Terrebonne County Louisiana Archives News.....Fifty Years Ago No. 23 December 24, 1892
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Savanna King savanna18king@gmail.com August 11, 2023, 1:16 am

The Thibodaux Sentinel December 24, 1892
In 1842, in the Western and thinly settled states, when a man wanted to have 
some heavy work done, he did not do as one now does, go out and hire laborers to 
have it done but called upon his neighbors to assist him. When a farmer had a 
lot of land to clear off for cultivation, he would cut down the trees and chop 
and saw them in lengths of ten to twenty feet, and then invite his neighbors to 
come on some fixed day, to his “log rolling” and aid him in placing the heavy 
timbers in heaps or piles ready for destruction by fire.

These logrollings would last sometimes an entire day, but generally one 
afternoon would suffice.

Subsequently, the farmer would set fire to his “log heaps” and burn them, 
leaving his land ready for the plow. Whilst the men were rolling the logs into 
heaps the wife and daughters of the farmer, often aided by some of their 
neighbors, would prepare a substantial meal for the benefit of the “logrollers” 
when their work was completed.

Again, when a farmer’s wife would have a quilt to make she would invite her 
neighbors to come at some appointed time to her “quilting party” the ladies 
would meet and in a short while the quilt would be completed and ready for use.

This party was also followed by a dinner, or supper. 

Sometimes, in the winter season the neighbors of some poor widow would collect 
at her home, and spend a day. The men in chopping and hauling up firewood for 
her use during the cold weather, the women in sewing and assisting in preparing 
warm clothing for herself and children, and in getting the invariable 
substantial dinner. Often the ingredients for the meal were taken with them so 
as not to encroach upon the scanty larder of the widow. 

One of the most agreeable and interesting gatherings was the corn shuckings, or 
hustings. The farmer would have a long pile of corn in shuck extended on some 
smooth plot of ground when, at night, the huskers would assemble, divide the 
“pile” into two parts, select two captains who would choose their assistants, 
one by one.

Often, in pleasant nights, the girls would unite in the frolic.

It would sometimes require two or three hours to husk all the corn, a generous 
rivalry existing between the two sides.

It was generally customary when a young woman shucked a red ear of corn that she 
was entitled to a kiss from her partner, and then she would cast the ear into 
the pile of husked corn. I remember once that I had a little blue eyed girl 
alongside of me who found a red ear of corn, the penalty for which I had to pay. 
It was not long until she held up a second ear, and then a third and a fourth 
one, which I had to pay the duty on. By this time I began to notice a 
familiarity in the size and shape of that particular ear, and quietly marked it. 
In a few minutes the red ear turned up for the sixth time, I discovered my mark 
and after redeeming it I told her that I had been a victim of misplaced 
confidence long enough and requested her to throw that ear of corn into the corn 
pile, and not hide it under her apron anymore. 

These huskings were all ended with a big supper and oftentimes by spending half 
of the night in amusing pastimes.

When Christmas come around as it did once a year, there was a custom of the 
young men on its eve to take their guns and go to the neighbors’ houses in a 
body, and fire off one or two rounds, as a Christmas Greeting.

The girls of 1842 were different from those of 1892. Now when a young lady hears 
a gun fired outside of her house, she crawls into her armoire, runs under her 
bed, creeps into an auger hold, or hides herself some way, but then, when the 
guns were fired, the girls would light their tallow candles, open wide the 
doors, invite the “rowdies” in and lead them to a table covered with cakes, 
pies, apples, cider &tc., and tell them “to make themselves at home,” which they 
usually did, and then bidding their hosts a merry Christmas departed in peace to 
visit the next neighbor.

Mais ce n’est plus comme cela!

Fifty years make many changes, and all of them are not for the better.


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