Off to the side of the house were woods, where Mr. Ledford showed us sourwood saplings that he prefers to use for broom handles.

  Beyond the house, down the hill a short way, was his broomcorn field—about two acres. As we were visiting him in February, the field was bare, but we’re hoping to go back in August and see the broomcorn in full growth.

  Mr. Ledford makes his brooms in the garage adjoining his house. There on the rafters, he has all kinds of sticks to choose from for broom handles and walking sticks. He has his broom straw spread out on timbers in one corner to keep it dry and flat, and convenient to choose from as he makes each broom.

  Interview and photographs by Ken Kistner, Phil Hamilton, and Lanier Watt.

  ILLUSTRATION 44 Monroe Ledford and his brooms.

  ILLUSTRATION 45 Broomcorn

  ILLUSTRATION 46 The harvested straw drying.

  ILLUSTRATION 47 First the seeds are combed out of the tassel or head. Seeds that are not saved for planting the next year are simply plowed under in a nearby pasture.

  ILLUSTRATION 48 Set two small nails in the handle to prevent the
stalks from slipping off after they have been tied in place.

  ILLUSTRATION 49 Surround the end of the handle completely with one layer of stalks.

  ILLUSTRATION 50 The them down in two places with strips of cloth or string. With a knife, shave off or taper the ends of this first layer of stalks to reduce bulk.

  ILLUSTRATION 51 Then add a second layer of stalks and tie them in place temporarily.

  I started to make brooms just for a hobby, that’s all. Just thought I’d make a few brooms, and if somebody wanted them, I would have them to give. And that’s what I did, till I gave away two or three hundred dollars’ worth. The most expensive part of the broom is your time. This little ball of twine that I’m weaving with costs 75¢. It’ll make five or six brooms, maybe more.

  They make a nylon cord that won’t break, but it’s not good to use for weaving brooms because it won’t hold—it’s too slippery. You can’t keep nylon cord tight. The cord I use is made of cotton; it doesn’t stretch.

  I use a type of carpet needle—bowed a bit so that it goes in and out of the stalks easy enough when you’re weaving the string through. It probably costs about 35¢ at the dime store in Franklin.

  About the first of June, I prepare my soil and plant the broomcorn; it’s just like planting corn or sorghum. Only I plant it a lot thicker. Broomcorn [can be planted] about every five inches apart. I guess if your ground is good enough, you probably wouldn’t have to use much fertilizer. It’s not too hard to grow. An acre of broomcorn will make lots of brooms.

  I save most of my seed for the next year. I don’t imagine any stores around here would handle the kind of seed I use. Now that’s something I’ve never done—gone to a store for seed. I guess you could order them from a seed book somewhere.

  ILLUSTRATION 52 Lay the broom on a cement floor or in a long trough of some type. Cover it with a burlap sack and pour scalding water over the broom to soften the stalks so that they will be pliable enough to stitch through them. Leave them under the wet sack about ten to fifteen minutes. String will now be tied tightly around the broom to hold the stalks in place permanently. To do this, Mr. Ledford uses an apparatus of the same type used by his parents’ generation. Hang a rope from a rafter; it must be long enough to allow a loop at the bottom for the broom maker’s foot, four to six inches above the floor. Wrap the rope once around the broom near the point where it will be tied. Push down on the rope with your foot to tighten the loop around the broom. Twisting the broom upward will tighten the loop more.

  ILLUSTRATION 53 When it seems quite tight, take a five- or six-foot piece of heavy-duty cotton string threaded through a carpet needle. Run this through the center of the brush right below the point at which the stalks stop and the brush begins (top). The needle will have to be pulled through with pliers. Then bring the needle out and twist string all the way around the broom and tie very tightly. As the broom straw dries, it will expand around the string, tightening it further. Twist the loose end of the string so that it goes into the center of the broom and will not be seen (bottom left). If you want to weave the stalks instead of simply ringing them in four places, start weaving the string from the brush and weave toward the bare handle in a standard over one, under one pattern. If you end up needing to weave two stalks at one time to keep the pattern, go ahead (bottom right). Mr. Ledford says he has tried to put an odd number of stalks around, but it rarely works out that way, so he doesn’t worry about it any more. He just catches up two stalks if he needs to.

  ILLUSTRATION 54 To finish up, put the broom back in the loop of the rope apparatus near the top of the stalks and tighten. Tie the string very tightly at the top to finish off the weaving. The excess string may be used to make a loop there to hang the broom by the fireplace. Trim off the excess stalk at the top of the string. Leave a string or rag wrapped around the lower part of the broom to keep the brush from spreading until the broom is hung by the fireplace or wherever it will be kept.

  ILLUSTRATION 55 Several handle designs are common. The style chosen depended on personal preference.

