Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-11-04
HOG KlLLIN' TIME.

|
| ised. "Butcherin' time" is any old time
| in this modern period. Often as not
there is no butcherin day at all; the
up-to-date farmer is likely to haul the
I hogs in TO the butcher, pay him the
price of slaughter and haul out the
prepared products Of the butcferin
When the work is done at home there
! is little OF preparation or expectation.
They simply haul hos out OF the herd,
kill and dress him and eat him fresh"
/ Two hogs at a time is big butchern.
J But away hack then hog killing time
meant much. ! brought the neighhors
together on KILN day changing work
and getting the job over between sun
and sun. or rather between daylight and
midnight. Among those old time Roose-
veltian families TO butcher nine or ten
hogs and beef al one time was com
mon.
L began before daylight The big
iron kettle had been set in place the
night before Il was flied and the fire
s-,a-.,e5 S,eai.-. was eaten by lamp
light and the wash boiler. the kettles
INFO the hot water service. Il was in
va-iably- q cold day The proper tenn
perature for a perfect hog killing Gay
was such that would freeze the con-
tents of a ''washdish" of water tossed
into the air and render il back 10 earth
IN hail. The knives of the ne;ghborhood
we're made sharp and there were fam
GUS butcher knives made from files by
the local blacksmith that were know
and noted even outside OF the locality.
No boy or girl went TO school that day.
They STAGED al home. ran errands car
ried water and were ordered out o. the
way.
One by one the porke-s were dragged
ou- to die the death. One by one they
were soused into the scahding barrel
with It's not water tempered wisely
. with ashes, drawn out 10 cool lest the
, hair set and soused il again for the
j, fnal loosening of bristles. Woe to the
: butcher who failed to get a good
Scald' He sell a. once TO the level Of
the er-and boys
Our o. he barrel the hog came and
: iron candlesticks welded by q half doz-
: en hands were swift in denuding him
! OF his covering. Some hurrying boy
brought the "gambrel Stick Up went
! the porker with much straining and
: grUnting on the part of his slayers
. The dressing was completed, the last
: laiful Of cod water carefully removed
from his skin by 4scraping Up" ana he
hung in the crisp air and bright sun
light Of the keen December day whit
I and clean, a promise agains- famine.
a Side By side with him hunghis slaugh.-
: er@d mates row of ghastly bur full Of
I promise 10 the boy whose appetite
: looked beyond butcherin' day to buck
9 "'heac cakes with ham gravy on en-
Then the "coolin out Of the animal
heat" and the cutting up. Such piles
Of round hams. such strips of IL. side
meat, such noutains Of chimes Hour
: after hour the sausage meat" was fed
into the grinder and sent home into the
carefully prepared cases" thru the
i "~7urst horn as the old German
> butcher called IT to the huge anuse-
: nent of the younger ones. When ali
d was finished there vera washtubs full
IS Of coiled links Of the finest HON ema dc
d sausage you ever saw, stacks Of hams
Il ard shoulders and barrels of picked
a pork ard corned beef And along in
the spring you might have searched in
It vain for a meat rind. Down in the eel.
" lar these barrels stood, close by tbs
p fragrant apple bins and near the bar.
n rels Of cider.
Al We have no real KILN time an,
! more. The packers are doing our hos
&c killing and the corned beef barrel 1.
only a memory. But few Of us remem
= Der when we didn't live from hand I,
mouth, buy buckwineat -four in carton,
and sausage by the dimes worth aut
| il is worth remembering FOO