Today’s guest post was written by Brenda Smith.
How could picking up black pepper from the table and moving it to the cabinet have brought back such a strong memory of the Watkins man?
He came around on a regular route through north Georgia. When he rattled up our driveway in his old van, he wasn’t turned away like most of the peddlers that would drive down our red dirt road in the early 1950s.
If we were almost out of vanilla flavoring, it was horded until he paid a visit. Was there another brand as good?
He also had baking powder, salve, hair dye (because no woman would buy it from the local store or everyone would know she used that sinful stuff).
My Pa Skinner swore by the liniment that came in a flat bottle with a picture of a horse on front. That stuff would burn the hair out of your nose if you smelled it right after the cap was removed. It was white-ish and thick. Pa said it was good for everything from snake bite to a bad chest cold. My brothers and I would shake the bottle, remove the lid and dare each other to sniff it!
All this from moving a container of black pepper.
Do you remember the Watkins man and all his wares?
—Brenda Smith
I don’t remember the Watkins man, but I sure do enjoy Brenda’s memories.
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
As a child, I remember the Watkins man. He had the best vanilla flavoring according to my mother. I remember the salve he sold which was used on skinned knees and just about any other injury. Cracker Barrel sells Watkins products but it jus isn’t the same.
Growing up in the midwest, the only ones I recall was Jewel Tea & the Fuller Brush man. Got our hair brushes and scrub brushes, routinely, every year. They’re still in business but Jewel Tea is now in the history book.
Well I definitely don’t remember the Watkins Man, but I definitely like hearing about this kind of history & memories of days gone by.
Thanks for sharing Miss Tipper.
An old Andy Griffith Show episode had Sterling Holloway as THE MERCHANT OF MAYBERRY, with his hundreds of items organized into one little area. That was really ‘it’ until the good ol’ Mom and Pop stores – at least in my area. And those little general stores were on every other corner in my town, it seemed. Used old comic books for a nickel. Wow! The door-to-door salesmen, working ‘cold canvas’ knocking on (every) door, was a staple when I was a child through about 1975. Even vacuum salesmen, but certainly Watkins Products and the Fuller Brush man.
I remember the Jewel T man stopping by regularly. There were 9 kids in our family in the Oakwood section of Raleigh. We also had daily milk delivery and bread delivery. We also had a vegetable man, Mr. Hodge, who came by every day in the Spring, Summer and Fall. He had an old cow bell that he would ring to let all the neighbor ladies know he was on the block. It had a distinctive sound that I’ve not heard since. He had an old Ford Model-T that had been modified to accommodate bushel baskets of things he had bought at the farmers market. It had a cover to protect against sunlight and rain. When it wore out he got another vintage Ford that was a little bigger but modified in the same way.
I buy Watkins black pepper through Amazon these days.
Blessings to all, especially Miss Cindy.
My mom’s uncle or cousin, thinking it was an uncle because of his age, was a Watkins man. I only met him once when he and his wife came to visit.
I remember the Watkins man coming to my grandparents house on a regular basis. My grandmother always bought a few things from him.
We who lived at the head of Wiggins Creek were inclined toward Blair Products. So far there seems to be no mention made of Blair. They had a full line of flavorings, food and medicinal offerings.
I remember two types of liniments, external and internal. There was a white liniment I was given for indigestion but was used for all sorts on internal maladies. Then there was a red liniment which we used for cuts, poured directly into an open wound. There also was a yellow liniment that was rubbed onto scraps, bruises and sore places. It might have had curative effects but that was nullified by the odor it imparted. The smell lingered well after the injury was “healed up and haired over”, as Uncle Wayne would say.
Also another brand not yet brought to light is McNess. Our nearest neighbors (Beanie’s folks) were as loyal to McNess as we were to Blair. It seems to though that all these products Watkins, Rawleigh, Blair, McNess and more, were in the same or similar containers with different labels affixed. Perhaps all that product loyalty might have been benefiting one generic product manufacturer.
