On the day of butchering, Uncle Carl and Aunt Gustie would come to help Ma and Pa. They brought along their big butchering knife. Pa had already sharpened up his knife. A fire was built and water was heated in a big black kettle out back of the house. Berdina hated to hear the pigs squeal when they were killed, but Pa did it very fast. Then Pa and Uncle Carl lifted the pig up and down in the boiling water until it was well scalded, then they laid it on a board and scraped it with their knives until the bristles came off. The pig was then hung from a tree, the insides were removed and it was left to cool. There would be fresh liver for dinner. Later the pig was cut into pieces. Butchering took a few days as every part of the pig was used for something. Ma and Aunt Gustie would cut up the big pieces of fat Pa would bring in. After that the fat was put in big pots to cook. The smell of butchering filled the house. The lard crackled as it fried and Berdina and her sisters had to stay away from the stove. Ma didn’t want anyone to get burned. As the pieces browned they were skimmed from the fat and placed in a small crock. These were called cracklings and, when crushed up, made good molasses cookies and cake. Soon, the pots were removed from the stove and the lard strained into crocks. This white lard was used to make bread, cakes, pies and cookies. Meat from the pigs was cooked and canned, chops were fried and larded down in crocks; the lard between the layers of chops sealed them and they would keep a long time. Ma would take off as many as she needed for a meal.

Another day the sausage would be made. It was fun for Berdina and her sister, Pauline, to sit on the ends of the board that held the meat grinder, which was placed on two chairs. Members of the family took turns alternately in feeding the machine or turning the crank. It was exciting watching the red and white parti-colored streams of meat pour forth into the big tub. Later the meat was seasoned and stuffed into casings, some of it was canned and would be fried in the winter for breakfast. This was really good with pancakes and maple syrup. The sausage that was put in the casings was smoked, along with salted and cured hams and sidepork, in the little smoke house next to the house. Green hickory chips were placed on top of the fire which Pa had made in the hole in the center of the smoke house. The chips made the fire smolder and the ham, sausage and bacon hanging from the ceiling were filled with good hickory smoke.

Pa said, “There is nothing better than good hickory smoke; it makes good hams and bacon that will keep most anywhere.”

The fire had to be watched for many days. If smoke stopped coming out through the cracks of the smoke house, Berdina or her brothers would gather more hickory chips and Pa would put them on the fire.

Finally the smoking was done and the fire was let go out. Pa cut down the meat, then Ma wrapped it in paper and hung it in the attic where it would be safe and dry. The house was fairly bursting with good food stored away for the winter.