Rhoda McMillon, McMillon Settlement, Cocke County, Tennessee
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Mrs. Rhoda McMillon, 70 years old when recorded in 1939, was living at Catons Grove, Cocke County, Tennessee. She had three or four years of formal education.
[transcripption copyrigh Michael Montgomery and Paul Reed, 2017]
[M = Rhoda McMillon; I1 = Unidentified Interviewer; I2 = Unidentified Interviewer]
M: My name is Missus McMillon, Rhoda McMillon, I was borned and raised in Cocke County, and, and I’ll be seventy, seventy years old next November if I live that long.
[SOMEONE IS IN THE BACKGROUND IS VERY FAINTLY PROMPTING HER TO NAME HERBS]
M: What?
I2: Eighth day of November.
M: Eighth day of November, yes.
I1: xx.
I2: Boneset.
Boneset’s a good remedy for typhoid fever and flu and all those sorts of fevers, colds.
I1: xx long way xx wild alum.
M: Wild alum, that’s a good, that best thing I ever saw used for cholera and marvus and diarrhea.
I2: Life everlasting.
M: Life everlasting, that’s another good remedy for all colds and fevers and flu.
I2: Black snakeroot.
M: M- black snakeroot, that’s a g-, one of the best remedies I ever saw used for hives, isn’t it, In children? take black snakeroot and cut it up and a little sulfur and take the heart out of a onion and roast, put it in, the heart of it, the alum and sulfur, and roast it and squeeze the juice out, and I’ve never knowed it to fail to cure hives in a baby.
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I2: xx.
M: Yes, and also blacksnake root’s real good for weeding the breast.
I2: Ground ivy.
M: And ground ivy is a good tea for a hives for babies.
I2: Catnip tea.
M: And catnip tea is good, what’s next?
I2: Pneumonia.
M: Huh, pneumonia, a good remedy for pneumonia, rub the breast good with turpentine, and it gives good laxatives.
I2: Jerusalem oak
M: Jerusalem oak’s another good thing for uh worms in children, take it and stew the seed in uh honey or molasses and give it to them, a small teaspoonful before bedtime, real good remedy, next one.
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I2: White oak.
M: White oak? White oak bark tea is real good for diarrhea.
I2: Sweet flag, that's the next one xx.
M:Yes, sweet flag’s good for stomach and for your gums, throat, anybody that’s singing it’s good for.
I2: xx
M: What’s the next one?
I2: Calamus roots. -----
M: Calamus roots is good for, to chew for your throat and gums and for colics and sick stomach, and mint, branch mint’s also good.
I2: It'll cool a fever xx.
M: Yes, it’s cold and will cool a fever and fevered stomach.
I2: Wild cherry bark, of what use is it?
M: Wild cherry bark is, is good for the blood and for the uh, for coughs, really good.
I2: Now back in your young days, you couldn’t get any doctors then, go ahead and say what you had to learn.
M: Back in my young days we couldn’t get no doctors them days hardly ever, and we had to do our own doctoring and we learnt up on these herbs, I know they’re good.
I2: And ballygilly buds, tell what their use is for.
M: Ballygilly buds is good for to make salves, the best salve I ever used was made out of bammygilly buds, take it and fry them in the fresh butter or sheep’s tallow, and then make some life everlasting tea, about a half a teacupful full, and put in with it and boil it down and strain it and hit’s the best tea that I, uh best salve I ever used.
I2: Heart leaves and heir remedies, what they’re good for.
M: They’re good for a heart troubles and good to make salve out of.
I2: See, that’s all of that, that’s all of that and ...
I: Can uh uh you tell ... ?
I2:
M: I, I guess you people would like to know about the serenades and how young folks got along back seventy years ago and longer, we had serenades, they’d make old big rattletraps they’d call them, and they’d have bells and plows and every old noise, and they’d run around the house and they’d have awful times, and they’d, they couldn’t get in, why they’d just keep right on, and whenever they’d get in they’d go through the house and my, how, how they’d rattle and, and bang around.
I2: Go right ahead.
M: And they’d sometimes, some people would let them have a little dance after the serenade and some wouldn’t, but they was always peaceable, they didn’t dance them times like they do now when they just two get up on the floor and dance together.
I2: xx.
M: I don’t, I guess that’s about all the, about the serenading that I used to ever know anything about.
I2: Did they ever make the bridegroom uh ride a rail?
M2: Do they? they used to make the bridegroom ride a rail they said, but they never treated me that dirty, they let me off with a, some good apples.
I2: Did they ever make you jump a broom?
M: No, they never made me, they never made us jump no brooms, but they made us bring out the cakes and everything.
I: Did you ever hear of the brides having to jump the broom?
M: No sir, I never heared of it.