Yes I sure do remember ,”The Watkins Man”!!1 over the years I think our household sampled about all his many wares !!!!!
I remember both the Watkins and Raleigh salesmen stopping by our house here in the mountains of Rutherford County, NC. Momma would buy baking supplies (especially vanilla) from the Watkins man and dad swore by the liniment. Of course what country farm would be with out the Raleigh drawing salve! My favorite was the occasional visit in the early 60’s of the Charles Chip man! I can still see that little beige van and of course the can filled with tater chips! We continue to lift up our prayers for the entire family. May the Lord hold you tight in His arms at this most difficult time……..
We don’t have a Watkins Man but our little country gas station and feed stores carries Watkins products as well as assorted “basics” you don’t want to make a special trip into town for. I agree that Watkins vanilla is top notch – almost as good as the good kind of “Mexican vanilla” I used to by by the quart across the Rio Grande!
With all these glowing comments, I will have to look up Watkins! When I was small, we lived in rural Roane County, TN and the Jewel Tea man would come regularly.
Blessings to all.
Brenda’s sweet story of memories sure did bring back many of my own. I grow up in a small town in West Virginia and because we lived in town we always had salesman knocking on our door. I remember the Watkins man coming to our house as a child with his suitcase filled with products. My mom always bought the vanilla and other products he had, but I remember the vanilla the most and when I find it in stores, I buy it. I remember the Fuller Brush man with his suitcase filled with different brushes and he might have had other products too, but I only remember the brushes. I remember the Milk Delivery service man selling my parents a weekly milk delivery plan. The Milk man delivered glass bottles of milk and cream to our porch in a metal rack holder each week until our first big grocery store opened up. I remembered the Encyclopedia man, Electrolux man, Rainbow Vacuum man, and then the women started coming around selling. Tupperware, Stanley Home Products and Avon. Later on it wasn’t door to door it was in-home parties with Luzier Skin Care Products, which I sold for years when I was 16 yrs old to in my twenties. I also sold Stanley Home Products and Avon when they did the parties. Brenda’s story opened up a flood gate of my memories of home sales with not just the ones I mentioned but a whole list others besides the ones I’ve already mentioned, like home deco, lingerie, candles, baskets, pot and pans, and numerous others. Gheez, my brain is in overload with home sales and sales parties I’ve hosted throughout my life. I couldn’t afford many of the products, but if I hosted a party then I received free products based on my sales from the party. I hosted many sales parties so I could get the products I wanted. I invited every woman I knew to ensure even if they didn’t buy, I still got something if they hosted a party. It was a win win no matter how much was sold. Plus it was a fun social time for us women to get together with no kids or husbands. Just us girls! I had no idea what fond memories I had of products that were sold door to door or in-home parties, until now. Thank you for posting Brenda’s story that took me down my memory lane of dear people that sold or bought in-home products. I hadn’t thought about them in many years, so it was a pleasant trip in my mind of days gone by.
Yes! I remember my Mother buying a few Watkins products. She was very frugal and rarely bought anything from any salesman. I remember her buying an instant pudding mix or two from him, and double strength vanilla!
Thanks Rita! I hope you don’t mind me replying to your comment, because for some reason, the site wouldn’t let me do my own comment?
Here goes:
I will be 75 in August, and clearly remember the Watkins man. Grandma would buy Vanilla and Lemon flavorings especially. Knowing Grandma, she probably also gave him a cute little butter mold churned from her Jersey cow, butter that she kept handy for neighbors. Times were hard, but Grandma was very frugal. She also bought liniment and pudding mix.
FYI
Surprisingly, I have found Watkins flavorings at our local Walmart occasionally. The products can also be ordered online nowadays.
This brought back great memories!
