Lard Bucket

Animal fat has been used in cooking for centuries, yet it was pig fat that dominated among the Southern Mountaineers.  Every fall a pig was killed and the pieces cut up and cured in the smokehouse.  The left over fat and skin residue was melted down over an open fire.  The melted fat was strained through layers of cloth to catch rich pieces of pork called cracklins, which were added to corn bread.  The melted fat was then allowed to harden and become lard.  Store bought lard became available around the turn of the century and came in metal buckets.  Ever resourceful cooks and farmers would recycle these pails by using them as lunch boxes and storage containers.

 

Mussel Shell

Hello everyone!  It has been busy at the museum for the past few months and one thing that has fallen to the side has been our "artifact of the week" posts.  We will try to do better from now on.

Mussel Shells are fairly common in the streams and rivers of Scott County, yet it was the Native Americans who benefited most from this mollusk.  Over 2,000 years ago, the Native Americans in the Big South Fork region were harvesting them in large quantities.  Mussels, a cousin to clams and oysters, are rich in protein, omega 3, iron, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 which makes them a huge payload for their small size.  Mussels were often eaten raw on the riverbank or were taken back to campsites and roasted over fires.  Archaeologists have found garbage piles of mussel shells around ancient villages that measure in the hundreds of square feet which shows how important this small organism was as a food source for the Native Americans.  

Photograph courtesy of the author.  Information taken from Tribes That Slumber by Lewis and Kneburg and https://oceana.org/blog/benefits-eating-bivalves.