The picture is of Pat McCormack 1951 atFalling Water, AR on butchering day. When
the November cold finally came all families
butchered one or two hogs. I remember the
day growing up. The hog had to be scraped.
The skin was left on the meat. After it was
butchered and cut up, it was salted down
and put in the smoke house where it would
keep during the cold winter. Momma would
cut bacon from the side of bacon to fry each
morning. We would have bacon, oatmeal,
homemade biscuits, and fried eggs--Mom
never scambled the eggs. Butchering day
was a lot of work, but it was a happy time
where there was a lot to eat and lots of
laughter. We always had tenderloin as
the first meal she cooked from
the hog. We did not ever cut pork chops
from the hog. I bet Patsy has lots of
memories of butchering day!
3 comments:
I remember days like this from my own childhood. It was like a party. These days I think families get a little bit of the same feel when mom comes home from a big grocery shopping trip.
I can remember one time. We were poorer than ya'll and could only raise one hog.
Wonderful stories from our past. I was far removed from all this, so I doubly appreciate learning about it. Here when the chickens, steer and pig are butchered, it happens at the local slaughter house (but the chickens go to this other place in another village). Probably in the fifties the Vermonters did their butchering at home.
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