There was no salesman came back in our holler. we wouldn’t been able to afford anything anyways. Not back then. I think that was before my time. God bless you all And Miss Cindy
Here in Johnston County, NC my uncle sold Rawleigh products. I well remember the medicated ointment. It would cure anything you had wrong with you. He would go from house to house and also kept a lot of products in a room in their house so if you needed something from vitamins, to pie fillings, he had it. He sold for many years and to this day was known as the “Rawleigh man.” We also had a Watkins salesman around in these parts too. I remember the Stanley products, I still have a Stanley broom in the garage, had it for years and yes, I remember those Tupperware parties. And what about the Electrolux vacuum cleaners? Salesman would come to your door and if you had carpet on the floor, he’d through a clump of dirt on it to demonstrate how well it worked, LOL. They were good vacuum cleaners, then when the Rainbow ones came along, that was all the craze here for a while. I remember the Avon ladies when they went door to door and also when folks came door to door to sell World book encyclopedias. What memories!
I don’t know if it was a Watkins man or a Raleigh salesman who came around our farming community back in the 1950’s. I was an underweight child, so my mom always bought alfalfa tablets which were supposed to build a person up. I just remember they smelled exactly like alfalfa hay & tasted like I imagined hay would taste, too. I believe she also bought salves, cough medicine, and vanilla.
Yaeger’s Liniment! I didn’t care how stove up I was, I would crawl away if necessary to avoid that horrible smelling stuff. Come to think of it that was my reaction to any treatment for any ailment I had as a kid. My mom was a fast runner.
Yes I’m old enough to remember the Watkins man here in California, pushing his little cart down the road. I recently had a very painful knee. I had half a bottle of Watkins white liniment, which I had found at an estate sale a few years before as I remembered Watkins stuff from my childhood. When I put the Watkins combo of turpentine and camphor ointment I had immediate relief from the painful knee. It still is great stuff. It can also be ordered through Dr. Drakes catalog. My dad used Raleigh liniment whenever he had stomach problems mixing it with milk and drinking it. He believed it would cure him and it did.
Jewel tea and vacuum cleaner salesmen always showing up. It was a different era, as I recall a man in a suit showing up. I invited him in and gave him a cup of coffee. He looked a little bewildered when I accidentally gave him salt for the coffee. Well, nobody in West Virginia used sugar in coffee in those days, so I immediately decided that salesman must be from somewhere in Virginia. He was the insurance guy! Now I am so perplexed at times by absolutely everything being done on an app on our phone. With my big fingers, I am not happy about that. I know my way around a computer, but find a phone slow going and do not like the idea of all those apps on there. My printer was on the blink, and even the library had me sending my document via email on my phone to make a copy. Tipper, I am so glad you all are rallying around Miss Cindy at this time. Just know that many of our prayers are right there also.
I remember the Watkins man and the Fuller Brush man coming to my grandmother’s house in Greenville, SC. Someone mentioned a Stanley party. It seems I remember something like that at her house once. I also remember a peddler who came around occasionally with a cart pulled by goats. He sold goat milk and sassafras root. My grandmother always bought some sassafras if he had some, and made sassafras tea.
Your comment prompted me to remember the man who sold homemade tamales from a cart!
My maternal grandfather, Norman Carter, was a Watkins salesman. His coat pocket always had a few little rolls of LifeSavers, five to a roll.
We had the Watkins man and the Raleigh man. They both sold about the same type of products.
Their medicinal products along with kerosine would cure any ailment.
In rural Mississippi, we had Watkins and Raleigh salesman that came around monthly.
My Dad was a Raleigh salesman for several years and Mom thought their vanilla flavoring was the best!
I remember the Watkins Man! He would spread his stuff out on our front porch–I’m trying to remember if he had some kind of quilt, etc. to put it on. We were deep in the country and loved seeing just about anyone. I can’t remember what we bought–probably not much!
I was too young to remember the Watkins and the Raleigh’s man, but mom used many of their products. I use Raleigh’s salve still today. We also had a milk man that delivered milk to our door. One cold winter day the poor milk man hit a momma skunk and her babies. He had to drive around delivering milk with all his vehicles doors open in the freezing cold. Years later, during a time lean time, mother who loved her milk, told us kids that she was going to have to leave the milk man a note in the little milk box, saying not to deliver any more milk. She added, “He is not going like it but, he can just lump it.” My siblings hid in the bushes when the milk man showed up. After he read the note and was walking back to his truck, four little voices called out “And if you don’t like it, you can lump it.”
