Faith, Folklore, and Friends

  To amuse ourselves on sunny Sunday afternoons, we would walk in the woods. It was cheap, fun, and we actually learned some things.  It also spent a lot of energy that would have otherwise been used for fussing and fighting. We always had free-range chickens, and some would go into the woods and make a nest when they got in a setting mood. We always looked for nests, and now that I am mature, I suspect that is why Mama wanted to go for a walk in the first place. If we found one, we would keep an eye on it and as soon as the little chicks hatched, they would be moved to a safer place. The woods were full of various wildflowers and herbs.  Mayapple is one of the first to appear in the spring, and Mama would point to it and tell us how that during the depression, she and her siblings would dig the roots and carry them to town in a burlap sack. The druggist there would give them a few cents for the roots and their work. There was always sassafras and sometimes some elderberr...

Anything posted here is for education and entertainment. I am not a doctor, just someone who loves folklore and learning about how people coped before modern medicine. You are entirely on your own if you want to experiment. Almost everyone in the south has heard of sassafras tea. It is known as a "spring tonic" and is thought to purify the blood. It is also used for stomach distress and nerves. I have read that it was used to treat venereal disease before modern medicine. Externally, the tea will help rash caused by poison ivy. Sassafras officinale grows abundantly in North Alabama on roadsides and around pastures. Its leaves feed deer and other wildlife. Every part of the tree is fragrant, and distilled oil from its roots is used in the perfume industry. All parts of the plant can be used to make tea, but purists prefer the roots. Clean 1/4 cup of roots, cover with 2 cups water, and boil gently about twenty minutes. Strain and sweeten. It tastes like root beer, which I have ...