There’s a verse in an old song:
“I bought me a set of union underwear,
To keep me from the cold and the chilly air.
I wore it six months without exaggeration,
And I couldn’t get it off cause I lost the combination.”
—Bob Dalsemer – January 2019
During this bitter cold weather we’ve been having many folks have needed union underwear.
I’ve most often heard the clothing called long handles, long underwear, and thermal underwear. I call them long johns so we can add that to the list. I’ve also heard them called long drawers so that’s another name.
I’ve also heard union suits and union alls.
Here’s the entry from the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English.
Long handles, long handled drawers, long handled underwear noun Underwear with long legs and sleeves, worn esp by children.
1954 GSMNP-19:16 yeah, he had on some long handles, underwear. 1966 DARE long handles (Brasstown NC, Burnsville NC, Spruce Pine NC, Gatlinburg TN). 1981 Whitener Folk-ways 53 Knitting mills and department stores indicate that their sales of long handled drawers are up 200 per cent or more over last year’s sales, with demand exceeding supply in many parts of the country. ibid. 54 Of course, modern long handles are a far cry from those of by gone days. They have been prettified, thermofied, and advertised until they have achieved social acceptance. 1997 Montgomery Coll. long handles (known to ten consultants).
Long johns noun
1968 DARE = a child’s stilts (Brasstown NC).
—Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
The girls used to wear long johns under their clothes when they went to school in the winter and The Deer Hunter wears them when he goes hunting or works in the cold.
I can’t stand to wear long johns unless I know it’s going to be brutally cold or I’m going to be tumbling off a sled into the snow. I’m extremely cold natured. I’ve been known to get cold in July. But I also get itchy and wearing tight clothes under my regular clothes sometimes makes me want to go running into the hills screaming. I guess I don’t like feeling restricted or confined.
When the girls were little they had some of those union underwear Bob was talking about, in fact they had a red Oshkosh one. Funny how certain pieces of clothing sticks in your mind. Every time I put it on one of the girls to sleep in I thought they were the cutest thing I ever saw.
In Pap’s old age he wore long johns under his clothes in the winter, especially the shirt.
I’ve read accounts of folks sewing their union underwear to their clothes in the old days like the lyrics Bob shared. Although I have a hard time thinking about working that “combination” when I started feeling itchy and confined I can imagine the extra layers in those days of limited heat and drafty houses felt mighty nice when the cold winter winds blew.
Last night’s video: Making Biscuits on the Wood Stove & Sharing Food With Family.
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This reminded me of my papaw. He wore the one piece unions every day no matter how hot it was. He slept in them. His was a light pink/tan color. He also wore a flannel shirt with his bib overalls. I don’t know how he stood all that in the summer. I have a pair of his bibs and flannel shirt hanging up with his hat at the top. Scared the kids one night thinking someone was there.
My husband and I have the red one piece long hannels (that’s the way I pronounce it, no “d” sound).
We use several terms as well. Unions or long hannels for the one piece and long johns or long underwear for the two piece.
Your blog always brings about the most wonderful memories for me. That’s such a beautiful gift to give someone.
Thank you for sharing.
God bless all y’all!
Yes Debbie! My family pronounced them without the “d” sound also. What fond memories! We dressed our boys in red union long underwear when they were little. So cute at Christmas time.
I wear long John’s when deer hunting in very cold weather. While working outside in very cold weather I usually don’t need them.
As a Florida native, I’d read about long undies but never worn them since we generally visited Appalachian relatives in the summer. I bought my first CuddleDuds as an adult about to spend part of a winter up north. You can find amazing things in thrift shops here because when northern folks move south, they don’t realize they’re not going to need the quantity of winter gear necessary for real cold. I found Timberland boots (narrow, no less), long johns, and a fabulous hooded purple coat made in Russia to keep me warm and cozy that winter. I’d really like to know the story of how that Russian coat ended up in Florida.
And yet another interesting read. Looking forward to this afternoons book. Prayers for Granny and you guys.
