The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-04-02
For The Telegraph
WHAT OLD PEOPLE TALK
ABOUT.

There are old people in this city and
county who have vivid recOllections
of the manners, customs and modes OF
living sixty and more years ago. Many
of the younger race often listen with
interest to the historic statements of
their parents and grandparents, of
what were the customs of early times,
and how the people lived in the days
of yore. Take for example the state
of New York, because more families
in this part of the west came here from
that state than any other. With the
earliest recollections of some of our
citizens, four-fifths of the farm houses
in central and western New York were
built of Representatives. rough hewn
inside and sometimes not hewn at all.
More than one-half of the houses had
only one room, which was ON the first
floor, and made to answer for kitchen,
dining and sitting room and sleeping
room. Each house commonly had
low chamber or garnet, where the
young people and children slept. and
which apartment was usually reached
by ladder. the furnishments of the
house were of the most primitive kind.
One corner Of the room was fitted up
with shelves, on which were placed
the table dishes; there was commonly
one or two good-sized chests, in which
were deposited the mice things" and
the Sunday wear clothing. No bureaus
or pictures, except perhaps such as
may have been cut from pictorial pa
pers, and no decorative attractions, ex-
cept wild flowers in the season Of them.
1t was many years before stoves of
any kind were used in farm houses;
even the ordinary box stove was al
most unknown. Every house, of
course, had fireplace and chimney
the fire. place consisted of substantial
stone wall built against the logs of the
house at one end of the room. The
foundation of the chimney began on q
level with the. floor, and was frequent
ly of the sort called "stick chimney"
the material of which consisted of
strips of wood about five feet long at
the foundation, and gradually made
shorter as the chimney progressed up
ward; the strips were laid in clay
mortar, in which was mixed cut straw
to preserve the adhesiveness. Where
stone was plenty and easily obtainable.
it was usually preferred as better safe
ty against fire. Wood being altogether
used for fuel, the main sticks of wood
had appropriate names which every
one understood. The shack log" was
usually as heavy as one man could we'll
manage; against that the andirons
were placed; then came the fore
stick" less than half the size of the
back log, and between these smaller
wood was ready for the fire.
1t must be borne in mind that dur.
ing all the early years of which we
speak, friction matches were unknown
when a fire expired the only means of
reminding it was by the use of steel
and finder. The only safety for fami-
lies residing at distance from neigh.
bors was to never let their fires go out.
Cases occurred where people living re-
motely from neighbors were obliged to
go miles of a cold morning after fire,
when their apparatus for striking fire
failed. The utensils for cooking were
not many; there Were generally two
or three pots of different sizes, fry
ing pan, a bak e-kettIe and a skillet and
spider. OLD TIME.
(To be Continued.)