Pioneer Living Survival

My father was a Baptist Minister, and preached at a small church in a community about 25 miles from our home called Big Piney.  It was a town of  good, hardworking people who enjoyed life to the fullest. Church was a small one room building. The pews were homemade with rough sawn lumber that were made by the men of the congregation in the 1920's after a tornado destroyed the origanal log building.

Almost everyone had electricity, but most had no indoor plumbing. While a couple had the hand dug wells, most had a modern type drilled well, but no pump. Water was retrieved by means of a well bucket.. Not actually a bucket,  but a long metal cylinder that was lowered into the well, and then pulled up after it filled with water.  Water was emptied into a regulur bucket, and taken into the house. One bucket ususally sat on a small table along with a dipper. Everyone used the same dipper. And no one died from it.

Indoor plumbing was almost unheard of here. Most had an outdoor privy, either a one or two hole model. But some just used the nearest tree.  some chose not to use the privy in the summer, as you were almost gauranteed to have to fight off the wasps, and once in a while a snake or two. People become disturbed when a snake falls in their lap. Even heard of one man getting bit in the posterior by a copperhead when he sat down.

The town had an old country store that looked like the store from the Series, the Waltons. It was run by a man named "Boss" Page. He and his wife lived in a small house behind the store. Most of the items in the store were staples, as that was all most people could afford. There were several jars of penny candy on the counter, and a big crock full of dill pickles. There was lunchmeat, but Boss bought it bulk. Bolonga came in 5 or ten pd. tubes. When you ordered it, he would slice it on a handcranked slicer, and put it on a old scale. He would always give you a little extra. A lot of the meat, eggs and vegetables they sold had been traded for staples like flour and sugar.