My grandfather wore long underwear or Long John’s & back in the 70’s when my husband & I had land & raised Palomino Quarter Horses, he & I would wear Long John’s in the winter while we took care of the horses. Do you know why they were called Unions? I never heard them called that. Have you seen YouTube videos featuring Katherine Satterfield on Ralph Davis’ channel? I just got finished watching one when she was 101 yrs old talking about living through the Depression, and another one when she was 105-Sharp as a tack. I wonder if she is kin to the Satterfields where you bought some plants & that sweet little boy helped you. She must live/lived in Eastern Tennessee because she talked about going to Knoxville when she was young. Very interesting lady & I gained first-hand knowledge about the Great Depression.
When I delivered morning newspapers as a pre-teen and teenager, I word long handles in Winter under ‘dungarees’ made by Wrangler. I wore them again in my early 20’s when I worked outside all day in Winter, but by then I was wearing suits and ties. The long handles were a life saver on cold, windy Winter days. After moving to inside work, I didn’t wear them again until I attended the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, AB, CAN. On the day that we were supposed to watch ski jumping, a Chinook wind with its accompanying cloud arch blue in raising temperatures and canceling ski jump events. I went from the teens to the 70s in a matter of a few hours. I had to find restroom and remove those long handles.
Growing up we always called them long johns, but have heard most of those other names as well. It was a regular part of our clothing during cooler weather for all in our community, for both male and females. Dad wore them all years round…both the separate tops and the bottoms, and when my husband was still alive I had a couple of sets for our camping times, including a set for pajamas! I found them comfy and cozy with a pair of heavy sock for the feet!
I know I am writing too many comments, but I would like to ask a question of the other members. Does it seem like the wind has been blowing a lot more this year. I am in the house reading the Tall Woman book and listening to the wind whipping outside, I went to Walmart this morning and also bu my wife and daughter’s grave. It would have been real pleasant at 50 degrees and sunny if the wind hadn’t made it feel a lot colder. The cold temps don’t bother me as much as the wind.
God bless you Randy
Hey Randy,
We live on a ridge in NW Georgia & feel the wind more here than our neighbors below. I just finished reading The Tall Woman & really enjoyed! What a strong hard working, courageous woman Lydia was! Yet she was a loving wife, mother, daughter & grandmother! A wonderful example for today’s women. My paternal great-grandmother from mountains of NE Georgia, married at age 14 to a man 18 years older. She was a midwife at the birth of some of her grandchildren & other babies in the community. Lydia, the tall woman, helped me imagine what her life may have been like. She passed away when I was 14. I also enjoyed looking up some of the Appalachian speak I was not familiar with. So glad Tipper introduced us to Wilma Dykeman. I have requested more books by her at the library! Y’all stay warm!
Aaaaugh! I think I know where all your snow went. I have been shoveling porches, steps, and knocking snow off cars all morning. The only people having a good time are the dogs. All my neighbors’ dogs thought it was a hoot when I tossed snow at them. No mail today and we’ve been keeping the road clear with ATVs and trucks. Even Mr. B was out plowing and he’s in his 80’s (he thinks the snow is a hoot too).
Back in the 1980’s we lived in Arizona. My wife’s father was near death in NC. We boarded a plane in Phoenix with a mid morning temperature of 85 and landed in Atlanta with temp at 11 in mid afternoon. I went to the restroom and changed from shorts and t-shirt to long johns, jeans and flannel shirt, donned a coat and borrowed a friend’s car to drive to NC. My first stop was to buy a pair of gloves and ear muffs. Drastic change for us.
Yes! We still wear long johns in our house. We wear them when we go camping if it’s cold, or just to be comfortable in the house on cold nights. We call them long johns, long handled underwear or long underwear interchangeably. i love mine and snuggle down under the covers, a wool blanket and a quilt and sleep good!!!♥️♥️ My doxie is my portable heater and keeps my lower back warm!
Thank you, Tipper, for today’s great topic and for posting the interesting comments of your readers.
