Since I have worked on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests, I have seen
material remains that I had never seen in over 20 years work in the Plains,
Northern Rockies, Pacific Norwest or Alaska.  I presented a paper on some
of them at the 1993 SHAs in Kansas City entitle "Which Front Door Do I Use
and Other Ozark Exotica".

In the southeastern part of the US (not Southern - to me Southern is
Arizona-New Mexico), there a lots of house with TWO front doors.  I have
found NONE of these built since WWII.  They were not built as duplexes but
as single family homes.  One reason may be superstition.  In the Ozarks, a
large majority of the people came from the southern Applicahians.  It was
considered unlucky to cut a doorway into a house after it had already been
built. I detailed some other superstitions associated with doors in the
paper.  Door placement patterns vary widely.

Another material culture item is Hot Beds.  Of course, when I first heard
the term my purient interests went wild.  We find small ones on old
farmsteads and I know of at least two large commercial ones.  They consist
of three rows of rocks which make two channels.  These are covered wih
large rocks and a small field rock chimney is built at one end.  The they
are covered with earth.  The purpose is to plant Sweet Potato slips (or
starts) in the soils on top.  In the evening, a small fire is built at the
open end and then the fire and hot coals are mshovel into the two tunnels .
This keeps the soil warm on cool spring nights until the slips can be
planted.  Sweet potatoes are grown here since it is too hot and humid for
regular potatoes in the southeast but sweet taters do just fine.

Smoke.


Smoke (Michael A.) Pfeiffer, RPA
Ozark-St. Francis National Forests
605 West Main Street
Russellville, Arkansas 72801
(479) 968-2354  Ext. 233
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]

It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.