... the Packard family was one of the happiest he ever knew...

SWMODave

Sergeant Major
Thread Medic
Joined
Jul 23, 2017
Location
Southwest Missouri
256px-Candle.jpg
Candle
Bangin [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Matthew 5:16
Dr. Badger relates, as portraying the character and mode of living of some of the first settlers of this quarter of the State, that in the fall of 1844 he went to the house of Phineas Packard, in what is now Clear Creek township, to borrow a cross-cut saw, belonging to Alanson Packard, of St. Clair.

Accepting an invitation to dinner, the Doctor seated himself on a three-legged stool at a clap-board table. Surrounding the family board were the Doctor, Mr. and Mrs. Packard, and their eight children, grown up boys and girls, some standing and some sitting on stools. The table furniture consisted of two-thirds of an iron kettle and three battered tin cups. The kettle contained a boiled chicken and a quantity of thick soup, while on one corner of the table were piled three pones of corn bread, constituting the bill of fare.

The host drew from his belt, which upheld his leather breeches, a hunting knife, and severing a leg of the chicken and filling a cup with soup he placed them before the Doctor; the corn pone was next handed round. There were not cups enough to go around. The boys and girls understood this, and each formed from the soft part of the bread a miniature fort or bastion on the board, and into this enclosure a ration of soup was poured, and" sopped" out with another piece of bread at will. Occasionally a little crevasse, or break in the levee, occurred and a small stream of gravy would trickle forth, but it was soon suppressed by the swift motion of a finger, and the rift in the embankment closed. The host and Dr. Badger ate with their pocket knives; the rest used their fingers.

Phineas Packard, though a poor, rough man, was a worthy one and reared a respectable family. He was a sincere Christian, and Dr. Badger testifies that the Packard family was one of the happiest he ever knew, even if they were without knives and forks or plates and spoons.

The History of Vernon County (Missouri)
Couldn't find a photo so went with a Bible verse that most will recognize.
After researching stories about the Civil War on the Kansas Missouri border all day, this story came as a breath of fresh air.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top