As a child growing up in warm, dry Southern California, I did not wear long johns. And now that I am an old woman living in Central Texas, I still do not wear them. But given the mean, blustery Winter wind that has been blowing here of late, I may purchase a few pair of long johns. Wearing a pair (or two) would keep me warm and would slim my appearance. At the moment I have made myself nearly spherical by wearing layer upon layer upon layer upon layer of clothing, along with a hooded jacket, heavy stockings, a knitted hat and gloves to warm my skinny self. I may look peculiar, but I am comfortable!
Thanks again for the practical and humorous topic for today.
Every Spring or early Summer my wife will be asked if she is losing weight. She replies, “No. I’m just wearing one or two layers now.” It’s usually about July when she gets down to one layer.
I remember as a child living on Prince Edward Island, Canada longjohns were called Stanfields. They were named after the company that produced them. It was hilarious to see them in winter hanging frozen stiff on the clothesline.
I have worn long handles, but it was when I was very young. I am another one that can’t stand anything binding on me. I do find, the older I get, it doesn’t take much for me to get cold. I enjoy my hooded sweatshirts in the winter and lots of nights, I sleep in socks.
I rarely add a note when I have already posted, but wanted to mention our unique form of heat growing up. We had a large coal furnace, and that was truly great heat. Coal was easily accessible and a cheap way to stay snug and warm in winter. Mom always did her crocheting in winter over near a vent. Hunters or sledders would come in from outside and stand over a vent a minute to thaw. Mom and Dad alternated adding coal or stoking the fire. There was some sort of chain like apparatus that went down through the floor to the basement that managed, I think, the draft to the huge furnace. It seemed to require at least one time in the middle of the night my dad going down to tend the fire. It did not seem to be a hardship, but had become as natural a part of life as filling the dishwasher is today. My dad always wanted me to learn all about building and maintaining a fire, but I was far too finicky to mess with the coal. I have since became quite adept at building wood fires! In the Coal Camp before moving to the mountain farm, we had a Warm Morning stove. Later my dad added several forms of back up heat, but always kept his furnace to keep the house snug.
I often get a surprise when I view the Blind Pig’s latest posts. Great that you do not shun topics that are not popular, but still cover most anything that relates to our wonderful Appalachian culture and history. I remember hearing jokes about long handles, although I do not recall anyone in my family wearing them back in the day. Later in life, I worked out in the weather and often wore tights under my nursing scrubs starting at beginning of winter. A long sleeved t-shirt under the scrub top kept me comfortable. I felt confined, as heavy coats impeded my mobility as I had to enter various homes throughout the day. Light jacket with zippered pockets for keys and cell phone topped off my strange winter garb when working. It was thought, perhaps wrongly, that all this exposure to the elements “toughened you up.” I did in fact rarely get cold or flu during those days. Socks were always the one thing that made me feel confined, and learned there are others who share my habit of hanging my feet out from under cover when possible. Thanks for another interesting post from the Blind Pig.
I don’t ever remember wearing long johns growing up or even when I was taking our boys sledding in the snow, now (as I’m as old as Granny) in the winter I wear them all the time. I have a pair on under my sweatpants as I sit at my computer sipping my morning coffee and typing this comment. I’m very cold natured and I certainly consider these to be a blessing keeping my legs warm:) Tipper, I shoore wish I could send you some of this snow. We got about 3 to 4 inches last week. Snow started in early this morning and is to snow all day here in SC PA. Looks like someone up there is sifting fine snow over us:) Then it is to turn bitter cold. Thankful to have a warm house cause it looks like I’m going to be in the house for at least two days. I’ve got sewing projects to do and crocheting some more bookmark crosses. I’m going to put a pan out to gather some of that snow and make snowcream like my Mother made:)
Those biscuits Matt made sure looked tasty! My Daddy made the best cat-head biscuits and I don’t think he measured anything he went by the way it looked and the consistency and I will say they came out delicious every time.
My friend had her AC on when I visited for a Halloween get-together that included outside activities. I had my long handles on and the electric blanket on the bed ready for my return. They made fun of me when I told them about the blanket. They really hooped and hollered when I told them I wouldn’t take it off the bed until at least May. Some of the deer hunters I worked with swore that thick pantyhose were twice as warm as long johns. A few of the macho guys made me promise not to tell.
