2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey Page: 5
xiii, 354 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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"It's the Watkins Man!" * 5
for their families and as worthy managers of household funds.
Bargaining with peddlers honed the verbal skills of many a dedi-
cated keeper of the house. The Watkins man who stopped by our
home for several years was especially good at touting the virtues
of his vanilla extract. Sometimes despite my mother's obvious
impatience with his long spiels, he would argue at length the su-
periority of his vanilla over that of his main competitor, the Ra-
leigh man. He would conclude his memorized presentation by
solemnly assuring my mother that Watkins vanilla extract in the
trial-mark bottle wouldn't "cook out" or "freeze out." My mother
preferred Watkins vanilla over Raleigh's, but if the Watkins man
rambled on for too long, she would not pay cash or trade chick-
ens or eggs for a bottle.
On the other side of the Model A pickup display were hosts
of other goods in gleaming glass bottles or shining tin boxes. In-
cluded in the many, many goods in this part of the display were
ointments and liniments of various sorts. These products were
staples in the folk arsenal for fighting various illnesses and inju-
ries. Both Watkins and Raleigh peddlers offered two kinds of oint-
ments described as either "medicated" or "medicated with
menthol." The usual distinction in the vernacular of the folk was
to call the plain stuff simply "ointment" and that with menthol
"Mentholatum." I think the term "Mentholatum" actually referred
to a product not sold by either the Watkins or the Raleigh ped-
dler, but among the folk, whatever term is handy is the one used.
These ointments-with or without menthol-were touted for a
variety of conditions. They could be used to soothe sore muscles
in any part of the body, of man or beast. They were good for nu-
merous skin conditions such as eczema, tetter (which may be an-
other name for eczema), dry skin, flaking, itching, and, I am sure,
for the "heartbreak of psoriasis." The mentholated ointments were
considered sovereign remedies for what are today termed "up-
per respiratory infections." Like Vicks VapoRub, the peddler's
mentholated ointments often were rubbed on the upper chests of
suffering children. After the ointment was applied to the chest,
warmed washcloths were held tightly in place to loosen the con-
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2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey (Book)
This volume of the Publications of the Texas Folklore Society "contains a sample of the research that members of the Society were doing at the turn of the millennium as represented at the 1998, 1999, and 2000 meetings." The volume covers "a wide variety of contemporary and historical topics," including baby lore, stories about notable women, stories about food and cooking, information about the Model T Ford, and more (inside front cover). The index begins on page 339.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. 2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey, book, 2001; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38303/m1/21/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.