Do you know what it is? I’m sure more than a few of you do-but if you don’t come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it.
Tipper
Appalachia Through My Eyes – A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.
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Birch or sweet gum twig….my grandmother dipped snuff using a chewed up end of birch twig to dip in her small can of Tube Rose snuff with a sprinkle of salt and sugar mixed in and hold in between inside lower lip and teeth. She put cocoa and sugar in our empty snuff can so we could do the same.
Well, it’s a toothbrush & I would guess it’s birch. My grandmaw always had one with her snuff can & hankie in her apron pocket. On Sundays it went in her pocketbook so she could dip on her way home from church. When Grandmaw was 88 she gave up snuff because one of my aunts convinced her that the fires of hell were waitin’ on dippers. Have always felt kinda sad about that.
My first thought was sugar cane because we used to cut off the ends, peel it and chew on it. It was so sweet!,
But you don’t grow sugar cane here and someone said it wasn’t sorghum, so I just don’t know.
It looks like some saplings on my farm that have been discovered by a big ol’ buck. So, I will say it’s ‘evidence’ The Deer Hunter has brought home.
Looks like a toothbrush to me. In SC, we made them from a small branch pulled from a black gum tree–sometimes called the tooth brush tree. At my grandmama’s house, we chewed the end first to get it soft and flossy. Then stuck it in the baking soda, got a small glass of water, and went out on the back porch to brush and spit off the porch. I really liked to do that.
I’m thinking of all the Ernie Gaines I have read and wondering if it is sugar cane.
It’s an old birch toothbrush. People would chew on the end of a twig or small branch until slightly raw like in the pic, then use it to brush their teeth.
Then the Fuller Brush man brought along real toothbrushes and the old birch toothbrush became a thing of the past.
Don’t know why the twig had to be birch though.
God bless.
RB
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My first impression was sugar cane… However, became confused with all the toothbrush ideas. I’ll just have to pop over tomorrow and find out!
Blessings,
Mel
Tipper,
That’s a good smellin’ birch
toothbrush. Back in early spring
the Deer Hunter cut down and sawed
up several of these for firewood,
while I loaded. We were both just
amazed at all the water some had
sucked up from a branch nearby. I
think you and the girls were in
Kentucky that Saturday, while we
got to play in the woods…Ken
My grandma always had her “mahogany” toothbrush and her Big G snuff sitting beside her rocking chair. (Although she would always deny dipping snuff even though I am the one that bought it for her!!)
I’m not sure why she referred to it as “mahogany”.
Kimberly
My first thought was a toothbrush too–sassafras was the usual kind. The old ladies used it to put snuff in their mouths–rubbed it on their gums.
I just showed it to my husband who said its some kind of stick-he’d never heard of a stick toothbrush.
I can’t wait to find out also! I am trying to learn the trees, bushes and wildflowers up here in Western North Carolina.
Thanks for commenting on my blog, hope to meet you soon through Pam or Jackie in Brasstown
Smiles, cyndi
Is it a tooth brush? I know sticks of a certain type wood were used to clean the teeth.
It can’t be the back end of a home made arrow, it wouldn’t be balanced enough.
Looks like a Black Gum twig toothbrush to me.
sweet gum twig? I thought about ya’ll and the hurricane-glad all is safe
The toothbrush idea was the first thing that came to my mind. We used sassafras which had an aromatic taste. It isn’t green enough to be sorghum cane. For a little story about the toothbrush check out my post for January 4,2009, “The Borrowed Toothbrush”.
I love all the entertaining ideas you come up with!
Tipper, Grandma for sure carried two items in her apron pocket: a snuff can, and a twig for cleaning her teeth.
She eased it out of her mouth (into the pocket) if someone other than family came around: then replaced it when they were gone.
Her yards were full of all kind of trees, but I never did find out which one hers came from.
Hi Tipper!
Is it rhubarb? I use to love rhubarb pie that my mama and Aunt Ella made. Kind of “sweet tart” taste. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and boy ! It was some kind of good.
I’m going along with a twig toothbrush.
I’m with the toothbrush group
Tipper,
It looks like my Grannies toothbrush or the twig that she used to dip her snuff with…
Thanks Tipper,
I have heard my great Grandfather never owned a toothbrush, but was observed cleaning teeth with a twig from, I think, a birch. He never had dentures.
Great Aunt Lizzie always had one of these in her mouth when we’d go for walks. She’d use it to brush her teeth and stimulate her gums, and when done, she’s use it to get her next dip of snuff into her mouth between the lower lip and jawbone. There was always a small snuff can about the size of a large spool of thread that lived in her apron pocket, and was as much a part of her person, as a pocket knife was to the gents.
It’s twig toothbrush!
Looks like sugar cane when they used to cut it off for us kids to chew, but the “cane” looked more like bamboo so I am going to say it’s not.
I have no idea! Can’t wait till tomorrow to find out. LOL
My guess is a wooden flag pole.
They say the toothbrush was invented in Arkansas. If it had been invented elsewhere it would have been a teethbrush. Just kidding all you Arkies. Pappy
Tipper looks like a toothbrush mg mother use to make theese but for the life of me I can not remember the type tree she would break the limb from I want to say sweetgum.
Looks like a “toothbrush”- my great grandmother always had one on hand.
Looks like a birch twig tooth brush
sugar cane, I love sugar cane to chew on,
Well it’s purely a guess, but it looks like a stalk of sugarcane!!!!
Looks like a beerch stick to either chew on for the flavor or to clean your teeth maybe?
hmmmm…..a willow twig??