As had been the case for generations before, typical farm families during the first half of the 20th century lived on things they produced and processed on-site. This was seen in equipment and food sources. The most complete such homestead in my experience was that of my paternal grandparents, Drewry W. and Sally W. Branch. He was a man of many skills, including carpentry, but always a farmer.

Perhaps the most useful tool was a boiler, a round, cast-iron vessel set in a brick furnace, usually of 60-gallon capacity. A lip around the outside edges supported the boiler on a brick platform above the fire, which was stoked at the entrance to the furnace where smoke was drawn up a chimney. It was enclosed on two sides by a shelter as protection for those who labored there.

This facility was used for washing clothes (sometimes people), making syrup and scalding hog carcasses to facilitate hair removal at butchering time. To handle the volume of laundry from his large family, Granddaddy fashioned troughs from a large cypress timber, carving out two sections with a solid space between as a place to rub or pound stubborn stains. It was set on sturdy legs along a wall close to the boiler. It was about waist-high and slightly angled from end to end. Each section had a drain hole at its lowest end, plugged until it was time to drain the water into tubs for removal.

Farm families depended on cane syrup as everyday dessert and in cooking. The boiler was the crucial facility for reducing sugar cane juice to syrup through the carefully managed removal of water by boiling. Nearby was a cane mill, which crushed cane stalks into juice by feeding them between closely set metal cylinders. The action was propelled by a mule walking in a controlled circle.

Cured hog meat was a staple for farm families and lard produced in the same butchering and processing activity was their primary cooking oil. The next step, after slaughter itself, was to remove all hair by putting the carcass into the boiler filled with water, very hot but not too hot. After a time, the carcass was hauled out onto a table just above the level of the boiler and men with scrapers removed the hair.

Then the carcass was taken to the gallows, a sturdy post (more like a beam) sunk deep into the earth. At a height of six to seven feet, cross arms were fastened to the post, each end designed to hold the weight of a carcass. Here, all internal organs and the head were removed, useful parts set aside and the rest moved away for permanent discard in the woods. The carcass was cooled and moved to a place for cutting up as preferred. Some elements were used for sausage and lard and the bulk moved to the smoke house for salt curing and smoking. Smoke houses were sturdy buildings, often made of logs, low to confine smoke and resist extremes in heat.

Farms had many other facilities. Corn cribs were buildings made for storing corn and sometimes hay as well. Attached were stalls for mules and maybe some in back for milk cows. A large area with board fence confined the mules and was called the “mule lot” and fenced areas for cows were “cow lots.” Milk cows were important for their milk and butter and offspring for market. My grandfather built an outdoor cabinet about four feet above the ground with screened “windows” to permit air flow. It was called the “dairy” and used to store milk because the kitchen was often hot. Other buildings included a tobacco curing barn at some distance from the house in case of fire, storage house for cotton, etc., chicken house and “johnny house” (aka outdoor toilet or privy).

Trees, bushes and vines were as important for survival as structures for farm families. Grape vines provided “fresh off the vine” delight for young and old and the fruit could be made into jelly or wine. The fruit of peach and pear trees could be eaten fresh, cooked into pies and cobblers and made into preserves that lasted into the dark days of winter. Some people were not keen on fresh figs, but fig preserves were prized.

Every good farm had nut-bearing trees, pecan and often walnut. Pecan trees give good shade and nuts that are great for eating or as ingredients in all sorts of dishes from ice cream to cake. There was usually a good market for pecans. Black walnuts are not as handy as pecans. They protect their treasured nutmeats behind two walls. Smaller than a tennis ball, they are encased in a tough, fibrous outer husk. The nut is hard and thick. Cracking it requires a sturdy base and hammer. The meat nestles into crevices in the shell. Still, it is very tasty, so I persevered. Its rich flavor has endeared it to great cooks for generations.

Roger G. Branch Sr. is professor emeritus of sociology at Georgia Southern University and is a retired pastor.