Appalachian History

Aunt Clarice was an excellent cook. I'm sure she and my mother got their special culinary education in French cuisine from their mother, Maria.

Since my Uncle Augie was a company man and wasn't on a time clock for the Rolland Glass Plant, he had an hour for lunch at noon. The glass plant was only a few blocks down the street, so he came home for lunch every day. I was frequently invited to join them for lunch, which I often did. My father was a glass cutter at Adamston Glass Plant and was paid for each piece he produced; his time was of the essence. He carried his noon meal to work and took only 1/2 hour for lunch. Hence, we had our big family meal in the evening when my father returned from work.

I have always been at least a few pounds overweight---I presume my weight problem started during these early years, when I ate a big meal at noon at Aunt Clarice's and another big meal at home in the evening.

Clarissa Amelia Caussin (1889-1948) and August Aristide Malfregeot (1885-1950).

At one of these noon meals with Aunt Clarice and Uncle Augie, I had my first encounter with frog legs. The dish in the center of the table was a turkey platter heaped high with frog legs.

As I watched the muscles of the frog legs contract and appear to jump in the pan, I was quite reluctant to try them. However, being aware of just how delicious everything that Aunt Clarice cooked was, I did relent.

I don't remember that you could buy frog legs in grocery stores in those days, but I do remember our fathers and uncles going out at night to "gig" frogs.

We always had lettuce salad with our big meal and after the lettuce was washed it had to be dried so the dressing would cling to each leaf. There was a small porch off the Malfregeot kitchen door and Aunt Clarice could frequently be seen standing there shaking water drops in the grass below as she swung the wire basket to and fro.

Turtle soup was a monumental French culinary delight. The men in French families often "felt" for snapping turtles in local streams. "Feeling for turtles" simply meant that you waded in the stream as you felt beneath the water for submerged turtles. The only problem was that on occasion one might grab at the wrong end of the turtle and encounter a vicious and sharp beak.

On one such outing, Uncle Augie raised his hand from the stream, a huge snapping turtle hanging from one of his fingers. There was an old wives’ tale which proposed that if a snapping turtle bit you, it would not let go until the sun went down. Imagine my chagrin when I contemplated Uncle Augie with that ugly beast holding onto his finger until nightfall. Many of the turtles I saw were large, ugly, vicious and very frightening to a child.

I often watched as my father and uncles cleaned snapping turtles in the basement of our house. First they teased the turtle with a stick until the turtle latched onto it with fury, then the holder of the stick stretched the neck out while someone else chopped off the head. The turtle was then skinned in much the same way as the hide of wild game is removed from the body. After the ordeal, when my father carried the meat to the kitchen, the meat was a pinkish white and looked very much like chicken. It was delicious, either fried, or cooked in soup.


Olga S. Hardman
Clarksburg, WV
source: www.olgaswritings.com/ClarAug.htm



appalachia appalachian+food appalachian+history Clarksburg+WV French+culture+in+WV history+of+appalachia

The game was described on images in Theban tombs. Romans played a variant called“micare digitis” (of which Cicero said “you must have great faith in the honesty of any man with whom you played in the dark.”) The French, who still teach it to their children, call it “la mourre.” And in Appalachia, starting tomorrow on through Sunday, you can find morra contests being played at the 29th annual Italian Heritage Festival over in Clarksburg, WV.

To the un-initiated, morra may appear to be a convoluted, grownup version of rock, paper, scissor that we’ve all seen kids play. It is played by two contestants, and merely consists of holding up, in rapid succession, any number of fingers desired, calling out at the same time the number one’s opponent is showing.

In Italy, centuries ago in the town of Massa, close to the marble mines of Carrara, this game was imported by woodmen and coal dealers from the northern regions. It was played at home or at some inn with good wine. And when those same yeomen immigrated to America to find a better life, they brought morra with them. The Sardinian Morra Championships, which have become the championships for morra players in Europe, are held every August in Urzulei, Sardegna.

Object of the Game:

Guess the total number of fingers extended by you and your opponent.

How to Play:

Determine how many rounds a person must guess correctly in order to win the match.
Start the game by having the two players face each other.

The hand that you are using generally remains visible to your opponent and the other hand is usually placed to the side or behind your back.

Either at the count of three or some sort of predetermined signal the players extend their fingers and shout out a number from zero to ten.

The fingers are counted to see if anyone guessed the total number of fingers correctly.

If one of the players guessed correctly that person wins the round.
If no one guessed the right number then neither player wins that round. If they both guessed the correct answer then it is a draw and neither gets credit for winning the round.

Play continues until one of the players reaches the number needed to win the match.

Note: Zero is represented by extending your hand and making a fist.


sources: www.mathorigins.com/G.htm
www.setteangeli.com/inlovewithitaly-vol19.aspx
"Miscellaneous remarks upon the Government, History, Religions, Literature, Agriculture, Arts" by John R. Peters, 1845, Eastburn’s Press

Related posts: "Growing up Italian in Clarksburg WV"

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