All our milk came from our cow or Grammaw’s cow. I was the milkman. I squeezed milk from the cow’s faucets into a milk bucket and brought it in the house. We didn’t get any bought milk until I was in my late teens and only then when the cow was dry.
Ed,
Same here. We kept two milk cows, and I got the assignment of milking them. That was an excellent way to learn that milk did not and still does not originate in the store.
Good morning! I remember the Watkins Man, we also had a Yancey’s Man that would bring fresh veggies and fruit from Denver to our small town in southern Wyo. It was exciting to see the Yancey’s truck! Have a blessed day.
Tipper,
I was visiting TN and on my way back to VA and went by your neck of the woods. Anyways, I was all excited thinking I was in a celebrity town as I always read your blog. I kept saying I remember her and her followers mentioning this place, etc. I just wanted you to know I thought about you! 🙂 Hope this finds you well.
Lots of Watkins products still for sale.
Yes I remember the Watkins man but he didn’t come around as much as the Jewell T man, the Fuller Brush man or our favorite the Helms Bakery man( Southern California and we got free stuff because our dad was a baker at Helms).
Remember the “Watkin’s Man” well in the 40’s and 50’s. He was a mainstay in our small Kentucky rural county; his route included our clay baked gravel road and we used several kitchen and medicinal products. In particular, his Black Draught Creomulsion; as a “croupy baby” I was given it more often than I liked. Am not sure which was worse tasting, the prepared cough syrup or the sometime used “homemade shine remedy”. Must admit, they both worked • however, the shine insured I was “stump broke” from ever being a “drinking man”!
Watkins man wouldn’t dare to come to our holler. Only the rolling store but that’s another story for another time!
Prayers sent your way today✝️
We had the Watkins man here and my late Mum bought The Watkins Cookbook, which I still have and use. Up until a few years ago my friend Joyce and her husband sold Watkins products at our local flea market. I love the double strength white vanilla!
I don’t remember that but we had the Jewel Tea Man and the Electrolux man come around. The only door to door salesman I remember my mom letting in the door.
I never experienced the pleasure of a peddler peddling his wares, but the Watkins man sounds like the man with the plan! He had it all did he? I liked the line about buying hair dye off him because to be seen in town buying that stuff made you a vain woman! Lol I believe if many of the old timers were to rise and live in this day where anything goes and blushing is hard to come by, they’d have a stroke and kill right over! My how things have changed, but I ask is any of it for the better or DISGUISED as better and sold to fools who want to believe the good…mailing cards again today southward bound to Wilson holler! Much love and many prayers for blessings to you and yours and especially the beautiful Miss Cindy and I can’t leave Granny out cause she’s an angel!!!
Sadie, I don’t think this really goes along with today’s post but has to to do with old ways. I was talking this morning with someone about my age about the old school days when we went to school. I went to country schools from 1960-1972, there was no kindergarten or middle school. From the second grade on I carried a pocket knife even a “hawkbill knife” in high school it was not uncommon for the boys that had something to drive, to drive and park a pickup truck in the parking lot with a gun in the gun rack mounted to the back window. It would stay there all day in an unlocked truck and not be touched. There would be a fight nearly everyday between boys in high school and especially on Monday, most often over one dating or talking to other one’s girl friend. Monday was the first day back after the weekend- see dating. Nothing but fist used and many times after a few days the boys would be back to being friends and the girl would be going with someone else. I got into trouble when I was a senior because the principal THOUGHT my girlfriend, later on my wife, and I were holding hands while standing on the walkway. The last thing you wanted was for your parents to find out you had got a spanking or whupping at school, the ones that give it to you at school had only tenderized your butt, your parents would blister it. Things weren’t perfect but the old days were so much much better. Now anything goes not only in school but everywhere else.
