 Mentionables
.....and Memmorabilia
I was talking to an old friend of mine down in Devonshire the other
night. We were talking about
early days. Miss Maureen
Pearman's mother was Alice Margaret Pearman. They are a very proud old
Devonshire family.
Here are a few of the things Maureen mentioned to me:
"My mother's dad about every three months left to go down to
Argentina to get cattle for Bermuda with old Captain Frith.
One time the cattle got away and stamped when the got of f the ship
in Hamilton. They went up
queen St. and up Reid St. The Lodge was coming down Reid Street....all the oxen came
around the corner with their long horns and broke up that set up!
Sometimes those trips took three months each way, depending on the
weather."
Then we were talking about what the old folks used to do for medicine in
the family - "Ginger Root is good for gas and pain in the
stomach."
"Papaws were plentiful twenty years ago - they were good for blood
pressure, you know."
"Cats Cradles - we used to call them Ruberk - that makes the skin
close when you cut yourself."
"Periwinkles, white or pink. White
is good for blood pressure and for diabetes."
"Aloe. Aloe is good for
cuts and burns and almost anything to do with the skin. It's good for
colds too. It tastes terrible
- you boil it and it gets thick. Break
it down with water, put a little lemon juice with it - sugar to
taste."
Most of these things that the older generations believed in and used were
founded in sound medical principles.
Mrs. Charles I. Burland of
Balhoun wrote a lot of them down and published them in pamphlet form many
years ago.
It was fun talking to Maureen Pearman.
She's a proud gentle lady. She
knew how Miles used to get its fresh meat - and she knows that the best
way to stay healthy is to use common sense and always buy good food.
Miles has known those secrets for a very long time too.
My mother told me that where Rosemary grows - woman rules.
For quite a few historical reasons, I must say there is a lot of truth to
that too.
Harry C. D. Cox.
|