The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1949-04-28
HORSE AND
BUGGY DAYS
Giddapl
by
Ida 10 Martin

Giddapl
Lets go for a little Buggy ride,
back over few hills, and a few
years, to farm near Maugansville.
Here we would find young boy by
the name of George Washington
Petre, now one of the older res
idents Of Maugansville, his life full
of memories, and one / wish to
thank for many stories of the old
days,
An interesting little incident that
took place near by in those days, is
suggested by the often heard com
mand to the horse to Get Up, or
Cit Up, or "Giddap', or just speak
ing the name of the horse, or just
"Clucking" or whistling, or just a
jerk on the reins( a short, quick pull
on the reins).
One of the neighbors was very
short spoken, usually speaking in
monosyllables, are rarely at that. He
was met on the road one day by an
other neighbor, who stopped him and
asked him for help for a sick mule.
He said What did you give trat mule
of your when he had the distemper?"
The short-spoken one answered:
"Turpentine, Giddap,' and he drove
away Two weeks later they met
again, and again the neighbor spoke:
Say, l gave that mule turpentine,
and it killed him" The short spoken
one answered: KILLED mine too,
Giddap"
But the real purpose of our visit
to the Petre farm was to see an old
fashioned method Of coloring Easter
eggs. First the eggs were hard boil
ed, as usual Then in another ket-
tie, Mrs. Petre, the mother of the
present George, placed several
handsfull of the outer skins of onions,
that had been raised in the garden
and stored in dry place over win
ter, These she scalded, and then
among the skins, she placed the eggs
to be colored. After a while the
eggs were removed, and placed to
dry, a beautiful rich brown color
In those old days, bought color
ing would have been an un-heard-
of luxury, and the onion skin method,
as well as others, was used every
Easter. So in the year of 1880,
among the eggs colored in this home
was one that the boy kept; and he
has it today, still beautiful, brown
Easter egg, seventy years old. On
this egg was scratched some de
signs, flowers, and a squirrel, and on
the other side, Mr. Petre's initials,
and the year This was all care
fully scratched on the shell of the
egg with a pin, and the artist was
a young man, George S. Keener, who
later became the well known Bishop
in this community. Mr. Petre is
keeping this egg in a tiny woven
basket, just about the right size for
one chicken egg, very old basket,
and he will not allow anyone to so
much as touch the egg.
Mr.. Petre was telling me another
old custom. He said that he often
saw his mother take the discarded
black walnut bulls, the outer hull
that stains boys hand such beautiful
brown, and make sort of dye from
them. She would boil a quantity of
clean walnut hulls in a kettle of
water, strain out the hulls, and then
dip the family's clothes, especially
underclothes, in this dark liquid
Of course they came out a nearly
permanent brown, just the thing to
keep dirt from showing.
Mr.. Petre then showed me much
older relic. This was an old time
bag Wagon" He said that as a
child he often played on it, and af-
ter that, hauled many bags of wheat
and grain from the threSher. And
now of course it has retired, along
with Mr., Petre, from all such siren
uous labor. This is a hand made bag
wagon, well over a century old,
made before March II of 1881. On