Miss Lottie M. Davis 's Journal - January 1933 - February 1933

GRAVESTONE OF MISS LOTTIE M. DAVIS

Page 80
January 1933
  3 Jan 1933 - Mr. McGuire operated on.
  1 Jan 1933 - All in bed but Daddy.
  4 Jan 1933 - George Lawson shot Alger.
  2 Jan 1933 - Mr. Will Shifflett store closed.
  5 Jan 1933 - Mr. Calvin Coolidge died age sixty years.
  5 Jan 1933 - Lenoa Shifflett new baby.
  1 Jan 1933 - Ray ears open by Dr. Conrad.
  7 Jan 1933 - Miss Nina Monger twenty-six years and Mr. Brown forty-four years married.
 10 Jan 1933 - Mr. Sellers taken to hospital.
Page 81
January 1933
17 Jan 1933 - Mr. Walter Petty operated on Tuesday.
19 Jan 1933 - Daddy taken to hospital on Thursday.
21 Jan 1933 - Mr. Walters died at Hospital on Saturday.
22 Jan 1933 - Mr. McGuire came home.
24 Jan 1933 - Daddy died at Rockingham Memorial Hospital on Tuesday morning age sixty-five years four months five days.
 30 Jan 1933 - Will read by Mr. Scott Eaton.
21 Jan 1933 - Aunt Sis came to see Daddy.
 3 or 31 Jan 1933 - Mr. Luther Breeden died.
23 Jan 1933 - Rev. Mr. Smith parlized [paralyzed].
25 Jan 1933 - Mr. Louderback's Mill burned.
Page 82
February 1933
8 Feb 1933 - Mr. Luther Lam died.
3 Feb 1933 - Mrs. Sam Herring went to hospital..
5 Feb 1933 - Mrs. Sam Herring came home.
4 Feb 1933 - Mr. Will Shifflett's Sale.
28 Feb 1933 - Rev. Smith went to Hospital.
28 Feb 1933 - Merchant Grocery closed.
    Feb 1933 - Mrs. Grace Lam baby.
    Feb 1933 - Mrs. F.D. Eiler to Richmond.
To be continued ...

Wild Foods Common to the Mountains of Virginia and West Virginia

In the Mountains

There are more than five hundred plants, fifty animals, and several insects which can be eaten by humans in the mountainous areas of Virginia and West Virginia.  Several of these plants were introduced to the area by our ancestors and are therefore are not native.

Creasy Greens

 Potherbs or boiled greens are on most wild food menus. The more common among the several dozen that can be eaten are ramps, spring beauties also known as "fairy spuds," nettles, giant chickweed, pokeweed, milkweed, dandelion, creasy greens also called dry-land cress, purslane, chicory, fireweed, race weed, lamb’s quarters, and watercress. Many mushrooms can be used for food, although there are others which are deadly poisonous. In our area there are four easily recognized edible types of mushrooms: morel, shaggy mane, sulfur polypore, and puffball.

Morel Mushroom

  Among the many wild fruits and berries that are more easily found are persimmons, strawberries, wild grapes, crab apples, cranberries, blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, raspberries, dew berries, black haw, elderberries, and wild cherries.

Common nuts collected in the wild are black walnuts, chinquapins, beechnuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts.

In the past, wild honey made from the pollen of yellow poplar, basswood, and sourwood was often ‘‘robbed’’ from trees colonized by wild honeybees. Today, wild honeybees have now almost entirely succumbed to parasites. The sap from sugar maple trees is evaporated to produce maple syrup and further evaporated to make maple sugar.

Bees and Comb Honey

There are also dozens of starchy vegetable substitutes, salad ingredients, wheat flour substitutes, tea and coffee substitutes, cool beverages, condiments, oils, and many other culinary uses of wild plants.

Like wild plants, wild animals have been a source of food since the beginning of mankind.  Among the historic food animals no longer found in our area are such extinct species as the passenger pigeon and the woods buffalo which is a larger forest dwelling bison now mainly found in Canada. Among those species still used as food are several species of fish, crayfish, eel, beaver, black bear, frog, muskrat, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel, turtle, rattlesnake, white-tailed deer, woodchuck, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, dove, duck, and woodcock.

