NEWS FROM THE HILLS
Dear Cousin,
The tantalizing fragrance of sassafras tea fills the house; that unmatched spring tonic that we mountaineers have drunk for hundreds of years. We look forward to spring since that is the traditional time to dig these fragrant roots and brew them into a dark red tea that is unexcelled for flavor.
The bigger roots provide the most intense flavor; though we kids used to dig puny little roots out of the road bank and brew our own weak tea. The tea is easy to make. After the roots are cut into pieces and scrubbed well, drop three or four hunks into a large pot. Fill container with water, and let simmer until it turns a deep red color. I used to drain off the first couple of waters, but found out that it is not necessary. Sometimes more water must be added until the desired strength is reached.
The use of sassafras has a long history. Native Americans used it as a medicine, with Seneca warriors carrying the powdered leaves, and women employed it as a tonic after childbirth. It was also used in cases of rheumatism, and as a diuretic. Drinking sassafras tea as a spring tonic became a part of life long ago on the American frontier. It is still part of our life in the West Virginia hills.
Researchers may caution the use of sassafras tea as it contains safrole, which they claim is a potent inhibitor of certain liver enzymes and may even have carcinogenic qualities. I know personally of a man who drank sassafras tea every day of his life. It finally got him though. I think he was 95 when he passed away.
Criss has discovered that sassafras is one of the prettiest woods he uses in his woodworking shop. It is lighter in color than white oak, and has a satiny finish that is beautiful. Sassafras has many uses, but the best to me is the fragrant tea. Whether it has medicinal properties or not, it is just plain good.
This is leap year, and one of our old country legends comes to mind-one I have heard all my life. We were always told that leap year was when women were allowed to propose marriage to men, and not vice versa. (Of course in today’s society women have the same privilege of proposing marriage as men do, and they don’t have to wait for that one day every four years.)
I didn’t realize that this fable was rooted in fact until I began to research it. It is believed to have started in fifth century Ireland, when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick that there were too many unmarried women. Leap year (or leap day) was set aside as the day that women could ask for a man’s hand in marriage.
In 1288 Scotland passed a law that men were fined if they declined the offer of marriage. This ranged from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves. A Greek superstition states that it is bad luck for a couple to marry during a leap year. There are still couples there who won’t marry in a leap year.
Al Capp, creator of the Li’l Abner cartoon strip, used this theme when he drew the famous Sadie Hawkin’s Day race. Al Capp was the finest cartoonist of my time, and his characters are unforgettable. Who could forget the charming Daisy Mae, Mammy and Pappy Yokum and Big Barnsmell of the Skunk Works fame? Then there was Joe Btfsplk, the bad luck little guy who wandered around with a black cloud hanging over his head.
Don’t forget Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, and the beautiful Moonbeam McSwine. Just don’t get downwind of her-she ran around with a herd of pigs. There were many more interesting characters in Dogpatch, including Senator Phogbound (good old Jack S.) and General Bullmoose, the tycoon whose creed was “Don’t do anything crooked unless it’s legal.”
Sadie Hawkins was a homely old maid, getting rather long in the tooth, and her father despaired of her getting a husband. He instituted an annual Sadie Hawkins Day on November 15, where the eligible bachelors were given a running start, to be pursued by all of the Dogpatch single ladies. When the lovely (?) ladies caught their man, they dragged him over the finish line and Marryin’ Sam would perform the marriage ceremony.
This idea caught on, and many colleges and high schools held Sadie Hawkin’s Day dances, with the females inviting the males. We staged a Sadie Hawkin’s Day event when I was in high school, and I remember using a white feed sack with holes cut out for the arms and head and “Pillsbury’s Best” printed on the front.
Those days are gone forever for me. Number one, I caught my husband years ago, and number two, if I didn’t have one, I couldn’t catch an old man on a walker, let alone drag him over the finish line. So I’ll just have another cup of sassafras tea and thank the Lord for my many blessings – the sun that shone today, grandbabies to love and rock, family love, and most of all, the love of a Savior who has given all these things.
Hug everyone for me,
Love,
Cousin Alice Faye
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