We call em Long Johns too. Never heard Union Underwear. But (I think) when I was real little I heard and Ol Timer in church call them Yankee Johns.
As crazy as the weather was yesterday at work back in the 90s I woke up this morning to 16 degrees. Some long Johns would’ve been nice this morning
It’s cold here in east TN this morning and may break my long underwear out. When I was young moon boots were all the rage. Long undies and moon boots with the bread sack in between the boot and lining to keep you dry were standard fare for heading outside. Vivid memories as I sit here watching it snow.
We wore our shoes with galoshers over them or without shoes they were called mud boots, muck boots or some prohibited names when we cleaned out stables.
My oldest is 31 years old now and when he was little he would say he wanted to wear his “John John’s” like his uncle who was a construction worker here in NW Ohio. This one will be added to my list of names.Stay warm!!
One more thing- I’ve always heard that years ago people put their winter underwear on at the beginning of winter and didn’t take them off “until the blue flags (iris) bloomed” in spring. It was said they did not take a bath in winter as well. That wasn’t true at our house when I was a kid. We took a bath once a week whether we needed it or not!
I have a pair of wool long johns. Way too itchy. Maybe 30 yrs ago I had a pair of long johns that must have been cotton because they didn’t itch. I called them “draw bridges”. The kids were little and thought it was funny. When I moved off the mountain I got rid of them. Now. Living in Arkansas, I have every color of thermals. Starting in October I slowly start wearing them. The pants, the top over my shift dress. Top and bottom with night gown over it. I guess its me trying to look lady like while wearing thermals. My dad was a welder so I grew up seeing him wear wool underwear. So it wasn’t strange to me. Even my mom started to wear thermals in her 90s. Really enjoy reading all these stories. Stay warm everyone.
Whatever you call them they are a staple in some cold houses. When I was a kid in the 50’s a classmate who moved to Fl from Tn, then back a couple years later, said she remembered me because I wore the kind of long underwear with the flap in the back. Mother didn’t allow me to wear pants to school except in the very cold. I was allowed to wear corduroy pants in the cold winter under my dresses. That was about second grade. Daddy called me “whistle britches” because of the sound of the corduroy as I walked.
Years ago I demonstrated lye soap making at Townsend, Tn festivals. I hung a pair of red long johns on a clothesline with an apron and other vintage clothing as a backdrop. This lead to visitors sharing lots of stories. One especially memorable one was about a newly-wed coal minor in Al near Birmingham. Soon after changing clothes deep in the mine he began running, screaming and pulling his clothes off! Turns out his new bride didn’t know she had to allow the soap to cure a few weeks before she used it to wash his clothes. The lye was still active and burned him causing him to have to spend time in the hospital. For those who have concerns about using lye soap from stories like this, when it is allowed time to “cure” the chemical properties have changed and it is a very gentle, mild soap if made with the correct proportions of lye and fat. Corie can tell you that. I had another visitor in her “back-to-nature” hiking garb tell me she “didn’t use soap with chemicals in it”. I knew she meant she didn’t use it made with animal fat but all soap has to have a form of lye and a fat. Even water is a “chemical”. People are interesting! Long underwear in any form can be helpful in cold weather whether made of cotton, wool, silk, or other fibers.
This snow is beautiful but I’m ready for it to be gone. More importantly I’m ready for the thermometer to rise above freezing! Be safe wherever you are.
Sally- if you’re in Townsend next year I’ll be sure to visit your booth!
I hope everyone realizes “the story” in my first comment was not a true story. I have heard another version of this story having to do with duck hunters. I have known hunters that would wear sweat pants and sweat shirts under their clothes (often coveralls) instead of long john underwear. I can not stand wearing anything on my naked skin made with wool. The itching tortures me. Back when I bird hunted I like to wear a regular cotton tee shirt, under a flannel shirt and then a sweat shirt and a lightweight hunting vest, and a pair of double knee Carhartt pants. Unusually cold weather – temps staying below freezing predicted for the next 48 hours starting around sunset this afternoon for upstate SC and then warming up, raining and 70 degrees by next Friday.
