Today, I bring you treasure.
No, they may not look like much on the outside, having at some point been recovered in a very homemade fashion, but these six books contain everything you needed to know to survive in a prairie home back in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. No brag, just fact. Everything!
These six books comprise Harmsworth’s Household Encyclopedia, page 1 of volume 1 assuring us the following: "Everything for the Home: This encyclopedia has something to offer every member of the household, adult and juvenile. There is no concern of the home-lover that has been neglected in these pages. Everything that touches the building of the home, its furnishings, the health, comfort and happiness of the dwellers in it, comes within the scope of the Household Encyclopedia."
Back then they were a resource, now they’re a time capsule. One of the things I really loved about these books when I first opened them is they have detailed instructions on how to do absolutely everything, an example being how to build pretty much any of the beautiful wood furniture of the time, including the kind of wood needed, every cut described, measurements, every nail, screw or joining information required, how to assemble it all, then how to finish.
Pick any subject, and they offer the same depth of information on anything and everything you need to know to get your project done correctly and completely, all listed alphabetically, from A to Z.
So why am I showing you these today? Because of what I’m about to do with them. I’ve had them forever, I don’t use them, but I know the invaluable information in them must be preserved. So I began wondering about what friend of mine might not only appreciate them, find them fascinating, and use a ton of the information from them, so much of it still being relevant in today’s world. Really valuable as reflected in the well known "he/or she knows more about this stuff than you’ll ever learn" scenario.
It would be interesting to know just how much of this wealth of information is being used, and especially, taught any more.
So I thought of the perfect buddy to send them to. And just to get you thinking, what have you got sitting gathering dust that perhaps a family member or a friend would love to have and get some real enjoyment out of. Not to mention, that in the event of our demise, this type of memorabilia would be one of the first things a younger generation would send to the dump stat. What a waste that would be.
So I’m pre-empting that possibility by packaging them up and sending them off to my good buddy Barb Barnett-Lavallee, who already can do just about anything, and now she’ll be able to do even more! On top of which, she loves books. Reads a lot!
So now Barb will be Manitoba’s, nay Canada’s go-to person for everything you ever needed to know to build a wireless; for "Brewing in the Home" (which she’s probably doing already); engaging in "Bricklaying for the Amateur"; how to treat bumble foot in poultry (she has chickens); how to make Butter Bean Rissoles; how to build a hand camera; how to make Cami-knickers; everything there is to know about Carnations and their Culture; endless information on Cats & How To Keep Them - she and hubby just rescued a homeless cat during the "blizzards", its ears were even packed with snow (and frozen); how to play chess, (with illustrations); so much more, and the abovementioned are all from just the first encyclopedia, having barely scratched the surface.
She’ll even be a pro’ at performing childbirth, building a canoe, making chocolate eclairs and yes, even "chocolate finger." Interesting. It’s a cake thingie, look it up. Enjoy your "treasure" Barb. Happy weekend gang!
Comments and feedback welcome!
lmustard1948@gmail.com
