"The Use of the Goose"

On the farm there were always odd jobs to be done. One of these was picking feathers from the geese to make pillows and feather beds. During the winter when it was freezing in the house it was nice to sink down into them. Those who didn't have feathers used straw. Throughout the winter most everything froze in the house, so extra bed clothing was needed. We would wake up in the morning with frost on the pillow and on our noses.

We had ten to twenty geese. Every year I would catch them under the front porch and hold each one until my mother got its neck under her leg to hold him down. Once she had the goose where it couldn't move, she would pick the feathers and fine down on their bellies in about twenty minutes. She had a sack that she put the feathers in. The geese were also raised to eat at Thanksgiving. Another use of the goose was for its fat. It was smeared on our chests and covered with a wool cloth when we had colds in the winter.

David W. Dickey, Sr.