Long before today’s big-box stores, Citrus County’s early residents had to find ways to produce their own food, clothes and hygiene products. The processes could be labor-intensive but gave our independent pioneers the products they needed to thrive.
Ken Marotte reports that Citrus County’s pioneers arrived in a wild country and were far from conveniences such as clothing stores. Clothing materials could be ordered, but mail delivery was sporadic and goods seemed to take forever to arrive. This situation meant that people on the frontier had to provide for themselves. They turned to time-honored methods to make clothes for their families. Settlers collected any available materials that nature offered. Piles of wool and cotton were gathered, washed and dyed in preparation for the process of making cloth. Using a sharp metal-spiked carder or comb, the fibers were untangled and fashioned into a long string of threads. The material was then fed into a spinning wheel that twisted the threads into the desired thickness and pattern. In the next step, the user would feed the thread to a device known as a “spinner’s weasel.” The thread wound around the spokes of the “weasel” while a set of mechanical gears measured the thread, enabling the spinner to produce a uniform skein of thread. The “weasel” would produce an audible popping sound when the desired amount of thread was processed. Some claim that this device may have been the inspiration for a verse in the famous children’s nursery rhyme – “pop goes the weasel.” The skeins would then be fashioned into clothing using a loom, knitting or other methods depending on the type of materials used and the intended use. Dyes for thread and materials utilized natural assets such as plants and minerals.
Originally reported by Citrus County Chronicle – Inverness
Sources: Citrus County Chronicle – Inverness
