The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1913-07-17

tatoes, cabbage, beans or whatever
was in that particular pot. The next
waiter would be holding aloft on a
large two-pronged fork. a piece OF
roast-beef, or perhaps large spoon
of hash and dab into your plate that
would go, ano so on down the line.
Then another would hand you bread
and butter, and at last with a large
dipper of hot coffee would pour itinto
your quart cup as you passed it along.
1t was interesting to see how like
clock work everything was done, no
questions to ask, all was done for US
that was necessary. The food was
well cooked and wholesome, and not
the same all the time. For break
fast regularly each morning, two
nice soft boiled eggs were added. A
long table with seats was placed just
across the street from the kitchen,
where fifty or more could sit, eat,
laugh and talk, which made every
thing so very easy and all seemed like
one big family. 1t was surprising
TO see how soon all this was done, no
one had to wait long enough to get
tired. A large pit was made in the
ground at the kitchen in the mid
die of the street, but not in the way
at all and all scraps of food left on
the plates were thrown into this ever
burning pit of fire, also all waste pa
per and everything that was calcu-
lated to cause filth or breed disease.
The dishes were returned to the ta-
BILE, where the dish washer took care
of them at once and all were stacked
at the end of the table in regular ro-
tation, cups put in great stacks next
to the plates. next knives and forks,
and then spoons. No trouble, every
thing handy and not any confusion
as with some of our people here in
Williamsburg, where generally all is
confusion, like some old woman hunt
ing for the dishcloth, inquired excit-
edly of one of the children:
Where is the dishcloth?"
"Why, pap has put it on the
horses sore back"
Go get it for me and give it a
cold water rinse. 'spise nassiness.
And so it is with many of our South
ern people.
Some one writing a few years ago
said the Southern people were
shiftless set t,and a good deal of what
the writer said was true. Of course,
we have many who keep things in
proper order, but | am old enough
to see where this carclessness and
shiftlessness came from. When this
was a slave country and nearly all
who lived out of the cities were used
to being waited on. harnessing or
saddling a horse, handing drink OF
water, untying the shoes, washing
the feet, etc, were all done by serv-
ants, and l almost forgave the fail
ure to throw water out or the basin
after washing face and hands. So we
see a good deal of this carelessness
is inherited. 1t is in the blood but is
coming out gradually.
While passing through the coun-
try and looking from the car win
dow, l could not fail to notice how
much neater and cleaner the farms
are after entering Virginia, and in
Pennsylvania the change is very
great. On the Western Maryland
railroad for hundred miles or more
l did not see a single plow, rake,
mower or any other kind of farm
implement lying about the fields or
fence corners; everything was stored
away in the barns and protected
from the weather; no bushes along
the fences or bitches and no stumps.
All on the ground was the golden
grain, wheat as high as ones shoul-
der and ready for the mower. Some
was already cut and shocked, and if