If not, a repeat of the entire process usually did the trick.

More extreme skin issues could be treated by pulling a red beet from the garden, cutting it in two, using a spoon to scrape bits of the beet, gathering about a tablespoon, then applying it to inflamed skin sores, covering the area with a white cloth bandage made from strips of worn-out bed sheets.Īlmost always, the drawing power of the red beet worked overnight to make the problem disappear. In Kalish’s book, she touches on this, and notes the importance of rinsing with cool water, not warm, or bits of cooked egg would create a challenging mess. A fresh egg could be used on hair to make it shiny. My grandmother told of using every single bit of an egg, including the membrane inside it for skin cleansing, and as a remedy to draw splinters.

He saved the $4 fee that would have been charged by the dentist for another need. Using a toothpick, her grandfather would touch the solution to the nerve root of his aching tooth. A snippet of white cloth was dipped into the carbolic acid. Knowing he couldn’t spare the time, gasoline, money and energy to go to a dentist in the nearest town, she recalls him climbing a ladder to the uppermost shelf in the kitchen cupboard.Ī tiny, square, brown glass bottle with a bright red skull and crossbones was retrieved, the glass stopper removed. The author Mildred Armstrong Kalish describes watching her grandfather suffer with a toothache. Our ancestors who lived through the Great Depression not only knew how to live on scraps, they also prevailed over physical pain with whatever means available. We live now in the land of plenty, delicious Thanksgiving feasts, a reminder of how lush life can be. I have always been drawn to stories born of survival, because I believe it says so much of what capable creatures humans really are when in an extreme situation. Those who say we have become soft are correct in both observation and concern, but without the pressure cooker of extreme need, it stands to reason how we’ve arrived here. Mildred Armstrong Kalish, Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression Throughout our community there seemed to be a quiet competition to see who could be the most thrifty.” “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without.

Mildred armstrong kalish