  About eight years ago, a neighbor gave me a handful of broomcorn seed. I never thought to ask them where they got the seed. I planted them and that’s how I got started in the broom business. About ten or fifteen years ago, my stepmother gave me some seed—I don’t know where she got them, South Carolina, maybe—and I grew the corn to make that broom there [standing in the corner of the garage]. I had enough corn for several brooms, but I was busy, and just made that one and left the rest to lie around and ruin.

  September is when I start cutting it—before frost—when the head begins to be pretty well filled out, while the seeds are still green. This happens before you know it. Then I go and break the stalk about three feet below the top, and let that hang down. This helps the brush to stay straight. If the stalk is not broken over like this, the straw becomes too heavy with seeds and begins to fall down and turn the wrong way.

  So that’s the first thing I do. After a few days I cut it. Broomcorn should be cut while still green. It makes tougher brooms this way.

  You want to leave it out to cure, but you must be careful not to let it get rained on too much; it mildews and deteriorates pretty quickly while it’s green. I don’t like to leave it out in the field after it’s cut; I’d rather not have it rained on. I like to keep it dry and just put it out in the sun each day—it’s got to have sunshine to cure.

  Some people like a red-colored broom. If the broomcorn is not harvested, or cut, until after it is completely ripe, the straw will be red. The straw is more brittle, and the broom not quite so durable, as one made with broomcorn cut before it is fully ripe, but for some people this is suitable because the broom will be used for ornamentation more than utility.

  After I cure it, I cut the stalks in the shape I want them. I cut them at an angle or split off part of the stalk to reduce bulk around the handle of the broom.

  I comb the seeds of the straw with a child’s saw that one of my grandsons had left around here. Any kind of sharp-toothed tool could be used, just to rake out the seeds and fluff up the straw.

  My brooms are generally three and a half to four feet long from the top of the stick down to the end of the brush. I have to pick out stalks that match, that are pretty much the same length. Sometimes I put the best corn inside just to get the right length to match around the outside. Sometimes I put the big, long brushes inside; the bigger and longer the brush, the tougher and better broom you’ve got, you know.

  Then they’re ready to place on the broomstick. Now what they call a hearth broom, if I understand it right, is just stalks—no broomstick. Although some people do put a small stick in them, long stalks of broomcorn can be used and just bunched together and the stalks woven as for a regular broom. Just use long stalks, and use the stalk handle to hold it. It’s the same length as those longer stalks that aren’t split. Well, to make a hearth broom, I do split part of them that won’t show, and then leave the ones on the outside unsplit.

  THE AUNT CELIA WOOD VARIETY

  “How does it feel to be one hundred years old?” was one of the first questions we asked Aunt Celia Wood. “Well, not much different from ninety-nine,” was all the answer we got.

  Aunt Celia is our oldest contact, and even at one hundred she still keeps her house spotless. She also makes her own brooms out of broom sage and twine. As she showed us how, she talked of various things. She has definite opinions on many current subjects, and we were fascinated by her spirited comments on such things as politics and religion.

  ILLUSTRATION 56

  On Going to the Moon: I don’t believe there is no such business. When God made this world, he gave man authority t’subdue [animals]. Gave control over fowls, beasts, fish. Well, God left space for himself. He’s got th’sun, moon, stars. Man ain’t got no business a’foolin’ with’em.

  On Politics: They’s a lot of things goin’ on that oughtn’t. Hit’s th’leaders of th’country. Congress, and th’President said America was sick. Do
ctor it! Congress is treatin’ America like a doctor who don’t know what he’s a’doin’.

  [When women got the right to vote] I registered. I voted several years. I didn’t care whether I did or not, but my husband wanted me t’register and vote. Said th’other women was all a’doin’ that, and most of’em did. I wish they hadn’t, ’cause they gave’em that privilege and now they’re a’tryin’ t’take over. I don’t like that—even if I am a woman. I think that’s men’s work. ’Course they’re makin’ a right smart mess out of it. Maybe if th’women had it all they might do better.

  On Religion: Well, I couldn’t live without it. When I’uz thirteen years old, I joined th’Baptist church. I’ve been a Baptist ever since. I don’t fall out with th’other denominations because hit’s not th’church that saves’y’. Don’t do you any good t’join th’church if you ain’t saved.

  I’m a’lookin’ forward to a better time than I’ve got. I’ve enjoyed life. I’ve had a lot a’sorrow. I’d a’never went through it all if it hadn’t a’been for th’Lord.

  My parents treated us strict. There were parties. We never went to ’em. My daddy said dances would lead you wrong. They trained me that they was a Lord over us all. And they’d read th’Bible to us every night. Had a big fireplace. I can see m’old daddy. After supper he’d throw in a piece a’pine wood, lean his chair back, and read th’Bible to us. I wuz th’oldest. Then he’d get his songbook and they’d set there and sing. We enjoyed it. We knowed t’behave. I think that has a lot t’do with our young people. Young people get into mischief, but you’ll think about what daddy and mommy said.