Miss Lottie's Journal - November 1932 - December 1932

[Note: The above photo was taken on the Skyline Drive atop of the Blue Ridge Mountain as it looks down into the Shenandoah Valley. The Peaked or Massanutten Mountain is shown as the light blue range in the background as it rises from the floor of the Valley to meet the sky.  If one follows Rt. 33 west from Elkton, one would literally go around the tip of this beautiful mountain range and into Harrisonburg. This photo has not been edited. This range of mountains are truly blue when viewed from a distance. The area between the Blue Ridge and Massanutten is the area covered in the Journal of Miss Lottie Davis.]
Page 77
November 1932
November 1932 came in on Tuesday.
  1 Nov 1932 - Mr. Caldwell died age 81 years.
  3 Nov 1932 - New ventilator  in Sit[ting] room at Harold's.
  8 Nov 1932 - President Roosevelt elected.
  1 Nov 1932 - Planted pole in lot for light.
  3 Nov 1932 - Mr. Hedrick operated- Mollie Miller house.
Page 78
November 1932 - continued
14 Nov 1932 - Mrs. Keezle operated on.
15 Nov 1932 - Went to Singer's Glenn with Mr. Smith.
15 Nov 1932 - Mrs. Minor Heatwole killed herself in Washington.  Mr. P.A. Carver S.
16 Nov 1932 - Mr.Ike Shifflett died lived on mountain.
19 Nov 1932 - Miss Edith Hammer-Melvin Hensley married.
17 Nov 1932 - Mr. William E. Nicholas killed by engine 69 years.
12 Nov 1932 - New coat at B Ney's $9.73 + soup spoons.
17 Nov 1932 - Grany new coat at R. $13.00.
20 Nov 1932 - Miss Frances Miller wife of Dr. S.P. Miller of Greenville, S.C.
28 Nov 1932 - Mr. Clint Shifflett house burned.
23 Nov 1932 - Mr. Brown operated on.
30 Nov 1932 - Fire at Walter Eppard.
30 Nov 1932 - Fire at Gibsons.
30 Nov 1932 - Mr. J.R. Cover died age 74 years Suddenly.
30 Nov 1932 - Mrs. Smith's brother died 42 years old died in California. 
Page 79
December 1932 
  1 Dec 1932 - Daddy fixed hog pen.
  2 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Owen Hensley had limb taken off.
  3 Dec 1932 - Mr. J.R. Cover funeral on Saturday AM [morning?]
  2 Dec 1932 - Mr. Jett Monger died age 43 years.
  5 Dec 1932 - Got hogs from Uncle Luther 2 hogs weigh 370# cost $22.92.
  5 Dec 1932 - Harold got 1 hog 198 # 144# - $11.16.
  6 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Smith's brother funeral on Tues-
  1 Dec 1932 - Miss Leona Shifflett & Henry Dean married.
10 Dec 1932 - Mr. Green Armentrout died 80 years old Sat.
17 Dec 1932 - First snow fell on Sat.
13 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Kirsey died age 70 years old.
12 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Owen Hensley came home from hospital.
17 Dec 1932 - Second snow fell on Sat.
     Dec 1932 - Mr. McGuire got new car.
18 Dec 1932 - Earl, Mable, Charles and I went to Strawberg [Strasburg?] Sun.  Zero weather Snow 10 inches deep.
20 Dec 1932 - Mr. David Powll [Powell] died 75 years old Funeral on 22 on Thursday.
Page 80
December 1932 continued.
20 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Lula Breeden died 26 years old.
22 Dec 1932 - Mr. Jim Bailey hand hurt.
24 Dec 1932 - Miss Minnie Plum married.
26 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Floyd Brill new baby.
28 Dec 1932 - Miss Evelyn Leap  married.
23 Dec 1932 - Mrs. Walters died Mrs. Sallie Life mother.