Old Goats......

Inez Lee And Tim Anderson 1956

This photograph is from the collection of the late Winkie Windham....it was taken in the Mississippi Delta, early in the last century....before 1915.
The children in the picture were her siblings....Ms. Winkie had not yet been born.

Francis Marion Lassiter

This photograph is also from around the turn of the century.
Francis was the father of Betty Biedenharn of Bovina.
The photograph was loaned to me from her collection.

Hinds county Gazette March 6 2008
GloriaChristiansen@gmail.com
I have learned a couple of things recently. First after writing about getting a goat …I have heard from folks all over Gazette Land and Cyberspace.
It soon became quite clear….there were two groups. One group was adamant in their declarations of just how much trouble; I was letting myself in for, by getting involved with a goat….fussed about goats and what ferocious eaters they are…apparently nothing is safe around a goat…. Some told how they will chase you down, so they can butt you with their horns…. “And they smell bad! real bad! Especially the Billy goats!”
Then there was the second category of folks, those who absolutely adored goats…This group sang their praises, “they are so cute”, “huggable”, “smart, and easily trained….” These people never mentioned that goats might have destructive eating habits, nor did they make unkind remarks about how unpleasant odors may come from the direction of my goat.
A few even said nice things about goat droppings…Seems the droppings are quite manageable, very small, round balls, resembling marbles…. Firm not squishy… This group of folks was so happy for me. “You won’t regret it.”
Now then this is what surprised me….The folks who actually had owned goats was the group that adored them, they had nothing but lovely things to say about them.
I was told about one goat who got to come in the house on cold nights….That goat, according to his owner, simply came in and laid down in front of the fireplace like a dog.
Then I heard about a goat over in Raymond who got to ride in the front seat of the pick up with his owner and the goat would rest it’s head on the man’s shoulder….
I also heard about a goat that was sought after to participate in parades...
Back round the turn of the last century goats were familiar sight in family pictures. Friends have loaned me photos from their family collections…those pictures will be on my blog this week. That address is gloria-ruralhindscountymississippi.blogspot.com/ And if you Google “goat carts” and you will find many old, black and white, photographs depicting goats hitched to a cart full of children. That tells me Goats must be gentle and dependable or else folks would not have trusted them to pull children in a cart.

Oh! by the way my Email address is GloriaChristiansen@gmail.com , Mary Ann for some reason has not been able to forward emails to my AOL address, I must have some kind of block on it that I can’t detect…so please email me at gmail. Make sure Christiansen is spelled correctly it is not a common spelling.

Another thing I have learned is about lately is Ambrosia. Besides you do not put gelatin in it…. Folks seems to have very definite opinions on how ambrosia should be made….but almost nobody makes it. The conversations usually began with “Grandma” or “My mother” did thus and so.
I was told that back in the day, ladies had beautiful cut glass bowls dedicated exclusively to the serving of ambrosia at Christmas….Grandmother’s cut glass bowl was a much coveted item to receive when being passed on after her death.
Ambrosia in much revered here in the south, southern ladies will speak up (politely) to defend its honor, and protect the recipe from alteration by outsiders. But strangely, I talked to very few people…maybe just two people, who had even eaten ambrosia in the recent past.
I do not know why, it is not served more often… if you take the crated fresh coconut out of the ambrosia equation and use the frozen, it is a very simple recipe. Pat Belknap says just three…cherries, coconut, and oranges…No sugar….Pat did say if it is not sweet enough, you can add some of the cherry juice…but no sugar……
By the way Brooke Worrell says do not buy a coconut that is wrapped in plastic…coconuts need air. And another tip I picked up while tangled in the Ambrosia, was put the coconut in the oven a few minutes and the coconut flesh will separate easily from the shell….That’s what I was told…I have not tried it yet.
Love to all
Email me, GloriaChristiansen@gmail.com or go to my blog gloria-ruralhindscountymississippi.blogspot.com/ or just pick up the phone and
Call if you need me………