​The Art of History

On a recent buying trip to Kentucky, I came across some various tobacco products in an old barn somewhere west of Lawrenceburg.  Bundles and bundles of tobacco sticks, used a century ago for drying leaves.  Made from solid oak to withstand the weight of the leaves as they were impaled in the fields and left to dry.  After the tobacco dried, the large leaves were transported to market in huge flat baskets.  Also made from oak, the makers soaked oak strapping in soda water to soften them enough to manipulate them into shape.  The baskets held the leaves ready for market and keep the product off the wet dirt floors where they would rot more easily.  Because the leaves were so big and the stems so strong, these baskets became worn over the decades.  They became better with time as the corners broke leaving holes which allowed the stems to sit more snugly for transport.

I could have stayed in that barn for days.  While not a smoker, I have to admit I was drawn to the history of the place and the life and industry that has since virtually disappeared.  Most people think of shiny floors when they thing of oak.  But this barn was full of the wood as it was used in a much different way.  It was damp and dark and smoky, pungent with the scent of the now long gone tobacco leaves.  I could feel the centuries of this simple place and imagined the back breaking work of owners and slaves.   
​ 
Now tobacco manufactures use other more high-tech ways to transport their product, but these beautiful baskets and sticks are treasured bits of our past.  The sticks have strengthen over the years to an almost petrified consistency.  Nails bounce off these babies but they have become a popular medium for decorative ladders, stars, lanterns, trees, chairs and other home goods. 

The baskets are a great conversation piece and can be used in many ways.  Check out the Noting Grace blog for some decorating ideas!

notinggrace.com/how-to-decorate-with-tobacco-baskets/
​
And stop by Pole Hill Provisions to get your genuine tobacco baskets and sticks. You may still be able to smell the rich tobacco scent on them and imagine the years of use they had before you retire them to the more comfortable resting place of your living room wall.