Yetholm History Society archives contain a treasure trove of precious documents and photographs recording life on the hill farms of the area. In many cases, we have these because of the generosity of individuals who have donated or allowed us to copy family documents. We are also grateful to local organizations like Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show who have deposited documents with us for safe keeping.
Among more mundane matters recorded by the minutes of a Shepherds’ Show meeting in February 1934, such as classes, judges and the vexed new problem of providing car parking, there is an account of a heated argument about the first prize for butter awarded at the previous show: Mr W claimed that Mrs W’s right to have got first prize for fresh butter, as the 1st prize ticket had lain all the day on it. He read some letters from other competitors who had seen the 1st prize ticket lying on Mrs W’s butter. The attending members’ book was produced which showed that the 1st prize had been awarded to Miss Murray, Holefield, and to whom the prize had been awarded. The dispute was only finally settled when the ‘attending member’ was sent for and stated she was ‘positive the prize was awarded to Miss Murray and that she had placed the 1st prize ticket on Miss Murray’s butter.’ The dispute gives us a glimpse of the importance of butter-making and a reputation for excellence in making it for women’s role in the economy of local hill farms. George Storie, head shepherd at Cocklawfoot, noted with pride, in his diary of 1911, that his wife, Jean Crozier, made 6 pounds of butter one week in April and 4 the next. In October of the same year, she ‘churned for hours’, though how much butter she made is not recorded. Some of this butter would have been used in the home; Jean kept house not only for her husband but also for three under-shepherds and an endless stream of visitors. Some would, however, have been sold. The hard, skilled work of butter-making and its importance for the household economy was described by Elizabeth Anderson in her memoir of Borders hill farming life in the 1940s (The Hill Folk): Butter was made once a week on the day before the grocer came. Butter and eggs were given to the grocer in exchange for goods such as tea, sugar, rice, currants, treacle, salt etc. The cream was collected in the same pitcher twice a day for a week, stirring after each addition and allowing it to become sour. . . Kirnin’ could be a time-consuming activity; a monotonous turning of the handle of the kirn which in turn rotated the wooden breaker until the butter ‘broke’, the kirniemilk was then drained off and retained for baking. The next step was the rinsing of the butter with cold water and kneading out any residual kirniemilk with the heel of the palm. This was done in a wooden tub – the butter bowie – and the rinsing process was repeated until the water was clear. Salt was added with the last rinses. Finally the butter was weighed into pounds, patted into neat oblong shapes using the ribbed wooden butter-hands and marked in individual ways – often using a carved wooden stamp, which was our trademark. This was not the end though: all these wooden utensils had to be washed scalded and put away. Elizabeth Anderson describes two kinds of kirn: ‘The large end-over-end kirn, on a stand, and a smaller table variety, both made of wood.’ Gil Telfer remembers his mother using a smaller kirn at Calroust, with paddles put in from the top. She used this to make butter every week. Before moving with her shepherd husband to Cocklawfoot, Mary Little lived at Mounthooley in the College Valley. We know she had a reputation as a butter maker and that her butter was in demand because, by coincidence, Yetholm History Society has a postcard, written from Kirk Yetholm to Mary Little while she was at Mounthooley (see image below). The card asks her for some of her butter and seems to suggest arrangements for someone to get to Westnewton to pick it up. The date is illegible, but the card must have been sent between 1936 and 1939. The writer appears to be catering for ‘visitors’, perhaps she runs bed and breakfast accommodation, and is anticipating meeting Mary Little at the ‘Show’, perhaps Yetholm Border Shepherds Show. No doubt Mary Little hoped to eclipse both Ms W and Miss Murray with her butter entry.
26 Comments
5/9/2022 03:29:08 pm
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://freecodezilla.net/
Reply
11/9/2022 11:36:51 pm
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://kurma.website/
Reply
12/9/2022 08:49:41 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://odemebozdurma.com/
Reply
30/9/2022 09:32:51 am
It's great to have this type of content. Good luck with your spirit. Thank you. https://bit.ly/site-kurma
Reply
5/10/2022 07:04:16 am
I think this post is useful for people. It has been very useful for me. Looking forward to the next one, thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/kayseri-escort/pinarbasi-escort-kayseri-escort/
Reply
5/10/2022 01:56:32 pm
It was a post that I found very successful. Good luck to you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/denizli-escort/guney-escort/
Reply
6/10/2022 02:26:26 pm
I support your continuation of your posts. I will be happy as new posts come. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/cankiri-escort/ilgaz-escort/
Reply
7/10/2022 08:31:38 am
I think the content is at a successful level. It adds enough information. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/tekirdag-escort/ergene-escort/
Reply
8/10/2022 05:22:35 am
Thank you for your sharing. I must say that I am successful in your content. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/burdur-escort/
Reply
8/10/2022 02:07:18 pm
Thoughtful and real content is shared. Thank you for these shares. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/rize-escort/iyidere-escort/
Reply
24/11/2022 03:40:19 pm
Tıkla evde calismaya basla: https://sites.google.com/view/evden-ek-is/
Reply
12/12/2022 06:55:21 am
Uygun fiyatlardan takipçi satın al: https://takipcialdim.com/
Reply
17/12/2022 11:58:05 pm
takipçi satın al ve sitemizi ziyaret et: https://takipcim.com.tr/
Reply
6/1/2023 11:44:54 am
100 tl deneme bonusu veren siteleri öğrenmek istiyorsan tıkla.
Reply
1/7/2023 01:19:03 am
En iyi yozgat ilan sitesi burada. https://yozgat.escorthun.com/
Reply
21/7/2023 01:26:02 pm
https://basiskele-escort.bayanlar.xyz/ teşekkürler
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
|