I ran across an unexpected question last week. Younger generations don't know what is meant by "Jimmy Crack Corn," and there has been plenty of speculation about it on the internet. I also ran across some interesting cultural sensitivity that was much earlier than you would expect. The answer to cracking corn is obvious to historically minded rural folks, and to those who are well read. Corn was, and is a staple item that is used for animal feed, human food, and for making whiskey. Pigs, horses, and cows can eat shelled corn, but chickens need cracked corn, and humans need corn ground into meal. Corn was also used to make whiskey for income, trade, and personal consumption, and malted corn had to be cracked in order to make mash for whiskey production. Here is a brief passage from Fred Gipson's book, Old Yeller, which was published in 1959, and is about Texas in the post-Civil War era.
"we had
plenty of grass, wood, and water. We had wild game for the killing,
fertile ground for growing bread corn" That's from page 1, and bread in most of the South still means cornbread.
So, what does Jimmy Crack Corn really mean? The person telling the story is a house slave, tending to Master's needs. Master dies, and now the story teller is cracking corn; so that tells me he is no longer in the big house, but is out on the farm doing other work, including cracking corn for the household, the chickens, and maybe for a distilling operation. It was probably better work than being in the house where a slave was under constant scrutiny. Anyhow, here is Burl Ives performing this song in 1964.
Now, what is interesting about this live performance is that he refers to the master as Master. In vinyl recordings from the 1950's Mr. Ives uses the word Boss throughout,and in the 1946 movie, Smoky, he also sings Boss instead of Master. It's all very interesting, and I wish we could hear the conversations about how this song was to be recorded for posterity in 1946. This was before Truman integrated the armed forces, but the process had been started, with recruits being introduced to the idea in 1945. "Getting Along" started way before Rodney King made his famous plea for everyone to behave as ladies and gentlemen, and it seems in the last few years the entire process has just gone completely to pieces.
Please pass the cornbread, and get Back To The Old Grind!
Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules 1. All guns are always loaded. 2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. 4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.
Knives 1. Never cut toward yourself. 2. Always cut away from yourself. 3. Never cut yourself.
AND If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!
Chainsaws
1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).
2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.
3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.
4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.
5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.
6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.
7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.
8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.
9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.
10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.
11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.
12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.
13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.
14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.
15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.
16. Don't cut alone.
17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.
18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.
19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.
20. Do not cut above your shoulders.
21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.
22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.
23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!
24!! Quit When You Are Tired!
25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!
Cutting dead and rotten trees is extremely risky, and your safety always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow before you cut out the back. Don't fight side lean or back lean when cutting unsound trees. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.
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3 comments:
Cornbread & whiskey - what more does anybody need?
Merle
Beans, squirrel, fried okra.
Yeah, a little variety is a good thing! :)
Merle
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