When an epidemic was reported in the village during the winter, she prepared the dreadful smelling asafetida bags which she tied about our necks under our dresses. They were supposed to ward off diseases.
When my sisters and I had colds, mutton tallow plasters were put on our chests and fastened to our underwear. These sticky, clammy plasters were worn until all signs of cold had disappeared.
Sulpher and molasses by the spoonful were given in the spring 'to help clear out our systems....' Calomel was an often used remedy for the liver until the doctor forbade its use.
My mother had a bad case of erysipelas and her leg was in a fearful state. Nothing seemed to help it. One night she dreamed my sister Dora, who had recently died, came to her, told her to make poultices of cabbage leaves wrung in hot water and apply them to her leg. She followed instructions and in due season her leg was healed.[232]
G. Ray Harrison, c. 1925. Photo courtesy of Ray Harrison.
The Harrison family's mule team on a shopping trip to Herndon about 1914. A young Ray Harrison is riding in the wagon. The stores in Herndon provided basic supplies and services for the Floris community. Photo courtesy of Ray Harrison.
The Floris community was an early outgrowth of a mining settlement near Frying Pan Run. Robert Carter, of Nomini Hall in Westmoreland County, owned the land which he believed contained rich copper ore. Though roads were built and several mining attempts made, the mineral proved to be of poor quality. The access offered by roads built by the miners (for example, West Ox Road on which Frying Pan Farm is located) opened the area to agriculture. The first permanent community was formed by a group of Baptists, who successfully petitioned Carter for permission to build a church on his property. One of their early churches, a simple, frame structure built in 1791, still stands near the center of the community.[233]