I seem to remember the one-piece ones being called ‘drop-drawers’ referring to the opening in the backside to allow necessary!
Oh Randy, you tell the best stories!! Our folks wear and wore long johns in the cold, too. They were life savers. I tried them, but like a couple on here, I felt like busting loose…hahaha. I guess being bundled up in them felt like being stuck or trapped? Anyway, I have big old coats and sweat pants I can layer up with and I do fine. Everybody stay warm as you can. I am making a big old pot of vegetable soup tomorrow and all the hot chocolate they can stand! Love and prayers going out to Granny and Little Mamas and all of you, too.
I do know of fellers who proudly proclaim wearing long johns or long handles or a union suit from Thanksgiving until Resurrection Sunday! I remember in the Army them issuing us WOOL long johns in New Jersey in winter. That cold was brutal and those long johns would literally itch a person to near insanity so I did not wear them. Oh now in my older years I’m not too proud to throw 2 pairs of my nice polyester fleece pj bottoms one atop the other with the fat pants going on top! Once in the ice I fed my birds with a stew pot on my head. I mean laugh if ya want to cause laughing and looking ain’t crowded, but I don’t want bludgeoned with a widow maker loose limb stuck on a tree period. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure don’t ya reckon? I bet your babies in a red union suit was adorable when they were precious babes!!! I’ll be praying for ya, Norman of Georgia! Keep holding on to your faith and the Lord Jesus will help you get through this to the other side. He may not take away the obstacles, but he will take you through holding onto his mail scarred precious hand!!! Count on it! Stay warm y’all! I made peach bread last night with a peach glaze, ate a warm slice and slept like a young’ un!!!!
My husband being a retired mailman, you can only imagine all the variations of “long Johns” he’s had over his 38 1/2 years, walking door to door, in the Midwest winters. He’s the coldest person I know, and that why, as he’d say. Our “Lake-house job” was a grocery store job haha. I was a freshman shopping for my mom when I met my husband, he was a stock-boy. Like you, we have the fondest memories of that grocery store job. We reminisce about those days so often. We’ll be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this St Patrick’s Day, so the grocery store dating days were 44 yrs ago…..I’m so blessed!
I am like you Tipper—I can’t stand to wear long johns—too restrictive. Even when I go sledding with the grandkids, I usually just wear sweat pants—and when I get too cold, I just go inside. My hubby wears them all winter long, and usually for part of spring and fall. He worked in the coal mines for 40 years, and wore them every day—it was never hot underground. He always wore layers to keep warm, but also to have the ability to take off a layer to be able to work hard and shovel or whatever he needed to do. He would wear a t-shirt, long john shirt and a long sleeve work shirt. In the winter, he wore a hoodie over the top. He rarely wore gloves because he said he couldn’t work with them on. He was a mechanic and an electrician and had to use his hands to work on small things, as well as large machinery. It was a cold, hard job, especially when things froze up in winter. I am just so happy he now wears long johns to shovel snow and work around our home — or when building snowmen with the grandkids. He still loves his long johns!
Union suits were created for women initially,a “onesie” with a big flap in the back so you did not need to take them off in the privy in the winter cold. Long johns were issued to GIs in World War II, back when the boys still remembered the old boxing hero John Sullivan, who wore something that looked similar in the ring. It was two piece. Union suit is one combined suit.
Long handles are too binding for me. Or maybe it’s me that don’t fit them. I’ll bet you’ve heard “binding”!
Morning,
I wore long handles growing up. The farmhouse I grew up in was not insulated and had a tin roof. Our only source of heat was a Warm Morning stove in the sitting room. The only warm place in the house was that one room and that was if you stood smack dab on the stove. The other rooms were cold as ice so those long handles felt mighty good back in the day. Guess old habits linger cause I still have a pair in my drawer just in case I need to pull’em on.
Appreciate your daily entries.
