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Title Saga of the Sanpitch Vol 13
Subject Pioneers
Description Stories and poems about early Southern Utah Pioneers
Publisher Snow College
Date 1981
Type Image
Format image/jpeg
Language eng
Rights Management Snow College
Holding Institution Snow College
ARK ark:/87278/s6xd0ztc
Setname snowc_sts
Date Created 2005-03-01
Date Modified 2005-03-01
ID 324356
Reference URL

Page Metadata

Title Flies
Description J1IES Talula Nelson Box 148 Mt. Pleasant, Utah &l*6k7 Senior Citizen Division First Place Anecdote Crickets were not the only pest the early settlers had to contend with-I remember rattlesnakes, grasshoppers, tarantulas, scorpions, mice, frogs, lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs, and flies, flies, flies, I remember seeing the back porch covered with fliesi the walls, ceilings and screen door were black with the creatures. They would filter through the old screen door which hung loosely on its hinges. The cat hole was an easy way to get to the place where it was warm and smelled of food. As the nights became colder, the kitchen Has filled with flies, rhe ceiling was black, windows were a favorite roosting place, and partly opened cupboards invited them inside. When a drawer was opened a cloud of the pesky things greeted the opener in the face. They spilled over into the living room ar.d bedrooms. It was impossible to sleep after daylight; babies and sick people had to be covered with mosq.uito net. Women would arm themselves with towels, dish clottaest or aprons. They would pull the blinds down to darken the room and start to drive the flies from the house. The corner farthest from the door was the starting place, They would shoo and swing their weapons uiytil they came nesj: the door. Someone would swing the door open and the rush was on. After this the house would be fairly free of flies for a few hours. Dinner1 time was a family cooperation-plates were placed on the table upside down, sugar and butter dishes were covered. Two or more children would each get a long willow with leaves and wave them over the table as the food was served. It was no surprise to see a fly dive into the soup or gravy; a spoonful of food along with the fly was considered enough of the contaminated food to discard. Long strips of sticky fly paper were hung from the ceilings. Fly catchers of all sorts were tried with varied success. Not until fly spray was used, corrals were moved out of town, firm screen doors were tightly hung, and the cat hole was plugged did relief finally come. Now the lonely flyswatter is the only reminder of the pesky fly.
Format image/jpeg
Identifier 049_Flies.jpg
Source Saga of the Sanpitch Vol 13
Setname snowc_sts
Date Created 2005-02-19
Date Modified 2005-02-19
ID 324226
Reference URL