Well this is one for the record books – in all the old documents and pieces of paper saved by my great-grandmother, Frances Barber Linton Montgomery, I would never have thought about finding a candling certificate in the bunch! This belonged to her brother, John Edgar Linton, who lived with their older sister, Alice Linton, as bachelor and spinster, until their death.
And you may ask, what is a candling certificate? Even though I knew what it was, I did research to give you a good answer. Eggs were candled for two reasons. One was to check to see if the egg was fertilized, to keep it in the incubator so it will eventually turn into a chicken! In the 1918 edition of the Fannie Farmer The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, she recommends to ‘Hold in front of candle flame in dark room, and the centre should look clear.‘
The other reason is more in the opposite vein – to make sure the egg isn’t fertilized, to be used for eating – and to make sure the eggs were not bad. The first picture above is a good egg – you can see why you wouldn’t want to eat the last one!
Above you will see an 1918 poster of the breeds of poultry raised by farmers during that time period. I cannot say if my great-grand uncle kept one of these breeds or not.
But he must have had pretty good eggs since out of the fifty he took to Washington County Produce Company on August 17, 1918, only two were refused. Interesting to note that they also purchased butter, hides and furs from local farmers.
Categories: Family Stories
My aunt and uncle, Charles Leonard and Lillie Watts Leonard, had a store at Rosehill, KY. Besides all the fun and interesting items a grocery store has, there was a post office and all kinds of country items such as horse collars and overalls. In addition there was a voting house as well as an egg candling house where Uncle Charlie and Aunt Lillie candled the eggs. I was fascinated when I watched how it was done. This store was a real community center and I really enjoyed spending time there It is a memory that I shall always treasure.Marilyn
What a marvelous community center for all Rosehill members! Is the old store standing today the one you write about? And how interesting you were there to witness the candling process!
The building of the old store is still there However, it is now a private home. Up the hill is a red brick house and farm where Uncle Charlie’s parents lived and later tow of my aunts and uncles. Back toward Harrodsburg, on the same side of the road as the store up on a hill, was the white wood home of Aunt Lillie and Uncle Charlie. She had milk cows,chickens and a garden and made the best grape juice in the world. Uncle Charlie raised sheep which he hired someone to show and he won many prize ribbons. The Hungates lived across from the store as well as a cute boy up the road my age named Romeo!. It was a lovely community and I enjoyed visiting there for many years. Marilyn
Love this…