I don’t remember any “Watkins Man” growing up but I faithfully use Watkins Vanilla Extract. I use it in all my baking and I order it directly from Watkins. They make alot of great products.
I use Watkins products to this day. I’m only 38 but I grew up on them. My grandparents and my mother loved them. I have asthma and that chest rub is the best there is. I use it nightly.
Oh! The Watkins Man was welcomed at our house. The best flavorings! And a salve that would heal most any abrasion. Lineament to sooth aching bones after a hard day’s work. I think Watkins products can still be found but not by a delivery man; that was very important back in the day.
Tipper! I just looked up Watkins Products — they are still in business, and the same products are now sold online!
Love Watkins! I buy their vanilla only.
I’m told that my Grandfather was a Watkins man in Central Florida for many years, even though I never had the chance to know him personally his legacy of hard work and diligence to care for his 13 children is remarkable , but I do remember the little bottles of orange concentrate that my mom used to make a full pitcher for us kids in the Hot Summer sun before we ever thought about drinking “soda”
I was buying Watkins products up until about 10 years ago. I loved them. However, their focus has completely changed on what they offer. I especially loved the butterscotch dessert mix which I used to make pies. They had many other delicious flavors along with soup mixes, dip mixes, and other terrific seasoning blends such as meatloaf and chilli. They seem to offer mainly bath and body products and a few remedies. The Petrocarbo salve is a wonderful product that used to be stocked by Cracker Barrel and Wal-Mart was selling their spices. There was a very good movie about a Watkins man a few years back that I think might have been put out by Hallmark.
Oh yeah, the Watkins man. Boy that does send one off down memory lane. And not to change the subject but then there was the Fuller Brush man. Anybody remember him. To just show us how times have changed, ever wonder why there wasn’t a Watkins Woman?
lots of watkins women around now ([ have been one for past 22 years ) grew up on the products. red and green cans were all we needed for first aid in the 40’s
There was a Watkins salesman that came through Kennesaw in the 60s. Mama always bought his vanilla flavoring – it was the best!!!
Good memories.
Prayers continue.
In addition to the Watkins man, Mr. Buckles, we also had a “rolling store” that came once a week. One of things I remember about Mr. Buckles was that he wore a suit even in the heat of summer.
The items in the “rolling store” were pretty much the same as in a normal store except the quantity. People mostly bought their essentials such as sugar, salt, flour, etc. If one was having a really lucky day, they might get a candy bar. Another thing I remember about the “rolling store, was a huge chicken cage on the top of the vehicle. They actually bought chickens from people and put them into the cage.
My Mother, “Mom” would trade chickens for goods. They obviously had a market for selling the chickens, themselves. It is possible that the chickens were also sold to others on the route. The names of the people who owned the “rolling store” were Hal and Goldie Storie.
That’s amazing! Way before Amazon, and using the barter system is so efficient! I suppose each of those sales men would have many stories they could tell. The Antique Automobile Association in Hershey has a classic Model A that was driven over 300,000 miles (if I remember correctly); the salesman would the engine rebuilt and a repaint as part of his commitment to keeping it a daily driver.
This is a family story I have heard all of my life. When one of my uncles was a young kid, he slipped into the cabinet and drank enough vanilla flavoring to get drunk and pass out. It scared grandmother to death but the old country doctor told her he was just passed out drunk and would sleep it off and be alright. He did, and would always laugh and say that was the first and last time he had ever been drunk. Reckon it might have been Watkins flavoring? I think pure vanilla flavoring, not imitation, has a high alcohol content.
My Grandfather, Hunter King was a Watkins salesman in Lauderdale County, Alabama. I am not sure exactly when but I have a picture of him in his horse drawn wagon with Watkins on the side. Our family shared many stories about his experiences in the country.
Have not had any door to door salesmen in a long time. My wife bought a set of Cutco cutlery from one when she started her first job after school. We still use them today
Richard, are you aware that you can send your Cutco knives to the factory for free sharpening? You do have to pay a fee for them to package and ship it back to you. I just found out about the service and sent in a serrated fish fileting that my father-in-law gave me more than 50 years ago. It came back sharp and ready for another 50 years.