Carolyn
… and heavy woolen socks . . . When I lived in Michigan those socks went on at the first blizzard and stayed on until the tulips bloomed! I just got out my grandmother’s old (1940s) wool blanket to put on the bed. This is when those blankets were so thick you could roof a house with them. I forget how warm they truly are! I wish I had kept more. Now they are difficult to find and, if you do, they reek of mothballs which never ever goes away.
pray for my neighbors, pray for me, the trail from their house to mine is getting deep and slick , they lost their car a while back, lots of difficulty here , my resources are running out, God bless you friends, thank you for praying ❤️
Norman-I will pray for the situation to improve in all areas!
Nice stories. My dad and brothers wore soft thermal underwear. Top and bottoms but never a one piece long Johns when they worked construction during the cold Indiana winters. When they got old mom would use them to polish the floors with Bruce wax. The underwear, not my brothers lol.
As much as I do not like long johns, I do & will wear the leg part & not the tops. In fact I recently was over at the Mast General store in Waynesville, & they had these insulated leggings. They are incredibly soft & very thin, but oh my do they keep me warm, and I don’t feel like I’m all cinched up. I have realized as I’ve gotten older if my legs are cold my entire body feels cold. So I wear them almost daily on these bitter cold days cause I have to walk my dog.
Your comment reminded me of an elderly Black lady who wore newspaper inside her stockings in winter. She knew before most that paper is a good insulator. This was back in the early 1950s.
When my beloved but very slim grandfather passed away, I inherited his small journal that he regularly wrote in. In early November, he wrote: ‘put on long johns today,’ and in April: ‘took off long johns today.’ Best of all, for me, was that every Saturday he wrote, ‘Mary came today,’ as my mother and I faithfully visited him and my grandmother every week.
Thanks for the memory, Tipper!
I for 1 was grateful for mine when I woke up to 6 degrees the other day.
I think flannel lined jeans would be a more comfortable option!! Or even coveralls.
In northern Michigan, just about everyone wears long johns (for men) and long underwear (for women). They are almost constantly winter bedtime wear and definitely outdoor wear. I’m wearing mine as we speak beneath a flannel nightgown. Perfect early morning coffee attire while trying to warm up the house! It’s 8 degrees!
I’m with you. Long johns make me want to fly apart. I always wore waterproof pants while sledding with the kids. I also enjoyed standing on the deck and watching them sled while drinking hot chocolate. No long johns required.
I can’t stand having those on either. Feels claustrophobic to me. I’ve only owned a pair long enough to know that it don’t matter how cold it’s going to get I’m still not wearing them. I think I finally cut them up for rags. And yes, they were called Long Johns in my neck of the woods too.
Like Pap, my father in law wore long johns all winter on up till about May. He was very cold natured in his older years. I like to wear the cheap white fruit of the loom shirts when outside but not the bottoms. A preacher friend of mine has wrote a devotional book with most of the devotions starting out with something funny leading into the devotional message, one story is about his wife’s old time mountain uncle (Walhalla, SC) having something getting into his chickens. One cold winter night something was in his chicken pen house and he grabbed his old rabbit eared double barrel shotgun and ran out to the chicken pen wearing nothing but his long johns with the back door open, he didn’t know his old hound dog had followed him, just as he open the chicken house door, the dog touched his cold nose to his rear end, causing him to shoot one barrel of his gun killing some of his chickens. When asked about the second barrel, he said he used it on his old hound dog!
There is a member and an email friend that grew up in Walhalla, wonder if he was related to this feller.
Randy, I heard that one long ago, told by one of my Walhalla uncles. That mental picture still makes me laugh. BTW, that’s my kind of devotional book. Was the story from “Whistling at Snakes” or a similar title? Can’t think of the author’s name.
Gene the title of the book is “Wilderness Living” by Mike Baker. It is available through The Baptist Courier. Mike lives in Piedmont, SC and works with the Palmetto Baptist Association. He also owns Sunshine Shooting Preserve in Piedmont. You can Google this information. I have sinus problems with my eyes watering when I read his story about his last bird hunt with his Granddaddy. I went to school with his wife and know his two hunting buddies in a story about a duck hunt. The cost of the book is $15.