Saturday, April 19, 2014

George 'Buster' Singleton's 'Somewhere in Time' column from Feb. 23, 1995

George 'Buster' Singleton
(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Signs of the seasons: Are they still important?,” was originally published in the Feb. 23, 1995 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Almost every day, I am amazed at how little our society has remembered certain rules and practices that brought use through the lean, rough times of the Civil War and the days of the Great Depression.

Today, we rely on our computers and televisions for decisions that used to be made by reading the signs and signals put here by the Almighty for man to live and govern our everyday lives by.

For example, this past Friday, the 17th day of February, was a hectic day as far as the local weather was concerned; at 8:30 a.m., it thundered. And as the clouds gathered overhead for the downpour that was to follow, this old saying came to mind. I assumed that everyone in the South knew the saying that if it thundered during the month of February, on that same day in the coming month of April, there would be a heavy frost.

I won’t call any names, but as we sat in a local coffee shop this past Friday discussing the weather. I casually mentioned this old prediction. Several in the group stared at me wide-eyed and in total disbelief. None of this group of middle-aged men had ever heard this, although most had grown up on a country farm just as I had.

Predicting the weather

Upon seeing that this group had a lot to learn about predicting the weather and the observance of the many other signs, I decided to kinda test their knowledge.

None had any knowledge of the old home remedies practiced among the country families during the past decades. None knew that red oak bark tea was good in the prevention of boils and skin soils. They had never heard that a spoonful of apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water and taken once a day was good for what ails you.

They had no idea that this same apple cider vinegar when applied was good for blistered skin and sunburn and poison ivy. All stared in disbelief when told that wet tobacco was a good cure for wasp and bee stings. And that the severed head of a poisonous snake when placed on a snake bite would draw all the poisonous venom from the wound of the victim.

I couldn’t believe that these men before me, who said that they all grew up on a farm, didn’t know to never plant a crop during the time of a full moon. None knew that only during certain times of the moon should anyone butcher their hogs for meat. And, that under certain signs of the moon, more lard or grease would come from the hog meat than at other times.

Not enough dirt

Not one in the group knew that at certain times of the moon, you could dig a hole in the ground and the same dirt when placed back in the hole would not fill it up. And, during other times of the moon, a hole could be dug. When this same dirt was returned to fill the hole, there would be an excess amount of dirt; there would always be some left over after the hole was filled.

I found it amusing that none had ever heard that a horse or mule colt born during the month of May had a greater desire to be around water than those born during the other months of the year.

I remember my father telling me this when I was given a young horse for a present. I was told to be careful when I was crossing a stream on my horse because he was a May colt and he just might lay down in the cool waters. Much to my surprise, my horse did just that. One Sunday afternoon, on my way to visit a friend, I stopped at a stream to let my horse drink. Much to my surprise, my pride and joy calmly lay down in the cool waters with total disregard of me, my good clothes and my newly acquired army saddle that had been ordered from Sears Roebuck & Co.

In looking back to the days of my early youth, I realize that I was more fortunate than many, due to the fact that that my darling grandmother took the time to explain and point out the many signs and predictions that might aide in my existence.

I remember sitting wide-eyed by the fireplace and listening to the stories passed on to her young grandson by this tall, dark-haired woman. I know what it is like to drink hot sassafras tea while sitting around a glowing fire on a crisp, cold winter morning. Drinking the hot tea was the remedy to clean and purify your blood for the coming spring. This was always a must during the closing days of February. This tea would be made from dried sassafras roots gathered during the past fall months.

I remember hearing the stories of how the wood smoke from the chimney or a campfire reacts due to the changes of the moon. On certain phases of the moon, the smoke will rise upward, slowly in a straight line. Then, at other times, the smoke will twist upward in a corkscrew fashion after leaving the chimney or fire.

The elderly people of the farm community placed a lot of emphasis on the signs for the coming spring. They put a lot of faith in the observance of these predicting signs for the coming seasons.

No home was without a current copy of the almanac. These always came from the Raleigh or Watkins salesmen or The Ladies Birthday Almanac. Black Draught, Cardui and various salves and flavors were always advertised on the front of the almanac. These almanacs first appeared around the year 1806, but the signs of the heavens have been observed since man first appeared on this earth.

An almanac was more important in a country home than the Sears Roebuck catalog. By referring to this important book, you always knew the exact changes of the moon; the time of the full moon, and also the exact time of the sunrise on a given day or the time of the sunset.

This didn’t matter that much to the people; they always got up at sunrise and went to bed shortly after dark. But having access to this information was nice to have around just in case you needed it.

With the coming of this next month, the Ides of March will be upon us. Much emphasis has been placed on this month during man’s history. On the 21st, the vernal equinox will appear. This is the time when the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. So, the length of the day is exactly the same as the length of the night.

During this month, many plants and animals come to life again. There are many superstitions about the month of March. We sometimes hear that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But, one thing for sure, March is the time when the beauty of the coming spring first appears on the scene.

This verse might say it better:

And the Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast,
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.


(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)

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