I do not remember the Watkins man but remember mother and grandmother using these flavorings. I do remember a man driving a van and coming around every couple of weeks selling household items. One of his main items was “Standard Coffee”, I think we may have referred to him as the “Standard Man”. He went to my church and had a daughter that I liked but she never knew it! We have been lifelong friends. I also remember “Stanley Glue” and the neighborhood ladies having Stanley Parties. I am sure many of us remember “Tupperware” and the ladies having Tupperware Parties.
Watkins liniment! God bless Ms Cindy with peace and comfort in Jesus name!
Yes, I remember the Watkins man. It was always a treat when I would be at my Granny’s house & he would stop by for a visit. My Granny would invite him into her home like he was family. She’d offer him coffee or sweet tea. We would sit in the living room and he would open his big black bag and show her his wares.
In addition to the Watkins Man I also remember the Stanley Tea Man and the Fuller Brush Man. They always gave my Granny and my mom a free sample if something. Spent my entire youth scrubbing my nails with the sample fingernail brush momma got as a thank you gift, and of course our bath soap bar sat on the little plastic soap holder. Another sales person that graced our door was our sweet Avon Lady, who was also treated like family.
Those were sweeter and simpler times. I miss those days if the early 50’s, and my Granny and my momma.
I don’t remember his name: we called him Ole Watkins. Mama had to have that high-powered liniment when he came by. She loved his pie filling, too. We had a grocery peddler that came every week, but Ole Watkins was monthly or even less. I can’t imagine how he made much money twisting through those west Tennessee roads, but we were always happy to see him coming.
I remember.
Back in the 1940s, Mama bought Watkins products from the Watkins man who came to our neighborhood in Clovis, New Mexico.
I can’t remember if our representative was a Watkins man or a Raleigh man in rural Montgomery County of North Carolina. Everyone called him “Shankle.” Don’t know if that was his first or last name. He sold all kinds of flavoring, salve, etc. He came fairly regularly to our house and always made it the last stop of the evening so he could stay awhile and play checkers with my dad.
My husband has Shankles family in Alabama.
I don’t remember a Watkins man, but I do remember people peddling other things. Momma said they had a huckster come around in his horse drawn wagon peddling a variety of things.
Love that story and glad she shared it!
I can’t say I remember any of the salesmen that came by ez ept for the guy that sold encyclopedias and a guy that sold stainless steel cookware that my mother bought and used til she died. I couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7. Funny the things you remember.
We didn’t have a Watkins man, but we had a “Raleigh man” who visited us on his route (rural Gaston County NC). I remember seeing this elderly man (probably younger than I am now) sitting on the porch swing talking to my Grandma. I don’t recall her buying anything except vanilla flavoring but it was enough to include us every few months on his rounds. As we saw his car turn in the drive, we would yell, “Grandma, it’s the Raleigh man!”
Absolutely, Watkins was the best. Because stores were not close to where I grew up, sometime you would know that he was coming by soon. I had not thought about that in years. I use to buy Watkin’s extract, but now that I make my own, I don’t. Praying for you guys and especially comfort for Miss Cindy. God Bless.
My paternal grandparents sold Watkins Products in the 60’s. They didn’t go door to door. My grandpa had severely deformed Club feet. Walking was difficult. They lived in North Topeka, KS. Grandpa painted a large sign WATKINS PRODUCTS that he placed near a busy thoroughfare by their house. There was red and white linament. It was powerful stuff! We used the Carbolic Salve, a lot. Our dog got deathly sick one time. She dug a hole under our house and wouldn’t come out. We couldn’t get her to eat or drink. We cried and cried. Grandpa force some linament down her throat. A couple of days later she was running around the yard like a puppy. We were thrilled! It’s a pleasure thinking about these good memories. Continued prayers for Miss Cindy and all who love her. I wish I lived nearby so I could hug ya’ll…..and sing hymns with you. ❤️