Sam Talley's Blog – October 2011 Archive (9)

My grandfather showed me how to make a "Soda Water Fizz". He had them in the late 1800s. You'd added a little sugar and vinegar to a glass of water. Then vigorously stir in a teaspoon of baking soda. The fizz would pour the top of the glass like the head of a beer. Jeepers those were good. I wonder if there were other fun drinks for kids.

I'm facinated with the origin of terms such as "getting on the bandwagon" which comes from peddlers who played music to get people to approach so he could sell his wares, "above board" meaning no tricks, "axel grease" was butter, etc. Here's a site that has hundreds of them - www.legendsofamerica.com. I hope some of you less knowledgeable folks like myself will enjoy them. 

I know you have probably discussed this before, but as a new member, please indulge me. Where is 'Out West"? I've met some who say its west of the Mississippi River, others say Oklahoma, Nevada, etc. Being from Washington State I consider myself as being Out West, but I am told "No, that the West Coast" meaning I am west of Out West. Are there any generally accepted geographic markers defining Out West?

Some people traveled by riding a wagon, some by trains, ships, etc. Willie Keils was a little different. In 1855 he died as his family prepared to head west. Ailing 19 yr old Willie made his father promise to not leave him behind if he should die before they left. He did die, so his father…

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My wife says she has read in several accounts of western pioneer life, that the women would take hair trimmings of different colors and make 'hair pictures' to relieve some of the bordom of life, especially when traveling westward. I'm not an internet wizard, but I cannot find anything about this.Do any of these pictures still exist on display?

I always see coyboys in the movies come into the saloon, slam down a big shot of whiskey, pay up, and go about their business. Now I'm not a lush, but neither am I a teetotaler. The whiskey could not have been the finest aged swill made; yet, they never chased the drink down with water or anything. That rotgut stuff must have burned all the way down; and it could not have cooled them off or do a very good job of washing dust out of their mouths. I know they had beer, but rarely do your see…

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In all the movies and photos of the Old West there are no stools at the saloon bar. In the Pac. Northwest this remained true until the 1930s. Surely some saloon owner must have figured out that a person sitting on a barstool would relax and drink more booze than when standing there. Not withstanding the tables, why were there no barstools?

In all the movies the cowboy rides up to the hitching post, gets off his horse, DRAPES the bridle over the hitching post and enters the saloon, bank or whatever. How the heck could that ever keep his horse from wandering off without tying it?

I wonder why the piano players are always men in the  movies. Were there women players in the real old west?