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Figure 41. Three storage vessels: a syrup jug, a churn, and a kraut jar in three- and
four-gallon sizes. All were turned by Lanier Meaders, circa 1968-70. (Photo by
Ralph Rinzler, 1979.)
identical fashion.
For farm fruit, blackberries and huckleberries were dried on
scaffolds like the corn, beans, and sweet potatoes. At night and during
cloudy weather, the berries were removed to a rack above the kitchen
fireplace, where the drying continued. Any berries that were not eaten
outright were canned in small preserving crocks, known locally as fruit
jars or fruit cans. These distinctive vessels had small mouths, usually
around two inches wide, and were turned in quart, half-gallon, and
gallon sizes. Filled with whole or mashed berries (for jam) plus
sorghum syrup, they were closed off by pressing tight-fitting wooden
lids into their tops, then sealed with beeswax or wheat starch.
Following this, die vessel moudis were covered wim cheese cloth or
clean sheeting, a layer of brown paper, and more sealant. Finally,
stout cord was tied around die crocks' lips, or charms, and covered
again with beeswax or starch. Stored in some cool part of the house,
the fruit would keep dirough the winter, all the while "accumulating
one of the finest wines diat you ever seen," according to neighbor
potter Guy Dorsey.
The Meaders family in the early part of this century turned out as
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